Visuomotor integration deficits are common to familial and sporadic preclinical Alzheimer's disease.

We investigated whether subtle visuomotor deficits were detectable in familial and sporadic preclinical Alzheimer's disease. A circle-tracing task-with direct and indirect visual feedback, and dual-task subtraction-was completed by 31 individuals at 50% risk of familial Alzheimer's disease (19 presymptomatic mutation carriers; 12 non-carriers) and 390 cognitively normal older adults (members of the British 1946 Birth Cohort, all born during the same week; age range at assessment = 69-71 years), who also underwent β-amyloid-PET/MRI to derive amyloid status (positive/negative), whole-brain volume and white matter hyperintensity volume. We compared preclinical Alzheimer's groups against controls cross-sectionally (mutation carriers versus non-carriers; amyloid-positive versus amyloid-negative) on speed and accuracy of circle-tracing and subtraction.

Visuospatial Processing Deficits Linked to Posterior Brain Regions in Premanifest and Early Stage Huntington's Disease.

Objectives: Visuospatial processing deficits have been reported in Huntington's disease (HD). To date, no study has examined associations between visuospatial cognition and posterior brain findings in HD.

Methods: We compared 119 premanifest (55> and 64<10.

The potential of composite cognitive scores for tracking progression in Huntington's disease.

Background: Composite scores derived from joint statistical modelling of individual risk factors are widely used to identify individuals who are at increased risk of developing disease or of faster disease progression.

Objective: We investigated the ability of composite measures developed using statistical models to differentiate progressive cognitive deterioration in Huntington's disease (HD) from natural decline in healthy controls.

Methods: Using longitudinal data from TRACK-HD, the optimal combinations of quantitative cognitive measures to differentiate premanifest and early stage HD individuals respectively from controls was determined using logistic regression.

Investigating facial affect processing in psychosis: a study using the Comprehensive Affective Testing System.

Facial affect processing (FAP) deficits in schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BD) have been widely reported; although effect sizes vary across studies, and there are limited direct comparisons of the two groups. Further, there is debate as to the influence of both psychotic and mood symptoms on FAP. This study aimed to address these limitations by recruiting groups of psychosis patients with either a diagnosis of SZ or BD and comparing them to healthy controls (HC) on a well validated battery of four FAP subtests: affect discrimination, name affect, select affect and match affect.

Investigating affective prosody in psychosis: a study using the Comprehensive Affective Testing System.

Affective prosody is substantially impaired in schizophrenia, yet little is known about affective prosody in bipolar disorder (BD). The aim of this study was to examine affective prosody performance in schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and BD on a newly released standardised assessment to further our understanding of BD performance. Fifty-four schizophrenia, 11 schizoaffective and 43 BD patients were compared with 112 healthy controls (HC) on four affective prosody subtests of the Comprehensive Affective Testing System (CATS).

Evaluation of longitudinal 12 and 24 month cognitive outcomes in premanifest and early Huntington's disease.

Background: Deterioration of cognitive functioning is a debilitating symptom in many neurodegenerative diseases, such as Huntington's disease (HD). To date, there are no effective treatments for the cognitive problems associated with HD. Cognitive assessment outcomes will have a central role in the efforts to develop treatments to delay onset or slow the progression of the disease.

Visual Working Memory Impairment in Premanifest Gene-Carriers and Early Huntington's Disease.

Working memory deficits have been found in Huntington's disease (HD) and in a small group of premanifest (PreHD) gene-carriers. However, the nature and extent of these deficits are unknown. In a large cross-sectional study, we aimed to determine the degree of visuospatial working memory dysfunction across multiple stages of HD.

Is semantic processing impaired in individuals with high schizotypy?

Semantic processing deficits are present in schizophrenia. However, this research has often been criticized for methodological artifacts and confounds, including long hospitalizations and medication of patient samples. Utilizing high schizotypes (psychosis-prone individuals) can overcome these confounds.