Recognition Subtests for Form B of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status: Preliminary Validation.

Objective: Develop and preliminarily validate recognition subtests for Form B of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS).

Method: 49 older adults with no cognitive impairment were compared to 53 individuals with a primary neurocognitive disorder (e.g.

Longitudinal post-shunt outcomes in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus with and without comorbid Alzheimer's disease.

Objective: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is highly comorbid with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) and may diminish the benefits of shunting; however, findings in this area are mixed. We examined postoperative outcomes, with emphases on cognition and utilization of novel scoring procedures to enhance sensitivity.

Methods: Using participant data from an iNPH outcome study at Butler Hospital, a mixed effect model examined main and interaction effects of time since surgery (baseline, 3 months, 12 months, and 24-60 months) and AD comorbidity (20 iNPH and 11 iNPH+AD) on activities of daily living (ADLs) and iNPH symptoms.

Boston cognitive assessment (BOCA) - a comprehensive self-administered smartphone- and computer-based at-home test for longitudinal tracking of cognitive performance.

Longitudinal cognitive testing is essential for developing novel preventive interventions for dementia and Alzheimer's disease; however, the few available tools have significant practice effect and depend on an external evaluator. We developed a self-administered 10-min at-home test intended for longitudinal cognitive monitoring, Boston Cognitive Assessment or BOCA. The goal of this project was to validate BOCA.

The Boston cognitive assessment: Psychometric foundations of a self-administered measure of global cognition.

The Boston Cognitive Assessment (BoCA) is a novel, computerized, self-administered assessment of global cognition. This work sought to establish the validity and reliability of the BoCA. Two studies were conducted.

Frontal Behavior Syndromes in Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus as a Function of Alzheimer's Disease Biomarker Status.

Objectives: Cognitive impairment and apathy are well-documented features of idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH). However, research examining other neuropsychiatric manifestations of iNPH is scant, and it is unknown whether the neuropsychiatric presentation differs for iNPH patients with comorbid Alzheimer's disease (AD) versus iNPH without AD. This study aims to advance our understanding of neuropsychiatric syndromes associated with iNPH.

Novel linguistic evaluation of prefrontal synthesis (LEPS) test measures prefrontal synthesis acquisition in neurotypical children and predicts high-functioning versus low-functioning class assignment in individuals with autism.

In order to grasp the difference between "the cat on the mat" and "the mat on the cat," understanding the words and the grammar is not enough. Rather it is essential to visualize the cat and the mat together to appreciate their relations. This type of imagination, which involves juxtaposition of mental objects is conducted by the prefrontal cortex and is therefore called Prefrontal Synthesis (PFS).

Comparing patient and informant ratings of depressive symptoms in various stages of Alzheimer's disease.

Objective: Using a multimethod approach, this study assessed the relationship between patient and informant ratings of depression in Alzheimer's disease (AD) in a manner that better represents the progressive course of AD, and allows for elucidation of specific cognitive domains that may explain changes in respondent agreement.

Method: Case data ( = 16,297) were provided by the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center (NACC). A series of contingency analyses were performed to assess the relationship between patient and informant agreement across levels of impairment in individuals with AD.

Neuropsychological profile associated with Moyamoya disease: A case report.

Background: Moyamoya disease (MMD) is a rare cardiovascular condition characterized by stenosis and gradual occlusion of the internal carotid arteries near the Circle of Willis. Current research on the disease has primarily been restricted to its medical implications, without adequate appreciation for its neurocognitive and/or neuropsychiatric implications.

Objectives: The current study presents the neurocognitive profile of a 31-year-old woman diagnosed with MMD, further complicated by cerebral vascular accidents (CVAs) and history of bilateral craniotomy aimed at providing maximal revascularization.

Neuropsychological impairment in Hashimoto's encephalopathy: A case report and literature review.

Hashimoto's encephalopathy (HE) is a rare neurological syndrome characterized by the presence of positive serum antithyroid antibodies, altered mental status, and clinical response to glucocorticoid therapy. Although HE has been documented in the literature from a medical standpoint, reports on the neuropsychological presentation of this syndrome are scarce. This article presents a literature review of cognitive deficits reported in HE cases.

Alzheimer's disease and diet: a systematic review.

Unlabelled: Purpose/Aim: Approximately 44 million people worldwide have Alzheimer's disease (AD). Numerous claims have been made regarding the influence of diet on AD development. The aims of this systematic review were to summarize the evidence considering diet as a protective or risk factor for AD, identify methodological challenges and limitations, and provide future research directions.

Two Novel Psychomotor Tasks in Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus.

Objective: Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (INPH) is a neurological disorder presenting with gait, cognitive, and bladder symptoms in the context of ventricular enlargement. Although gait is the primary indicator for treatment candidacy and outcome, additional monitoring tools are needed. Line Tracing Test (LTT) and Serial Dotting Test (SDT), two psychomotor tasks, have been introduced as potential outcome measures but have not been widely studied.

Estimating the age of healthy infants from quantitative myelin water fraction maps.

The trajectory of the developing brain is characterized by a sequence of complex, nonlinear patterns that occur at systematic stages of maturation. Although significant prior neuroimaging research has shed light on these patterns, the challenge of accurately characterizing brain maturation, and identifying areas of accelerated or delayed development, remains. Altered brain development, particularly during the earliest stages of life, is believed to be associated with many neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders.

White matter maturation profiles through early childhood predict general cognitive ability.

Infancy and early childhood are periods of rapid brain development, during which brain structure and function mature alongside evolving cognitive ability. An important neurodevelopmental process during this postnatal period is the maturation of the myelinated white matter, which facilitates rapid communication across neural systems and networks. Though prior brain imaging studies in children (4 years of age and above), adolescents, and adults have consistently linked white matter development with cognitive maturation and intelligence, few studies have examined how these processes are related throughout early development (birth to 4 years of age).

Mixed effects of deep brain stimulation on depressive symptomatology in Parkinson's disease: a review of randomized clinical trials.

Although ~50% of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) experience depression, treatment for this important and debilitating comorbidity is relatively understudied. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been increasingly utilized for the management of tremors in progressive PD. Several preliminary studies have shown the potential benefit of DBS for non-motor PD symptoms such as depression.

Neuropsychiatric symptoms in an inpatient Parkinson's disease sample.

Background. Neuropsychiatric symptoms are common in idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD), and hospitalization for delirium, depression, psychosis, and anxiety is sometimes required. A minimal amount of data exists on these patients.

Characterizing longitudinal white matter development during early childhood.

Post-mortem studies have shown the maturation of the brain's myelinated white matter, crucial for efficient and coordinated brain communication, follows a nonlinear spatio-temporal pattern that corresponds with the onset and refinement of cognitive functions and behaviors. Unfortunately, investigation of myelination in vivo is challenging and, thus, little is known about the normative pattern of myelination, or its association with functional development. Using a novel quantitative magnetic resonance imaging technique sensitive to myelin we examined longitudinal white matter development in 108 typically developing children ranging in age from 2.

White matter development and early cognition in babies and toddlers.

The normal myelination of neuronal axons is essential to neurodevelopment, allowing fast inter-neuronal communication. The most dynamic period of myelination occurs in the first few years of life, in concert with a dramatic increase in cognitive abilities. How these processes relate, however, is still unclear.

Breastfeeding and early white matter development: A cross-sectional study.

Does breastfeeding alter early brain development? The prevailing consensus from large epidemiological studies posits that early exclusive breastfeeding is associated with improved measures of IQ and cognitive functioning in later childhood and adolescence. Prior morphometric brain imaging studies support these findings, revealing increased white matter and sub-cortical gray matter volume, and parietal lobe cortical thickness, associated with IQ, in adolescents who were breastfed as infants compared to those who were exclusively formula-fed. Yet it remains unknown when these structural differences first manifest and when developmental differences that predict later performance improvements can be detected.

The APOE ε4 allele is associated with increased frontally mediated neurobehavioral symptoms in amnestic MCI.

The apolipoprotein E ε4 allele is a risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer disease (AD), and the frontal lobes may be among the regions that manifest effects of ε4 even early in the disease. We predicted that among patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and AD, ε4 would be associated with increased neurobehavioral symptoms when assessed using a measure sensitive to frontal lobe integrity. We obtained cognitive data and caregiver ratings on the Frontal Systems Behavior Scale (FrSBe) for aMCI patients (N=29 ε4 carriers; N=29 noncarriers) and AD patients (N=47 carriers; N=42 noncarriers).

Using mental imagery to improve memory in patients with Alzheimer disease: trouble generating or remembering the mind's eye?

This study was conducted to understand whether patients with mild Alzheimer disease (AD) could use general or self-referential mental imagery to improve their recognition of visually presented words. Experiment 1 showed that, unlike healthy controls, patients generally did not benefit from either type of imagery. To help determine whether the patients' inability to benefit from mental imagery at encoding was due to poor memory or due to an impairment in mental imagery, participants performed 4 imagery tasks with varying imagery and cognitive demands.