Misleading conclusions about word memory test results in multiple sclerosis (MS) by Loring and Goldstein (2019).

Loring and Goldstein presented a case of a woman with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) who failed the traditional performance validity criteria of the WMT. Scoring lower than the mean from patients with Alzheimer's Disease on extremely easy subtests, the patient carried on to produce a WMT profile which is typical of someone with invalid test results, based on the usual interpretation, which is standardized within the Advanced Interpretation Program. Statements were made that are incorrect, including the claim there are no available data on the WMT in MS patients, that the minor tranquilizer Lorazepam can explain WMT failure even in healthy adults and that this patient produced a neuropsychological profile that is credible and typical of MS.

Functional Somatic Syndrome: Assessment and Management.

Functional somatic syndrome (FSS) occurs in as many as 30% of patients in general medical practice, but it is infrequently a topic of formal instruction. Many physicians feel uncomfortable with medically unexplained symptoms and are unfamiliar with how to assess or manage them. Traditional medical approaches can be ineffective and can contribute to iatrogenic or adverse physiologic effects in patients.

An investigation of impaired scores on the frontal assessment battery in a VA population.

In a population of inpatients, individuals were observed to continually score in the impaired range on the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) without exhibiting other signs of frontal-lobe damage. Investigations were undertaken to determine if the subtest structure, demographic factors, or general cognitive functioning may be responsible for patients' poor performance on the FAB overall. Participants were inpatients at the Ann Arbor Veterans Hospital who were administered a standard neuropsychological screening battery.

Neuropsychological evaluation in primary care.

Referring a patient to a neuropsychologist for evaluation provides a level of rigorous assessment of brain function that often cannot be obtained in other ways. The neuropsychologist integrates information from the patient's medical history, laboratory tests, and imaging studies; an in-depth interview; collateral information from the family and other sources; and standardized assessment instruments to draw conclusions about diagnosis, prognosis, and response to therapy. Family physicians can use this information in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with depression, dementia, concussion, and similar conditions, as well as to address concerns about decision-making capacity.

Results from the cognitive changes and retirement among senior surgeons self-report survey.

Background: The Cognitive Changes and Retirement among Senior Surgeons (CCRASS) study suggested that although subjective cognitive awareness may play a role in surgeons' retirement decisions, self-perceived cognitive decline did not predict objective cognitive performance. This article summarizes results from all participants who completed the survey portion of the CCRASS study.

Study Design: A survey examining subjective cognitive changes, changes in caseload, involvement in new technology, and retirement decisions, was administered to 995 surgeons at annual meetings of the Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons between 2001 and 2006.

Cognitive changes and retirement among senior surgeons (CCRASS): results from the CCRASS Study.

Background: Because individuals age cognitively at different rates, there is considerable interest in ways to assure that older surgeons have the physical and mental stamina, coordination, reaction time, and judgment to provide appropriate care. To clarify potential relationships between cognitive changes related to aging, the decision to retire, and changes in patterns of surgical practice, this study aimed to identify specific parameters of cognitive change among senior surgeons.

Study Design: Computerized cognitive tasks measuring sustained attention, reaction time, visual learning, and memory were administered to 359 surgeons at the annual meetings of the American College of Surgeons over a 6-year period.

Surgeons outperform normative controls on neuropsychologic tests, but age-related decay of skills persists.

Background: The present study was undertaken to determine if psychomotor and visual-spatial abilities improve as a result of surgical training or are enhanced at baseline in those individuals choosing a surgical career.

Methods: Medical students entering a surgical field and practicing surgeons performed a series of neuropsychologic tests. Performance was compared between surgeon groups, as well as with normative aged-matched controls.

Neuropsychological effects of stress on social phobia with and without comorbid depression.

Background: The influence of stress on neuropsychological functioning was assessed in socially phobic (SP), comorbid socially phobic/major depression (CM), and asymptomatic control subjects (AC) under baseline and stressor conditions.

Methods: Subjects were 33 clinically diagnosed undergraduates aged 18 to 41 years. Neuropsychological measures included the Trail Making Test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Spatial Span, and Digit Span administered during a baseline condition and a psychosocial stress condition (videotaping).