Aging and response inhibition: Normative data for the Victoria Stroop Test

Small Effects of Olfactory Identification and Discrimination on Global Cognitive and Executive Performance Over 1 Year in Aging People Without a History of Age-Related Cognitive Impairment

Olfactory and cognitive performance share neural correlates profoundly affected by physiological aging. However, whether odor identification and discrimination scores predict global cognitive status and executive function in healthy older people with intact cognition is unclear. Therefore, in the present study, we set out to elucidate these links in a convenience sample of 204 independently living, cognitively intact healthy Czech adults aged 77.4 ± 8.7 (61 - 97 years) over two waves of data collection (one-year interval). We used the Czech versions of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) to evaluate global cognition, and the Prague Stroop Test, Trail Making Test, and several verbal fluency tests to assess executive function. As a subsidiary aim, we aimed to examine the contribution of olfactory performance towards achieving a MoCA score above vs. below a published cut-off value. Our findings demonstrate that olfaction, on the one hand, and global cognition and executive function, on the other, are related even in healthy older people.

Brain activity during Stroop task performance at age 74 after exposure to the Dutch famine during early gestation

OBJECTIVE

Poorer performance on the Stroop task has been reported after prenatal famine exposure at age 58, potentially indicating cognitive decline. We investigated whether brain activation during Stroop task performance at age 74 differed between individuals exposed to famine prenatally, individuals born before and individuals conceived after the famine.

METHOD

In the Dutch famine birth cohort, we performed a Stroop task fMRI study of individuals exposed (n = 22) or unexposed (born before (n = 18) or conceived after (n = 25)) to famine in early gestation. We studied group differences in task-related mean activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and posterior parietal cortex (PPC). Additionally, we explored potential disconnectivity of the DLPFC using psychophysiological interaction analysis.

RESULTS

We observed similar activation patterns in the DLPFC, ACC and PPC in individuals born before and individuals exposed to famine, while individuals conceived after famine had generally higher activation patterns. However, activation patterns were not significantly different between groups. Task-related decreases in connectivity were observed between left DLPFC-left PPC and right DLPFC-right PPC, but were not significantly different between groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Although not statistically significant, the observed patterns of activation may reflect a combined effect of general brain aging and prenatal famine exposure.

Hayling and stroop tests tap dissociable deficits and network-level neural correlates

Although many executive function screens have been developed, it is not yet clear whether these assessments are equally effective in detecting post-stroke deficits of initiation and inhibition. This study presents a comparative analysis of the Stroop and Hayling tests aiming to evaluate whether these tests measure the same underlying cognitive functions and to identify the neural correlates of the deficits detected by both tasks. Sixty six stroke survivors and 70 healthy ageing controls completed the Hayling and Stroop tests. Stroke patients were found to exhibit qualitative performance differences across analogous Stroop and Hayling Test metrics intended to tap initiation and inhibition. The Stroop test was found to have high specificity to abnormal performance, but low sensitivity relative to the Hayling Test. Minimal overlap was present between the network-level correlates of analogous Stroop and Hayling Test metrics. Hayling Task strategy use metrics were significantly associated with distinct patterns of disconnection in stroke survivors, providing novel insight into the neural correlates of fine-grained behavioural patterns. Overall, these findings strongly suggest that the functions tapped by the Stroop and Hayling Test are both behaviourally and anatomically dissociable. The Hayling Test was found to offer improved sensitivity and detail relative to the Stroop test. This novel demonstration of the Hayling Test within the stroke population suggests that this task represents an effective measure for quantifying post-stroke initiation and inhibition deficits.

Physiological phenotypes have optimal values relevant to healthy aging: sweet spots deduced from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

Previous observations on a group of exceptionally healthy "Super-Seniors" showed a lower variance of multiple physiological measures relevant for health than did a less healthy group of the same age. The finding was interpreted as the healthier individuals having physiological measurement values closer to an optimal level, or "sweet spot." Here, we tested the generalizability of the sweet-spot hypothesis in a larger community sample, comparing differences in the variance between healthier and less healthy groups. We apply this method to the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) comprehensive cohort of 30,097 participants aged 45 to 85 years with deep phenotype data. Data from both sexes and four age ranges were analyzed. Five instruments were used to represent different aspects of health, physical, and cognitive functioning. We tested 231 phenotypic measures for lower variance in the most healthy vs. least healthy quartile of each sex and age group, as classified by the five instruments. Segmented regression was used to determine sex-specific optimal values. One hundred forty-two physiological measures (61%) showed lower variance in the healthiest than in the least healthy group, in at least one sex and age group. The difference in variance was most significant for hemoglobin A1c and was also significant for many body composition measurements, but not for bone mineral density. Ninety-four phenotypes showed a nonmonotonic relationship with health, consistent with the idea of a sweet spot; for these, we determined optimal values and 95% confidence intervals that were generally narrower than the ranges of current clinical reference intervals. These findings for sweet spot discovery validate the proposed approach for identifying traits important for healthy aging.

Decision-making and ageing: everyday life situations under risk and under ambiguity

Cognitive modifications during ageing can affect decision-making competence (DMC). As this ability is central to the preservation of autonomy, our study aims to investigate how it changes in elderly adults and to determine whether such changes are linked to the deterioration of executive functions and working memory. To this end, 50 young adults and 50 elderly adults were assessed with executive, working memory, and DMC tasks. The latter comprised the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and a scenario task based on situations inspired by everyday life, under conditions of both risk and ambiguity. The results revealed lower performances in old than in young adults for the updating, inhibition, and working memory tasks. The IGT failed to distinguish between the two age groups. However, the scenario task did permit such a distinction, with young adults seeking more risky and ambiguous choices than elderly adults. Moreover, updating and inhibition capacities appeared to influence DMC.

Neurocognitive Changes in Patients with Post-COVID Depression

Background: Depression and cognitive impairment are recognized complications of COVID-19. This study aimed to assess cognitive performance in clinically diagnosed post-COVID depression (PCD, n = 25) patients using neuropsychological testing. Methods: The study involved 71 post-COVID patients with matched control groups: recovered COVID-19 individuals without complications (n = 18) and individuals without prior COVID-19 history (n = 19). A post-COVID depression group (PCD, n = 25) was identified based on psychiatric diagnosis, and a comparison group (noPCD, n = 46) included participants with neurological COVID-19 complications, excluding clinical depression. Results: The PCD patients showed gender-dependent significant cognitive impairment in the MoCA, Word Memory Test (WMT), Stroop task (SCWT), and Trail Making Test (TMT) compared to the controls and noPCD patients. Men with PCD showed worse performances on the SCWT, in MoCA attention score, and on the WMT (immediate and delayed word recall), while women with PCD showed a decline in MoCA total score, an increased processing time with less errors on the TMT, and worse immediate recall. No differences between groups in Sniffin's stick test were found. Conclusions: COVID-related direct (post-COVID symptoms) and depression-mediated (depression itself, male sex, and severity of COVID-19) predictors of decline in memory and information processing speed were identified. Our findings may help to personalize the treatment of depression, taking a patient's gender and severity of previous COVID-19 disease into account.

Does social connection mediate the association between neuroticism and cognition? Cross-sectional analysis of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

OBJECTIVES

This study tested the association between neuroticism and six cognitive measures, and examined the potential mediating roles of social connection (social isolation and loneliness) among middle-aged and older adults.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was a secondary analysis of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) Comprehensive Cohort, a sample of Canadians aged 45-85 years at baseline. Respondents with data collected at the first follow-up, between 2015 and 2018, were included (n = 27,765). Structural equation modelling was used to assess the association between neuroticism and six cognitive measures (Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test immediate recall and delayed recall, Animal Fluency Test, Mental Alternation Test, Controlled Oral Word Association Test and Stroop Test interference ratio), with direct and indirect effects (through social isolation and loneliness). All analyses were stratified by sex, including females (n = 14,133) and males (n = 13,632).

RESULTS

In unadjusted models, there was evidence of associations between neuroticism and all cognitive measures, except the Stroop Test interference ratio, suggesting higher neuroticism was associated with lower scores on memory and executive function tests. In the models of these other five outcomes, there was consistent evidence of indirect effects (through social isolation and loneliness) and, in some cases, direct effects. The results are discussed in context with limitations, including the use of cross-sectional design and alternative hypotheses to explain the association between personality and cognition.

CONCLUSION

Among middle-aged and older adults, for both males and females, the findings suggest that the association between neuroticism and cognitive outcomes may be mediated by aspects of social connection.

Mesencephalic Locomotor Region and Presynaptic Inhibition during Anticipatory Postural Adjustments in People with Parkinson's Disease

Individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) and freezing of gait (FOG) have a loss of presynaptic inhibition (PSI) during anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) for step initiation. The mesencephalic locomotor region (MLR) has connections to the reticulospinal tract that mediates inhibitory interneurons responsible for modulating PSI and APAs. Here, we hypothesized that MLR activity during step initiation would explain the loss of PSI during APAs for step initiation in FOG (freezers). Freezers (n = 34) were assessed in the ON-medication state. We assessed the beta of blood oxygenation level-dependent signal change of areas known to initiate and pace gait (e.g., MLR) during a functional magnetic resonance imaging protocol of an APA task. In addition, we assessed the PSI of the soleus muscle during APA for step initiation, and clinical (e.g., disease duration) and behavioral (e.g., FOG severity and APA amplitude for step initiation) variables. A linear multiple regression model showed that MLR activity (R2 = 0.32, p = 0.0006) and APA amplitude (R2 = 0.13, p = 0.0097) explained together 45% of the loss of PSI during step initiation in freezers. Decreased MLR activity during a simulated APA task is related to a higher loss of PSI during APA for step initiation. Deficits in central and spinal inhibitions during APA may be related to FOG pathophysiology.

Mid-Term and Long-Lasting Psycho-Cognitive Benefits of Bidomain Training Intervention in Elderly Individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment

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.

Mindfulness-Based Intervention Effect on the Psychophysiological Marker of Self-Regulation in Women With Endometriosis-Related Chronic Pain

Endometriosis is a gynecological disease that involves a broad biopsychosocial compromise with the potential to create a negative vicious cycle. Despite the complexity of factors influencing women's improvement, most interventions investigated target just the peripheral nociceptive sources of endometriosis-related pain. An alternative is intervening in self-regulation, which can potentially influence multiple domains of the illness experience. The present study examines the effect of a brief Mindfulness-Based Intervention (bMBI) on attention and autonomic nervous system regulation in women with endometriosis-related pain. Also, explore the interaction between these self-regulation domains and the affective pain dimension. An exploratory analysis of the secondary outcomes of a pilot randomized controlled trial was performed. The vagally-mediated Heart Rate Variability (vmHRV) at rest, cognitive stress, and recovery was employed to measure autonomic regulation. The Flanker and Stroop tasks were used to estimate the attention domains. Results showed that bMBI (n = 26) significantly improved Flanker accuracy and Flanker and Stroop reaction time compared to the control group (n = 28). bMBI significantly increased vmHRV at rest and recovery after cognitive stress. Attention mediated the bMBI effect on affective pain improvement. Results suggest that bMBI improves self-regulation domains with the potential to develop a broad biopsychosocial benefit in the endometriosis context. PERSPECTIVE: This article demonstrates the positive impact of a brief Mindfulness-Based Intervention on attention and parasympathetic regulation in women suffering from endometriosis-related pain. This mindfulness-induced self-regulation improvement can benefit affective pain and potentially multiple psychophysiological processes relevant to endometriosis.

The impact of retirement on executive functions and processing speed: findings from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

We used data from the Comprehensive cohort of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging to compare the cognitive performance of retirees and workers (n = 1442), 45-85 years of age at baseline. Speed processing and executive functioning were assessed using standardized assessment tools at baseline and at follow-up, measured 3 years later. Retirees and workers were matched for age, sex, and education using the nearest neighbor propensity score method with a caliper of 0.02. Mixed ANOVA and post hoc analyses were conducted separately for the English- and French-speaking samples. Results for the English-speaking sample showed a significant decline on both the Stroop and the Mental Alternation tasks for retirees compared to workers from baseline to follow-up. These results support previous cross-sectional studies that have demonstrated a negative effect of retirement on executive functioning. The absence of significant results in the French-speaking sample are discussed in terms of sample size and professional occupation.

Prioritizing determinants of cognitive function in healthy middle-aged and older adults: insights from a machine learning regression approach in the Canadian longitudinal study on aging

Introduction

The preservation of healthy cognitive function is a crucial step toward reducing the growing burden of cognitive decline and impairment. Our study aims to identify the characteristics of an individual that play the greatest roles in determining healthy cognitive function in mid to late life.

Methods

Data on the characteristics of an individual that influence their health, also known as determinants of health, were extracted from the baseline cohort of the Canadian Longitudinal Study of Aging (2015). Cognitive function was a normalized latent construct score summarizing eight cognitive tests administered as a neuropsychological battery by CLSA staff. A higher cognitive function score indicated better functioning. A penalized regression model was used to select and order determinants based on their strength of association with cognitive function. Forty determinants (40) were entered into the model including demographic and socioeconomic factors, lifestyle and health behaviors, clinical measures, chronic diseases, mental health status, social support and the living environment.

Results

The study sample consisted mainly of White, married, men and women aged 45-64 years residing in urban Canada. Mean overall cognitive function score for the study sample was 99.5, with scores ranging from 36.6 to 169.2 (lowest to highest cognitive function). Thirty-five (35) determinants were retained in the final model as significantly associated with healthy cognitive functioning. The determinants demonstrating the strongest associations with healthy cognitive function, were race, immigrant status, nutritional risk, community belongingness, and satisfaction with life. The determinants demonstrating the weakest associations with healthy cognitive function, were physical activity, greenness and neighborhood deprivation.

Conclusion

Greater prioritization and integration of demographic and socioeconomic factors and lifestyle and health behaviors, such greater access to healthy foods and enhancing aid programs for low-income and immigrant families, into future health interventions and policies can produce the greatest gains in preserving healthy cognitive function in mid to late life.

Age- and sex-specific associations between obstructive sleep apnea risk and cognitive decline in middle-aged and older adults: A 3-year longitudinal analysis of the Canadian longitudinal study on aging

BACKGROUND

Whether obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) increases the risk of cognitive decline and how sex and age influence this association is not clear. Here, we characterized the sex- and age-specific associations between OSA risk and 3-year cognitive change in middle-aged and older adults.

METHODS

We included 24,819 participants aged 45-85 (52% women) from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. OSA risk was measured at baseline using the STOP combined to body mass index (STOP-B). Neuropsychological tests assessed memory, executive functioning, and psychomotor speed at baseline and at 3-year follow-up. We conducted age- and sex-specific linear mixed models to estimate the predictive role of baseline STOP-B score on 3-year cognitive change.

RESULTS

Men at high-risk for OSA aged 45-59 years showed a steeper decline in psychomotor speed (+13.2 [95% CI: -1.6, 27.9]) compared to men at low-risk. Men at high-risk for OSA aged 60-69 showed a steeper decline in mental flexibility (-1.2 [-1.9, -0.5]) and processing speed (+0.6 [0.3, 0.9]) than those at low-risk. Women at high-risk for OSA aged 45-59 showed a steeper decline in processing speed (+0.1 [-0.2, 0.4]) than women at low-risk, while women at high-risk ≥70 years had a steeper decline in memory (-0.2 [-0.6, 0.1]) and processing speed (+1.0 [0.4, 1.5]).

CONCLUSIONS

Associations between OSA risk and cognitive decline over 3 years depend on age and sex. Being at high-risk for OSA is associated with a generalized cognitive decline in attention and processing speed, while a memory decline is specific to older women (≥70 years).

Regression-based normative data for the D-KEFS Color-Word Interference Test in Norwegian adults ages 20-85

Objective: The Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) Color-Word-Interference Test (CWIT; AKA Stroop test) is a widely used measure of processing speed and executive function. While test materials and instructions have been translated to Norwegian, only American age-adjusted norms from D-KEFS are available in Norway. We here develop norms in a sample of 1011 Norwegians between 20 and 85 years. We provide indexes for stability over time and assess demographic adjustments applying the D-KEFS norms. Method: Participants were healthy Norwegian adults from Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition (LCBC) (n = 899), the Dementia Disease Initiation (n = 77), and Oslo MCI (n = 35). Using regression-based norming, we estimated linear and non-linear effects of age, education, and sex on the CWIT 1-4 subtests. Stability over time was assessed with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). The normative adjustment of the D-KEFS norms was assessed with linear regression models. Results: Increasing age was associated with slower completion on all CWIT subtests in a non-linear fashion (accelerated lowering of performance with older age). Women performed better on CWIT-1&3. Higher education predicted faster completion time on CWIT-3&4. The original age-adjusted norms from D-KEFS did not adjust for sex or education. Furthermore, we observed significant, albeit small effects of age on all CWIT subtests. ICC analyses indicated moderate to good stability over time. Conclusion: We present demographically adjusted regression-based norms and stability indexes for the D-KEFS CWIT subtests. US D-KEFS norms may be inaccurate for Norwegians with high or low educational attainment, especially women.

Social Capital Associates With Better Cognitive Health, Oral Health and Epigenetic Age Deceleration: Findings From the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

Background: Social exposures are linked to an array of health outcomes, especially around aging. In this study, we examined the association of social capital, defined as social relationships and networks, with clinical and biological outcomes including cognitive health, oral inflammation, and epigenetic aging. Methods: We used data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) (n = 1,479; aged 45-85 years), categorizing social capital as structural and cognitive capital. Oral inflammation was determined as the presence of gum bleeding. Epigenetic aging was computed as the difference between chronological age and DNA methylation age. We constructed multivariable regression models adjusted for covariates to assess the relationships of interest. Results: Higher structural social capital was associated with decelerated epigenetic aging and better cognitive health outcomes, while higher cognitive social capital was associated with better cognitive outcomes and less oral inflammation. Conclusion: Enhanced social capital may contribute to better clinical and biological outcomes around aging.

Perilesional and contralesional brain activations related to associative encoding of unfamiliar face-names pairs in adults with left chronic stroke with or without ischemic infarct on left inferior frontal gyrus

The study of an Ischemic stroke infarction allows verifying how the lesion produces alterations in the neuronal networks resulting in cognitive deficits. It also allows the verification of adaptive and maladaptive cerebral reorganization related to the injury. In our previous fMRI study, we found that patients without ischemic vascular lesions in left inferior frontal gyrus showed an efficient compensation mechanism during the associative encoding of face name pairs, by the increased activation of ventrolateral and dorsolateral areas of contralesional hemisphere associated with better memory performance. While patients with ischemic vascular lesions on left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) demonstrated worse memory performance and no signs of compensation mechanism. The present study explores more of these findings by analyzing perilesional and contralesional activations related to unfamiliar face name associative encoding in adults with chronic ischemic stroke, with or without left IFG lesion, compared to healthy controls. The main results showed that stroke survivors without lesions in IFG demonstrated increased activation in perilesional and contralesional prefrontal regions associated with better associative memory recognition, which are indicative of adaptive compensatory mechanisms. However, they also showed a negative correlation between the activation of right anterior prefrontal and inferior parietal regions and the associative memory performance, which may indicate the presence of maladaptive interhemispheric disinhibition. On the other hand, stroke survivors with IFG lesions demonstrated negative correlations in activations of the ipsilesional inferior parietal cortex and positive correlations in activations of the left middle frontal gyrus and left precentral cortex, which demonstrate the simultaneous occurrence of adaptive and maladaptive brain reorganization mechanisms in this group. However, the increase in perilesional prefrontal regions, associated with bilateral activation of the hippocampus and amygdala, was not enough to compensate for the inefficiency of associative memory performance. Finally, the differences in activation observed in stroke survivors reflect their clinical heterogeneity and demonstrate that adaptive or maladaptive compensatory mechanisms can coexist in the same group of patients. Furthermore, they reinforce the importance of the left IFG in the associative encoding of unfamiliar face name pairs and may suggest a deficit in associative memory related to injury in this region.

MyCOACH (COnnected Advice for Cognitive Health): a digitally delivered multidomain intervention for cognitive decline and risk of dementia in adults with mild cognitive impairment or subjective cognitive decline-study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

INTRODUCTION

Digital health interventions are cost-effective and easily accessible, but there is currently a lack of effective online options for dementia prevention especially for people at risk due to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or subjective cognitive decline (SCD).

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

MyCOACH (COnnected Advice for Cognitive Health) is a tailored online dementia risk reduction programme for adults aged ≥65 living with MCI or SCD. The MyCOACH trial aims to evaluate the programme's effectiveness in reducing dementia risk compared with an active control over a 64-week period (N=326). Eligible participants are randomly allocated to one of two intervention arms for 12 weeks: (1) the MyCOACH intervention programme or (2) email bulletins with general healthy ageing information (active control). The MyCOACH intervention programme provides participants with information about memory impairments and dementia, memory strategies and different lifestyle factors associated with brain ageing as well as practical support including goal setting, motivational interviewing, brain training, dietary and exercise consultations, and a 26-week post-intervention booster session. Follow-up assessments are conducted for all participants at 13, 39 and 65 weeks from baseline, with the primary outcome being exposure to dementia risk factors measured using the Australian National University-Alzheimer's Disease Risk Index. Secondary measures include cognitive function, quality of life, functional impairment, motivation to change behaviour, self-efficacy, morale and dementia literacy.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethical approval was obtained from the University of New South Wales Human Research Ethics Committee (HC210012, 19 February 2021). The results of the study will be disseminated in peer-reviewed journals and research conferences.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

ACTRN12621000977875.

Dissociating memory and executive function impairment through temporal features in a word list verbal learning task

The Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) is an established verbal learning test commonly used to quantify memory impairments due to Alzheimer's Disease (AD) both at a clinical dementia stage or prodromal stage of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Focal memory impairment-as quantified e.g. by the RAVLT-at an MCI stage is referred to as amnestic MCI (aMCI) and is often regarded as the cognitive phenotype of prodromal AD. However, recent findings suggest that not only learning and memory but also other cognitive domains, especially executive functions (EF) and processing speed (PS), influence verbal learning performance. This research investigates whether additional temporal features extracted from audio recordings from a participant's RAVLT response can better dissociate memory and EF in such tasks and eventually help to better describe MCI subtypes. 675 age-matched participants from the H70 Swedish birth cohort were included in this analysis; 68 participants were classified as MCI (33 aMCI and 35 due to executive impairment). RAVLT performances were recorded and temporal features extracted. Novel temporal features were correlated with established neuropsychological tests measuring EF and PS. Lastly, the downstream diagnostic potential of temporal features was estimated using group differences and a machine learning (ML) classification scenario. Temporal features correlated moderately with measures of EF and PS. Performance of an ML classifier could be improved by adding temporal features to traditional counts. We conclude that RAVLT temporal features are in general related to EF and that they might be capable of dissociating memory and EF in a word list learning task.

UD Interference Test: creation and validation of a new instrument of resistance to interference. Normalisation and standardisation for Spanish population

INTRODUCTION

The UD Interference Test measures processing speed and attention, and is based on the concept of interference of the Stroop Color and Word Test. The main purpose of the study is to provide an alternative version of the Stroop Color and Word Test that overcomes some of the limitations of previous versions in assessing individuals with daltonism or age-related reading difficulties, and to obtain normative and standardised data for the Spanish population.

METHODS

This study is part of the Normacog project. We evaluated 905 individuals (age range, 18-93 years) to analyse the test's reliability and concurrent and construct validity. We evaluated the effect of age, sex, and level of education on UD Interference Test performance and calculated percentiles and age- and education-adjusted scaled scores.

RESULTS

The test has good reliability (α = 0.875) and concurrent (r = 0.443-0.725; P < .001) and construct validity (r = 0.472-0.737; P < .001). We observed age and educational level to have a significant effect on UD Interference Test scores, explaining 12% to 40% of variance. Sex only had a significant effect on the resistance to interference index.

CONCLUSIONS

We present an alternative version of the Stroop Color and Word Test with some advantages over previous versions. We provide standardised and normalised data for the Spanish population to correct the test according to the subject's age and level of education.

Neuropsychological function in psychosis of epilepsy

OBJECTIVE

The neuropsychological profile of patients with psychosis of epilepsy (POE) has received limited research attention. Recent neuroimaging work in POE has identified structural network pathology in the default mode network and the cognitive control network. This study examined the neuropsychological profile of POE focusing on cognitive domains subserved by these networks.

METHODS

Twelve consecutive patients with a diagnosis of POE were prospectively recruited from the Comprehensive Epilepsy Programmes at The Royal Melbourne, Austin and St Vincent's Hospitals, Melbourne, Australia between January 2015 and February 2017. They were compared to 12 matched patients with epilepsy but no psychosis and 42 healthy controls on standardised neuropsychological tests of memory and executive functioning in a case-control design.

RESULTS

Mean scores across all cognitive tasks showed a graded pattern of impairment, with the POE group showing the poorest performance, followed by the epilepsy without psychosis and the healthy control groups. This was associated with significant group-level differences on measures of working memory (p = < 0.01); immediate (p = < 0.01) and delayed verbal recall (p = < 0.01); visual memory (p < 0.001); and verbal fluency (p = 0.02). In particular, patients with POE performed significantly worse than the healthy control group on measures of both cognitive control (p = .005) and memory (p < .001), whereas the epilepsy without psychosis group showed only memory difficulties (delayed verbal recall) compared to healthy controls (p = .001).

CONCLUSION

People with POE show reduced performance in neuropsychological functions supported by the default mode and cognitive control networks, when compared to both healthy participants and people with epilepsy without psychosis.

Changes in Perceived Mental Load and Motor Performance during Practice-to-Learn and Practice-to-Maintain in Basketball

BACKGROUND

Attentional resource allocation during sports practice is associated with the players' perceived mental load. However, few ecological studies address this problem by considering the players' characteristics (e.g., practice experience, skill and cognition). Therefore, this study aimed to analyse the dose-response effect of two different types of practice, each with different learning objectives, on mental load and motor performance by using a linear mixed model analysis.

METHOD

Forty-four university students (age 20.36 ± 3.13 years) participated in this study. Two sessions were conducted, one based on a standard rules 1 × 1 basketball situation ("practice to maintain") and one with motor, temporal and spatial restrictions in 1 × 1 tasks ("practice to learn").

RESULTS

"Practice to learn" produced a higher perceived mental load (NASA-TLX scale) and a worse performance than "practice to maintain", but was moderated by experience and inhibition (p = 0.001). The same happens in the most demanding restriction (i.e., temporal, p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION

The results showed that increasing the difficulty of 1 × 1 situations through restrictions harmed the player's performance and increased their perceived mental load. These effects were moderated by previous basketball experience and the player's inhibition capacity, so the difficulty adjustment should be based on the athletes themselves.

Predictors of cognitive functioning in presentations to a community-based specialist addiction neuropsychology service

INTRODUCTION

Cognitive impairment is common in individuals presenting to alcohol and other drug (AOD) settings and the presence of biopsychosocial complexity and health inequities can complicate the experience of symptoms and access to treatment services. A challenge for neuropsychologists in these settings is to evaluate the likely individual contribution of these factors to cognition when providing an opinion regarding diagnoses such as acquired brain injury (ABI). This study therefore aimed to identify predictors of cognitive functioning in AOD clients attending for neuropsychological assessment.

METHODS

Clinical data from 200 clients with AOD histories who attended for assessment between 2014 and 2018 were analysed and a series of multiple regressions were conducted to explore predictors of cognitive impairment including demographic, diagnostic, substance use, medication, and mental health variables.

RESULTS

Regression modelling identified age, gender, years of education, age of first use, days of abstinence, sedative load, emotional distress and diagnoses of ABI and developmental disorders as contributing to aspects of neuropsychological functioning. Significant models were obtained for verbal intellectual functioning (Adj R2 = 0.19), nonverbal intellectual functioning (Adj R2 = 0.10), information processing speed (Adj R2 = 0.20), working memory (Adj R2 = 0.05), verbal recall (Adj R2 = 0.08), visual recall (Adj R2 = 0.22), divided attention (Adj R2 = 0.14), and cognitive inhibition (Adj R2 = 0.07).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings highlight the importance of careful provision of diagnoses in clients with AOD histories who have high levels of unmet clinical needs. They demonstrate the interaction of premorbid and potentially modifiable comorbid factors such as emotional distress and prescription medication on cognition. Ensuring that modifiable risk factors for cognitive impairment are managed may reduce experiences of cognitive impairment and improve diagnostic clarity.

The Overview of Cognitive Aging Models

To understand the cause of the age-related decline in cognitive function and its underlying mechanism, the cognitive aging model can provide us with important insights. In this section, we will introduce behavioral and neural models about age-related cognitive changes. Among behavioral models, several aging theories were discussed from the perspectives of educational, biological, and sociological factors, which could explain parts of the aging process. With the development of imaging technology, many studies have discussed the neural mechanism of aging and successively proposed neural models to explain the aging phenomenon. Behavioral models and neural mechanism models supplement each other, gradually unveiling the mystery of cognitive aging.

The effect of memory cue duration on performance in the directed forgetting task in healthy aging

Although forgetting is usually considered a memory error, intentional forgetting can function as an adaptive mechanism. The current study examined the effect of increased processing time on directed forgetting in aging as a mechanism to compensate for age-related forgetting. Specifically, an item-method directed forgetting paradigm was used in conjunction with Remember/Know/New responding to examine the effect of cue duration (1, 3, 5 s) on directed forgetting and remembering in younger and older adults. Results indicated that increased processing time improved performance in both age groups. Critically, older adults exhibited a linear increase in directed remembering performance across all cue durations which was related to individual differences in cognitive reserve. Specifically, those older adults with the highest levels of cognitive functioning showed the greatest memory benefit in the longest cue duration condition. These findings indicate the importance of processing time in accounting for intentional memory performance in older adults.

Association among cognition, frailty, and falls and self‐reported incident fractures: results from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging ( CLSA )

Cognition, frailty, and falls have been examined independently as potential correlates of fracture risk, but not simultaneously. Our objective was to explore the association between cognition, frailty, and falls and self‐reported incident fractures to determine if these factors show significant independent associations or interactions. We included participants who completed the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) 2012–2015 baseline comprehensive assessment, did not experience any self‐reported fractures in the year prior to cohort recruitment, and completed the follow‐up questionnaire at year 3 (n = 26,982). We compared all baseline cognitive measures available in the CLSA, the Rockwood Frailty Index (FI), and presence of self‐reported falls in the past 12 months in those with versus without self‐reported incident fractures in year 3 of follow‐up. We used multivariable logistic regression adjusted for covariates and examined two‐way interactions between cognition, frailty, and prior falls. CLSA specified analytic weights were applied. The mean ± standard error (SE) age of participants was 59.5 ± 0.1 years and 52.2% were female. A total of 715 participants (2.7%) self‐reported incident fractures at 3‐year follow‐up. Participants who experienced incident fractures had similar baseline cognition scores (mean ± SE; Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test [RAVLT]: Immediate recall 6.1 ± 0.1 versus 5.9 ± 0.0; standardized difference [d] 0.124); higher FI scores (mean ± SE; FI 0.134 ± 0.005 versus 0.116 ± 0.001; d 0.193), and a greater percentage had fallen in the past 12 months (weighted n [%] 518 [7.2] versus 919 [3.5]; d 0.165). FI (each increment of 0.08) was associated with a significantly increased risk of self‐reported incident fractures in participants of all ages and those aged 65 years or older (adjusted odd ratio [OR] 1.24, 95% confidence limit [CL] 1.10–1.40; adjusted OR 1.44, 95% CL 1.11–1.52, respectively). The adjusted odds for self‐reported incident fractures in participants of all ages was also significantly associated with falls in the past 12 months prior to baseline (adjusted OR 1.83; 95% CL 1.13–2.97), but not in those aged 65 years or older. No interactions between cognition, frailty, and prior falls were found. However, considering the relatively young age of our cohort, it may be appropriate to make strong inferences in individuals older than 65 years of age. © 2022 The Authors. JBMR Plus published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

Cognitive Function Is Associated With Multiple Indices of Adiposity in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

OBJECTIVE

Prior studies have suggested reciprocal relationships between cognitive function and adiposity, but this has not been investigated with population representative data sets. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between cognitive function and adiposity in a large population-based sample of middle-aged and older adults. It was hypothesized that better scores on tests of cognitive function would be associated with lower adiposity, and this association would be primarily mediated through life-style behavior and physical health status.

METHODS

Using baseline data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging ( N = 30,097), we tested our hypotheses using three indicators of cognitive function (animal fluency, Stroop interference, and reaction time) and four indicators of adiposity (body mass index, total fat mass, waist circumference, and waist-hip ratio). Hierarchical multivariable linear regression modeling was conducted followed by tests for moderation by socioeconomic status and mediation through diet, physical activity, hypertension, and diabetes status.

RESULTS

All measures of cognitive indicators were significantly associated with adiposity after adjusting for confounders. In general, superior performance on animal fluency, Stroop, and reaction time tasks were associated with lower adiposity by most metrics. Stroop interference was associated with lower adiposity across all metrics, including body mass index ( b = - 0.04, 95 % confidence interval [CI] = - 0.06  to - 0.01), total fat mass ( b = 19.35, 95 % CI = 8.57  to 30.12), waist circumference ( b = 33.83, 95 % CI = 10.08  to 57.58), and waist-hip ratio ( b = 0.13, 95 % CI = 0.01  to 0.24). These associations were more substantial for moderate- and high-income subpopulations. Mediation analyses suggested that the aforementioned effects were mediated through life-style behavior (e.g., diet and physical activity) and physical health conditions (e.g., diabetes and hypertension).

CONCLUSIONS

Reliable associations exist between cognitive function and adiposity in middle-aged and older adults. The associations seem to be mediated through life-style behavior and physical health conditions.

Does Shiftwork Impact Cognitive Performance? Findings from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA)

Few large nationwide studies have investigated the relationship between shiftwork and cognitive performance, and little is known about whether and how psychological distress may impact this relationship. This study aimed to examine: (1) the cross-sectional relationship between shiftwork (yes/no) and some aspects of cognitive performance (declarative memory and executive functioning) and (2) the potential moderating effect of psychological distress among 20,610 community-dwelling adults from the comprehensive cohort of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). Differences by sex and retirement status were also explored. Shiftwork was significantly associated with poorer performance for executive functioning (interference condition: ß = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.31 to 0.63; MAT: ß = -0.85, 95% CI: -1.21 to -0.50) but not for declarative memory. Completely and not/partly retired males showed poorer cognitive performance on executive functioning. However, no evidence of a moderating effect by psychological distress was found. Our findings confirm the association between shiftwork and cognitive performance and highlight important health correlates of shiftwork.

Bidirectional Associations Between Adiposity and Cognitive Function: A Prospective Analysis of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA)

BACKGROUND

Theoretical perspectives suggest that adiposity and cognitive function may be bidirectionally associated, but this has not been examined in a large-scale data set. The current investigation aims to fill this gap using a large, representative sample of middle-aged and older adults.

METHODS

Using data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (N = 25 854), the bidirectional hypothesis was examined with 3 indicators of cognitive function (ie, executive function, processing speed, and verbal fluency) and adiposity (ie, waist circumference [WC], body mass index [BMI], and total fat mass). We used multivariate multivariable regression and structural equation modeling to assess the prospective associations between adiposity and cognitive indicators.

RESULTS

Analyses revealed that higher baseline WC was associated with higher Stroop interference at follow-up for both middle-aged (standardized estimate, β = 0.08, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.06, 0.10) and older adults (β = 0.07, 95% CI 0.04, 0.09). Similarly, higher baseline Stroop interference was also associated with higher follow-up WC in middle-aged (β = 0.08, 95% CI 0.06, 0.10) and older adults (β = 0.03, 95% CI 0.01, 0.06). Effects involving semantic fluency and processing speed were less consistent. The earlier effects were similar to those observed using other adiposity indicators (eg, BMI and total fat mass) and were robust to adjustment for demographics and other cofounders, and when using latent variable modeling of the adiposity variable.

CONCLUSION

Evidence for a bidirectional relationship between adiposity and cognitive function exists, though the associations are most reliable for executive function and primarily evident at midlife.

Reduced cortical cholinergic innervation measured using [18F]-FEOBV PET imaging correlates with cognitive decline in mild cognitive impairment

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Topographic FEOBV binding correlates with domain-specific cognitive performance.

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Global and regional reductions in cholinergic innervation are observed in MCI.

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Global FEOBV SUVR is associated with basal forebrain and hippocampal volumes.

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Our results provide proof of concept for FEOBV PET to assess cholinergic terminal integrity.

Dysfunction of the cholinergic basal forebrain (BF) neurotransmitter system, including cholinergic axon denervation of the cortex, plays an important role in cognitive decline and dementia. A validated method to directly quantify cortical cholinergic terminal integrity enables exploration of the involvement of this system in diverse cognitive profiles associated with dementia, particularly at a prodromal stage. In this study, we used the radiotracer [¹⁸F]-fluoroethoxybenzovesamicol (FEOBV) as a direct measure of cholinergic terminal integrity and investigated its value for the assessment of cholinergic denervation in the cortex and associated cognitive deficits. Eighteen participants (8 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 10 cognitively unimpaired controls) underwent neuropsychological assessment and brain imaging using FEOBV and [¹⁸F]-florbetaben for amyloid-β imaging. The MCI group showed a significant global reduction of FEOBV retention in the cortex and in the parietal and occipital cortices specifically compared to the control group. The global cortical FEOBV retention of all participants positively correlated with the BF, hippocampus and grey matter volumes, but no association was found between the global FEOBV retention and amyloid-β status. Topographic profiles from voxel-wise analysis of FEOBV images revealed significant positive correlations with the cognitive domains associated with the underlying cortical areas. Overlapping profiles of decreased FEOBV were identified in correlation with impairment in executive function, attention and language, which covered the anterior cingulate gyrus, olfactory cortex, calcarine cortex, middle temporal gyrus and caudate nucleus. However, the absence of cortical atrophy in these areas suggested that reduced cholinergic terminal integrity in the cortex is an important factor underlying the observed cognitive decline in early dementia. Our results provide support for the utility and validity of FEOBV PET for quantitative assessment of region-specific cholinergic terminal integrity that could potentially be used for early detection of cholinergic dysfunction in dementia following further validation in larger cohorts.

Audiovisual Integration for Saccade and Vergence Eye Movements Increases with Presbycusis and Loss of Selective Attention on the Stroop Test

Multisensory integration is a capacity allowing us to merge information from different sensory modalities in order to improve the salience of the signal. Audiovisual integration is one of the most used kinds of multisensory integration, as vision and hearing are two senses used very frequently in humans. However, the literature regarding age-related hearing loss (presbycusis) on audiovisual integration abilities is almost nonexistent, despite the growing prevalence of presbycusis in the population. In that context, the study aims to assess the relationship between presbycusis and audiovisual integration using tests of saccade and vergence eye movements to visual vs. audiovisual targets, with a pure tone as an auditory signal. Tests were run with the REMOBI and AIDEAL technologies coupled with the pupil core eye tracker. Hearing abilities, eye movement characteristics (latency, peak velocity, average velocity, amplitude) for saccade and vergence eye movements, and the Stroop Victoria test were measured in 69 elderly and 30 young participants. The results indicated (i) a dual pattern of aging effect on audiovisual integration for convergence (a decrease in the aged group relative to the young one, but an increase with age within the elderly group) and (ii) an improvement of audiovisual integration for saccades for people with presbycusis associated with lower scores of selective attention in the Stroop test, regardless of age. These results bring new insight on an unknown topic, that of audio visuomotor integration in normal aging and in presbycusis. They highlight the potential interest of using eye movement targets in the 3D space and pure tone sound to objectively evaluate audio visuomotor integration capacities.

Assessment of the predictive potential of cognitive scores from retinal images and retinal fundus metadata via deep learning using the CLSA database

Accumulation of beta-amyloid in the brain and cognitive decline are considered hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. Knowing from previous studies that these two factors can manifest in the retina, the aim was to investigate whether a deep learning method was able to predict the cognition of an individual from a RGB image of his retina and metadata. A deep learning model, EfficientNet, was used to predict cognitive scores from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) database. The proposed model explained 22.4% of the variance in cognitive scores on the test dataset using fundus images and metadata. Metadata alone proved to be more effective in explaining the variance in the sample (20.4%) versus fundus images (9.3%) alone. Attention maps highlighted the optic nerve head as the most influential feature in predicting cognitive scores. The results demonstrate that RGB fundus images are limited in predicting cognition.

Presbycusis and the Aging of Eye Movement: Common Attention Mechanisms

Presbycusis, physiological age-related hearing loss, is a major health problem because it is the most common cause of hearing impairment, and its impact will grow in the coming years with the aging population. Besides auditory consequences, the literature recently found an association between hearing loss and cognitive decline over the last two decades, emphasizing the importance of the early detection of presbycusis. However, the current hearing tests are not sufficient to detect presbycusis in some cases. Furthermore, the underlying mechanisms of this association are still under discussion, calling for a new field of research on that topic. In that context, this study investigates for the first time the interaction between presbycusis, eye movement latency and Stroop scores for a normal aging population. Hearing abilities, eye movement latency and the Stroop Victoria test were measured for 69 elderly (mean 66.7 ± 8.4) and 30 young (mean 25.3 ± 2.7) participants. The results indicated a significant relationship between saccade latency and speech audiometry in the silence score, independently from age. These promising results suggest common attentional mechanisms between speech processing and saccade latency. The results are discussed regarding the relationship between hearing and cognition, and regarding the perspective of expanding new tools for presbycusis diagnosis.

Maybe It's Not the Meth: Considering Biopsychosocial Contributors to Cognitive Impairment in Methamphetamine Polydrug Use

OBJECTIVE

In considering the cognitive harms of methamphetamine (MA) use, there is currently a limited appreciation of the profile of pre-existing, comorbid, or modifiable risk factors for cognitive impairment in individuals with MA-polydrug use who present to clinical services. This is in contrast to the well-recognized evidence in alcohol use groups. The aim of this study was to investigate the biopsychosocial and neuropsychological profiles of MA-polysubstance using individuals reporting cognitive impairment in comparison to an alcohol-using group.

METHODS

A retrospective file audit was undertaken of individuals who presented for assessment to a specialist addiction neuropsychology service and reported either more than 1 year of heavy MA use as part of a polydrug use history (n = 40) or having only used alcohol (n = 27). Clinical histories including demographic, medical, mental health, substance use, and neuropsychological assessment results were extracted from medical records. Between group comparisons were conducted to explore differences in the MA-polydrug vs. the alcohol group.

RESULTS

Individuals in the MA-polydrug group were significantly younger, commenced substance use at an earlier age, were more likely to have an offending history, and experienced an overdose than those in the alcohol group. No differences in comorbid neurodevelopmental, psychiatric or acquired brain injury diagnoses were observed between groups. For neuropsychological functioning, significant group differences were observed in overall IQ, semantic verbal fluency, and psychomotor tracking, where individuals in the alcohol group performed significantly worse.

CONCLUSIONS

Neuropsychological profiles were largely equivalent between groups across cognitive domains, with minor differences in favor of the MA-polydrug group. Relative to the general population, cognitive functioning was reduced for both groups across a range of domains. High rates of comorbid mental health concerns were common across both groups, however, individuals in the MA-polydrug group presented with a higher risk of overall harm from substance use at a significantly younger age which is a unique concern for this group. These findings highlight the importance of considering the biopsychosocial factors, such as age of first use, emotional distress, indirect substance related harms including overdose and blood born virus infection that may be relevant to experiences of cognitive difficulty in MA-polydrug users.

A Comparison of the Performance between the 60- and 120-Second Conditions of the Korean-Color Word Stroop Test: Color Reading (K-CWST: CR)

Background and Purpose

The Korean-Color Word Stroop Test: Color Reading (K-CWST: CR) included in the Seoul Neuropsychological Screening Battery, 2nd Edition (SNSB-II) examines inhibitory control deficit. It provides normative data for both 60- and 120-second conditions, but the validity of the 60-second condition has not yet been proven. This study examined the validity of the 60-second condition by observing concordance between the performances in cognitively normal, MCI, and mild dementia groups.

Methods

There were 1,336 patients performed the SNSB-II, including the K-CWST: CR. Based on the cognitive test results, activities of daily living, and clinical interview, the patients were assigned to normal cognition (n=104), MCI (n=884), or mild dementia (n=348) groups. Abnormal performance on the K-CWST: CR was operationally defined as 1SD below the normative mean. The receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were conducted to compare the discriminability between the 60- and 120-second conditions.

Results

The percentages of abnormal performance in the MCI group were 41.5% and 42.3%, and those in the mild dementia group were 82.7% and 82.4% for the 60- and 120-second conditions, respectively. The areas under the curve for the 60- and 120-seconds were as follows; 0.80 and 0.81 in differentiating normal from MCI; 0.95 and 0.96 in normal from mild dementia; and 0.77 and 0.77 in MCI from mild dementia.

Conclusions

The 60-second condition of the K-CWST showed very similar results, not statistically different from the 120-second condition. Therefore, the 60-second condition could be used interchangeably with the 120-second condition in a clinical setting.

The Effect of Loneliness on Cognitive Functioning Among Healthy Individuals in Mid- and Late-Adulthood: Evidence From the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA)

There is a consensus that loneliness correlates with an increased risk of cognitive impairment and rapid cognitive decline. However, it has yet to be determined how loneliness influences cognitively healthy aging. This study makes use of the large, nationally representative Canadian Longitudinal Study of Aging (CLSA) to address this question. Based on the baseline and first follow-up datasets collected 3 years apart (n > 20,000 healthy individuals), we found that higher perceived loneliness predicted decreased scores in the immediate recall test at baseline and in two tests of prospective memory at first follow-up 3 years after baseline. We also examined whether a single-item measurement of loneliness widely used in the field of gerontology, including CLSA, has predictive validity, i.e., can contribute to the prognosis of a future level of cognitive functioning. We found low predictive validity and low test-retest (baseline to follow-up) reliability of this measurement type. These findings impose constraints on proposed accounts of loneliness as a risk factor and methods of examining its relation to cognitive aging.

Regression-based, demographically adjusted norms for Victoria Stroop Test, Digit Span, and Verbal Fluency for Sri Lankan adults

OBJECTIVE

Lack of test norms is a major limitation in neuropsychological assessment in many non-English-speaking countries. Our objective was to generate sex-, age-, and education-adjusted, regression-based norms for three pen-and-paper-based executive function/working memory tests, viz. Victoria Stroop Test (VST), Digit Span, and Verbal Fluency, for Sinhala-Speaking Sri Lankan adults.

METHOD

Six-hundred and six healthy, community-living, Sinhala-speaking adults (273 men) aged 19-83 years completed VST, Digit Span (forward and backward), and Phonemic (Sinhala phonemes "N," "P," and "S") and Category (animals and vegetables) Fluency tests. We conducted multiple linear regression analyses with sex, age, and years of education fitted as predictors to model the test outcome variables.

RESULTS

Younger age was associated with better performance in all tests except in Phonemic Fluency. Longer education was associated with better performance in all outcomes except VST errors and interference. Women had a significant but small advantage over men in VST Neutral and Color Word tests, and Phonemic Fluency. We report regression equations to predict norms for the test performance measures based on sex, age, and years of education; and the test variances accounted by these factors.

CONCLUSIONS

We propose demographically adjusted norms for VST, Digit Span, and Verbal Fluency for Sinhala-speaking Sri Lankans aged 19-83 years, and supplement the regression formulae with a calculator that produces predicted and standard scores. These norms would help in interpreting the results of clinical samples in the future, taking into account the variability introduced by sex, age, and education.

When I'm 64: Age-related variability in over 40,000 online cognitive test takers

Objectives

Age-related differences in cognition are typically assessed by comparing groups of older to younger participants, but little is known about the continuous trajectory of cognitive changes across age, or when a shift to older adulthood occurs. We examined the pattern of mean age differences and variability on episodic memory and executive function measures over the adult life span, in a more fine-grained way than past group or life-span comparisons.

Method

We used a sample of over 40,000 people aged 18–90 who completed psychometrically validated online tests measuring episodic memory and executive functions (the Cogniciti Brain Health Assessment).

Results

Cognitive performance declined gradually over adulthood, and rapidly later in life on spatial working memory, processing speed, facilitation (but not interference), associative recognition, and set shifting. Both polynomial and segmented regression fit the data well, indicating a nonlinear pattern. Segmented regression revealed a shift from gradual to rapid decline that occurred in the early 60s. Variability between people (interindividual variability or diversity) and variability within a person across tasks (intraindividual variability or dispersion) also increased gradually until the 60s, and rapidly after. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a single general factor (of variance shared between tasks) offered a good fit for performance across tasks.

Discussion

Life-span cognitive performance shows a nonlinear pattern, with gradual decline over early and mid-adulthood, followed by a transition in the 60s to notably accelerated, but more variable, decline. Some people show less decline than others, and some cognitive abilities show less within-person decline than others.

Acute Exercise and Cognitive Function in Alzheimer's Disease

BACKGROUND

Many studies have shown the impact of acute aerobic exercises (AAE) on cognition in healthy adults or at a pre-dementia stage. Few studies, however, have explored the positive effects of AAE in moderate Alzheimer's disease (ADM) patients.

OBJECTIVE

Evaluating the effect of AAE on cognitive functions in ADM patients.

METHODS

Overall, 79 (age: 69.62±0.99) ADM patients were recruited. Participants were divided into three groups according to the task: aerobic exercises done alone or combined with cognitive games presented on a screen, and a control group who performed a reading task. The aerobic exercise protocol consisted of a 20-min cycling exercise of moderate intensity, corresponding to 60%of the individual target maximal heart rate recorded in a 6-minute walking test. The participants' cognition was monitored before and after the intervention using the Tower of Hanoi, Digit Span, and Stroop tasks.

RESULTS

After the exercise, the participants' attention in both the physical and combined groups improved for the Stroop, the forward and backward Digit Span tasks, as well as the time taken to solve the Tower of Hanoi, although no significant differences were found in the number of moves taken in the latter. By contrast, the control group did not show any significant improvement for most of the cognitive tasks after the reading session.

CONCLUSION

Current evidence suggests that AAE may help to improve cognitive functions in ADM patients. This improvement is enhanced when the exercise is combined with cognitive games. Safe and progressive types of exercises should be promoted among ADM patients.

Comparing Biological Age Estimates Using Domain-Specific Measures From the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

Many studies have shown that estimates of biological age (BA) can predict health-related outcomes in older adults. Often, researchers employ multiple measures belonging to a variety of biological/physiological systems, and assess the validity of BA estimates by how well they approximate chronological age (CA). However, it is not clear whether this is the best approach for judging a BA estimate, or whether certain groups of measures are more informative to this end. Using data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, we composed panels of biological measures based on the physiological systems/domains they belong to (blood, organ function, physical/cognitive performance), and also composed a panel of measures that optimized the association of BA with CA. We then compared BA estimates for each according to their association with CA and health-related outcomes, including frailty, multimorbidity, chronic condition domains, disability, and health care utilization. Although BA estimated using all 40 measures (r = 0.74) or our age-optimized panel (r = 0.77) most closely approximated CA, the strength of associations to health-related outcomes was comparable or weaker than that of our panel composed only of physical performance measures (CA r = 0.59). All BA estimates were significantly associated to the outcomes considered, with exception to the neurological and musculoskeletal disease domains, and only varied slightly by sex. In summary, while the approximation of CA is important to consider when estimating BA, the strength of associations to prospective outcomes may be of greater importance. Hence, the context in which BA is estimated should be influenced by an investigator's specific research goals.

Predicting Age From Behavioral Test Performance for Screening Early Onset of Cognitive Decline

Background: Neuronal reactions and cognitive processes slow down during aging. The onset, rate, and extent of changes vary considerably from individual to individual. Assessing the changes throughout the lifespan is a challenging task. No existing test covers all domains, and batteries of tests are administered. The best strategy is to study each functional domain separately by applying different behavioral tasks whereby the tests reflect the conceptual structure of cognition. Such an approach has limitations that are described in the article. Objective: Our aim was to improve the diagnosis of early cognitive decline. We estimated the onset of cognitive decline in a healthy population, using behavioral tests, and predicted the age group of an individual. The comparison between the predicted ("cognitive") and chronological age will contribute to the early diagnosis of accelerated aging. Materials and Methods: We used publicly available datasets (POBA, SSCT) and Pearson correlation coefficients to assess the relationship between age and tests results, Kruskal-Wallis test to compare distribution, clustering methods to find an onset of cognitive decline, feature selection to enhance performance of the clustering algorithms, and classification methods to predict an age group from cognitive tests results. Results: The major results of the psychophysiological tests followed a U-shape function across the lifespan, which reflected the known inverted function of white matter volume changes. Optimal values were observed in those aged over 35 years, with a period of stability and accelerated decline after 55-60 years of age. The shape of the age-related variance of the performance of major cognitive tests was linear, which followed the trend of lifespan gray matter volume changes starting from adolescence. There was no significant sex difference in lifelong dynamics of major tests estimates. The performance of the classification model for identifying subject age groups was high. Conclusions: ML models can be designed and utilized as computer-aided detectors of neurocognitive decline. Our study demonstrated great promise for the utility of classification models to predict age-related changes. These findings encourage further explorations combining several tests from the cognitive and psychophysiological test battery to derive the most reliable set of tests toward the development of a highly-accurate ML model.

An Auditory Stroop Test to Implement in Cognitive Hearing Sciences: Development and Normative Data

Objective:

This study developed and gained insight in an auditory Stroop test, implementable in cognitive hearing sciences.

Methods:

An auditory Stroop test was developed and performed in 178 participants, aged between 18 and 69 years. This Auditory Stroop test consisted of two tests: Stroop-tones and Stroop-words whereby the pitch of pure-tones and spoken words (i.e., the words high and low) had to be identified by high or low, respectively. An interference score was calculated as a measure of verbal executive functioning. Regression models were conducted to examine the effect of age, sex, education, awakeness, hearing, as well as visual and verbal working memory, and processing speed on the auditory Stroop scores. Normative data were obtained per age decade.

Results:

Compared to the visual counterparts, the auditory Stroop outcomes were better predicted by verbal working memory and processing speed. A trend was observed showing a decrease in performances with increasing age. No other participant-related variables had a significant relationship with the auditory Stroop test.

Conclusion:

This auditory Stroop test was considered a good test for measuring executive functioning using auditory stimuli. Implementing this auditory Stroop test within cognitive hearing sciences will contribute to unravel the auditory-cognitive perspective of speech understanding.

Peripheral endocannabinoid serum level in association with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) treatment in patients with major depressive disorder

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is an effective and well tolerable biological intervention in major depressive disorder (MDD) contributing to rapid symptom improvement. Molecular mechanisms underpinning the therapeutic effects of rTMS have still not been clarified. Recently published animal data implicated relevant associations with changes in endocannabinoid (eCB) brain levels during rTMS treatment, human studies, however, have not been published. In our study we assessed the detailed phenotypic spectrum of MDD and serum 2-arachidnoylglycerol (2-AG) and anandamide (AEA) levels in 18 patients with treatment-resistant depression before, immediately following, and two weeks after completion of a 10-day rTMS treatment. We found significant associations between serum 2-AG level changes from pretreatment to 2 weeks after treatment and symptom reduction. The greater the increase of 2-AG levels, the greater the improvement of depressive (p = 0.031), anxious (p = 0.007) and anhedonia symptoms (p = 0.047). Here we report for the first time a significant association of human circulating eCB and antidepressant effect of rTMS. Our data may indicate that direct stimulation of targeted brain areas can rapidly alleviate depressive complaints via activation of the eCB system.

GABA Supplementation Negatively Affects Cognitive Flexibility Independent of Tyrosine

Increasing evidence, particularly from animal studies, suggests that dopamine and GABA are important modulators of cognitive flexibility. In humans, increasing dopamine synthesis through its precursor tyrosine has been shown to result in performance improvements, but few studies have reported the effects of GABA supplementation in healthy participants. We conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized experiment to test the interactive effects of tyrosine and GABA administration on two measures of cognitive flexibility, response inhibition and task switching. A total of 48 healthy volunteers were split into four groups (placebo, tyrosine alone, GABA alone, and tyrosine and GABA combined). They completed cognitive flexibility tasks at baseline and after drug administration. We found that tyrosine alone had no impact on the measures of cognitive flexibility, whereas GABA alone and in combination with tyrosine worsened task switching. Our results provide preliminary evidence that putative increases in GABA and dopamine synthesis do not interact to affect cognitive flexibility performance.

Using Virtual Reality to Assess and Promote Transfer of Memory Training in Older Adults With Memory Complaints: A Randomized Controlled Trial

In this proof-of-concept study, we assessed the potential for immersive virtual reality (VR) to measure transfer following strategic memory training, and whether efficacy and transfer are increased when training is complemented by practice in an immersive virtual environment. Forty older adults with subjective memory complaints were trained with the method of loci. They were randomized to either a condition where they practiced the strategy in VR (n = 20) or a control condition where they were familiarized with VR using a non-memory task (n = 20). Training efficacy was measured with word recall, and transfer of the training benefit was measured with a recall task completed in two VR tasks (primary outcomes) as well as a self-report memory questionnaire (secondary outcomes). Testing was administered before (PRE), midway (POST 3), and after (POST 6) training. Participants improved their scores on word recall. Regarding transfer measures, participants improved their performance in the two VR recall tasks but not on the self-report memory questionnaire. No significant group effect was observed. Improvement was found when comparing PRE to POST 3 with no further improvement at POST 6. Thus, strategic memory training improved the memory of seniors with memory complaints on word recall and a transfer task relying on a VR scenario that resembles real-life. However, no evidence supporting an increase in transfer effects was found when enriching training with VR memory exercises.

Neurocognitive functioning among people accessing an addiction neuropsychology clinic with and without a history of offending behaviour

Effectiveness of interventions for violent behaviour may be undermined by the presence of neurocognitive impairment, which is known to be common among alcohol and other drug (AOD) users and violent offenders. The current study aimed to examine whether the cognitive functioning of individuals with AOD histories presenting to a specialist addiction neuropsychology service differed according to their offending history (i.e. non-offending, non-violent offending and violent offending), using a retrospective case file audit design. Data were extracted from 190 clients. Tests assessed a breadth of cognitive domains. Violent offenders demonstrated the lowest premorbid IQ out of the three groups, and a significantly higher proportion of violent offenders presented with impaired divided attention and impaired cognitive inhibition compared to non-violent offenders. Rates of impairment across groups were well beyond those expected within the general population. Delivery of both AOD and violence interventions should be adapted to accommodate individuals' cognitive difficulties.

UD Interference Test: Creation and validation of a new instrument of resistance to interference. Normalization and standardization for Spanish population

INTRODUCTION

The UD Interference Test measures processing speed and attention, and is based on the concept of interference of the Stroop Test. The main purpose of the study is to provide an alternative version of the Stroop Test that overcomes some of the limitations of previous versions in assessing individuals with daltonism or age-related reading difficulties, and to obtain normative and standardised data for the Spanish population.

METHODS

This study is part of the Normacog project. We evaluated 905 individuals (age range, 18-93 years) to analyse the test's reliability and concurrent and construct validity. We evaluated the effect of age, sex, and level of education on UD Interference Test performance and calculated percentiles and age- and education-adjusted scaled scores.

RESULTS

The test has good reliability (α = 0.875) and concurrent (r = 0.443-0.725; p < .001) and construct validity (r = 0.472-0.737; p < .001). We observed age and educational level to have a significant effect on UD Interference Test scores, explaining 12-40% of variance. Sex only had a significant effect on the resistance to interference index.

CONCLUSIONS

We present an alternative version of the Stroop Color and Word Test with some advantages over previous versions. We provide standardised and normalised data for the Spanish population to correct the test according to the subject's age and level of education.