Factors influencing rates of unsupervised assessment of short-term learning in cognitively unimpaired adults.

Background: In older adults with preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD), learning curves derived from validated psychological learning paradigms are reduced to an extent greater than impairment, or decline, on neuropsychological memory tests.

Objective: This study aimed to examine how age, sex, education, mood, and general dementia risk, which also increases risk for preclinical AD, could influence learning curves.

Methods: 1050 adults enrolled in the BetterBrains trial completed 10 blocks of ORCA-LLT learning trials over 5 days.

Associations between multidomain modifiable dementia risk factors with AD biomarkers and cognition in middle-aged and older adults.

This study aimed to determine associations between modifiable dementia risk factors (MDRF), across domains mood symptomatology, lifestyle behaviors, cardiovascular conditions, cognitive/social engagement, sleep disorders/symptomatology, with cognition, beta-amyloid (Aβ) and tau, and brain volume. Middle-aged/older adults (n=82) enrolled in a sub-study of the Healthy Brain Project completed self-report questionnaires and a neuropsychological battery. Cerebrospinal fluid levels of Aβ 1-42, total tau (t-tau), and phosphorylated tau (p-tau) (Roche Elecsys), and MRI markers of hippocampal volume and total brain volume were obtained.

BDNF Val66Met moderates episodic memory decline and tau biomarker increases in early sporadic Alzheimer's disease.

Objective: Allelic variation in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met polymorphism has been shown to moderate rates of cognitive decline in preclinical sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD; i.e., Aβ + older adults), and pre-symptomatic autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease (ADAD).

Validation of a digit symbol substitution test for use in supervised and unsupervised assessment in mild Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: The Digit-Symbol-Substitution Test (DSST) is used widely in neuropsychological investigations of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). A computerized version of this paradigm, the DSST-Meds, utilizes medicine-date pairings and has been developed for administration in both supervised and unsupervised environments. This study determined the utility and validity of the DSST-Meds for measuring cognitive dysfunction in early AD.

Protocol for a Mixed-Methods Process Evaluation of BetterBrains: A Person-Centered Online Intervention to Delay Cognitive Decline in Adults at Risk of Dementia.

Background: The BetterBrains Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) will evaluate the effectiveness of an online, person-centered, risk factor management, coaching intervention in community-dwelling, healthy adults at risk of cognitive decline. Multi-component interventions are challenging to evaluate due to program complexity and personalization to individual needs and contexts. This paper describes a multi-level process evaluation conducted alongside the BetterBrains RCT.

Cognitive Reserve Modifies the Relationship Between Neural Function, Neural Injury and Upper-Limb Recovery After Stroke.

Objective: To investigate whether cognitive reserve modifies the relationship between functional connectivity, lesion volume, stroke severity and upper-limb motor impairment and recovery in stroke survivors.

Methods: Ten patients with first-ever ischemic middle cerebral artery stroke completed the Cognitive Reserve Index Questionnaire at baseline. Upper-limb motor impairment and functional connectivity were assessed using the Fugl-Meyer Assessment and electroencephalography respectively at baseline and 3-months post-stroke.

Differential Effects of and Modifiable Risk Factors on Hippocampal Volume Loss and Memory Decline in Aβ- and Aβ+ Older Adults.

Background And Objectives: This prospective study sought to determine the association of modifiable/nonmodifiable components included in the Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging, and Incidence of Dementia (CAIDE) risk score with hippocampal volume (HV) loss and episodic memory (EM) decline in cognitively normal (CN) older adults classified as brain β-amyloid (Aβ) negative (Aβ-) or positive (Aβ+).

Methods: Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle study participants (age 58-91 years) who completed ≥2 neuropsychological assessments and a brain Aβ PET scan (n = 592) were included in this study. We computed the CAIDE risk score (age, sex, ε4 status, education, hypertension, body mass index [BMI], hypercholesterolemia, physical inactivity) and a modifiable CAIDE risk score (CAIDE-MR; education, hypertension, BMI, hypercholesterolemia, physical inactivity) for each participant.

The relationship between cognitive engagement and better memory in midlife.

Introduction: Engagement in cognitively stimulating work and activities may slow cognitive decline and dementia. We examined the individual and combined associations of four cognitive engagement indices (educational attainment, occupational complexity, social engagement, and cognitively stimulating leisure activities) with objective and subjective cognition.

Methods: Middle-aged adults (n = 1864) enrolled in the Healthy Brain Project completed the Cogstate Brief Battery, the Cognitive Function Instrument, and self-report questionnaires of cognitive engagement.

Cardiovascular Risk Associated with Poorer Memory in Middle-Aged Adults from the Healthy Brain Project.

Background: Midlife cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) are associated with reduced cognition and an increased risk of dementia.

Objective: To further investigate this association using remote unsupervised online assessment of cognition and cardiovascular risk in middle-aged adults; and to explore the extent to which the association is altered by carriage of the APOE ɛ4 allele.

Methods: The Healthy Brain Project is an online cohort of middle-aged cognitively unimpaired adults (40-70 years) who have undergone cognitive assessment and provided self-reports of demographic and health history.

An Online, Person-Centered, Risk Factor Management Program to Prevent Cognitive Decline: Protocol for A Prospective Behavior-Modification Blinded Endpoint Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Several modifiable risk factors for dementia have been identified, although the extent to which their modification leads to improved cognitive outcomes remains unclear.

Objective: The primary aim is to test the hypothesis that a behavior modification intervention program targeting personalized risk factors prevents cognitive decline in community-dwelling, middle-aged adults with a family history of dementia.

Methods: This is a prospective, risk factor management, blinded endpoint, randomized, controlled trial, where 1510 cognitively normal, community-dwelling adults aged 40-70 years old will be recruited.

Cognitive Reserve as an Emerging Concept in Stroke Recovery.

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability. It is a complex and largely heterogeneous condition. Prognosis for variations in impairment and recovery following stroke continues to be challenging and inaccurate, highlighting the need to examine the influence of other currently unknown variables to better predict and understand interindividual differences in stroke impairment and recovery.

Unstable world: Recent experience affects spatial perception.

An accurate perception of the space surrounding us is central for effective and safe everyday functioning. Understanding the factors influencing spatial perception is therefore vital. Here, we first confirm previous reports that our cultural reading habits shape the perception of space.

Visual compensation in cervical dystonia.

: Visual-spatial processing can be affected in people with cervical dystonia (CD). These impairments have almost exclusively been observed in laboratory studies, but the impact of visuo-spatial impairments on daily activities is unclear. Here, we investigated how people living with CD visually explore the environment.

Does rTMS reduce depressive symptoms in young people who have not responded to antidepressants?

Aim: Depression is common in young people, and there is a need for safe, effective treatments. This study examined the efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in a sample of young people aged 17 to 25 years.

Methods: This retrospective study included 15 people aged 17 to 25 years referred by their private psychiatrists affiliated with Ramsay Health Care, South Australia Mental Health Services.