Longitudinal neuropsychological performance of post-stroke adults with and without rehabilitation.

This study compared the neuropsychological performance of two post-stroke groups, one undergoing rehabilitation and the other not receiving any intervention, on the acute and chronic stroke phases, and explored sociodemographic and neurological variables associated with changes in performance over time. Sixty-three adults underwent neuropsychological assessment with the Cognitive Screening Instrument (TRIACOG) less than thirty days after having a stroke and were reassessed three to six months after stroke. Thirty-eight participants did not undertake rehabilitation and twenty-five did physiotherapy and/or speech therapy between the two time points.

The Role of Emergent Literacy Assessment in Brazilian Portuguese Literacy Acquisition during COVID-19.

The contributions of emergent literacy skills to reading and writing development have been evidenced in different linguistic contexts. The worsening of the Brazil literacy scenario during the pandemic denoted the importance of a better understanding of these contributions' specificities in Brazilian Portuguese to support evidence-based mitigation strategies. This study aimed to analyze the associations between emergent literacy components (emergent writing, alphabet knowledge, vocabulary, and phonological awareness) and word/pseudoword reading and spelling performance in first grade students during COVID-19.

Clustering and switching analysis of verb fluency in individuals with Alzheimer's disease.

Purpose: To investigate verb fluency performance in individuals with Alzheimer's disease compared with healthy older adults by analyzing total correct responses, number of clusters, average cluster size, and number of switches.

Methods: This is a case-control study of 39 healthy older adults and 29 older adults with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Verb fluency performance was analyzed in terms of total number of correct verbs retrieved, number of clusters, average cluster size, and number of switches.

Word Reading and Spelling Processing and Acquired Dyslexia post Unilateral Stroke.

This study investigates the performance of adults with cerebrovascular lesion in the right hemisphere (RHL) or left hemisphere (LHL) in word reading (TLPP) and spelling (TEPP) tasks based on the dual-route models. A total of 85 adults were assessed, divided into three groups: 10 with RHL, 15 with LHL, and 60 neurologically healthy ones. The performance of the three groups was compared in terms of the characteristics of the words (regularity, frequency, and length) and pseudowords (length), error types, and psycholinguistic effects.

MAOA-LPR polymorphism and math anxiety: A marker of genetic susceptibility to social influences in girls?

Math anxiety (MA) seems to result from an interaction of genetic vulnerability with negative experiences learning mathematics. Although mathematics achievement does not substantially differ between the sexes, MA levels are usually higher in girls. Molecular genetic markers of MA vulnerability have been seldom explored.

Do boys with MAOA_LPR*2R allele present cognitive and learning impairments?

Unlabelled: Monoamine oxidase A () polymorphisms have been associated with antisocial disorders. Less attention has been paid to the cognitive functioning of individuals with different alleles. No study has described the cognitive phenotype associated with the less frequent, low enzyme activity allele, MAOA_LPR*2R.

Evidence of validity based on the relation to other variables and inter-rater reliability of the Cognitive Screening (TRIACOG) for adults with cerebrovascular diseases.

This study presents evidence of validity and reliability of the results obtained with the Cognitive Screening (TRIACOG) to evaluate post-stroke adults. The TRIACOG assesses orientation memory, language, arithmetic, praxis, information processing speed, and executive functions. A total of 126 post-stroke adults ( = 63.

Inattention Symptoms are Predictors of Neuropsychological Functioning in Children from 3rd and 4th Grades.

Symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity, arranged along a continuum, are commonly associated with neuropsychological and academic deficits, even in the general population. The aim of this study is to analyze how Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms are associated with the performance in neuropsychological and academic abilities (phonological processing, processing speed/automatic attention, executive functions, reading, and spelling) in school-age children. The sample consisted of 216 children from 3 and 4 grades (M = 8.

Age, Education and Intellectual Quotient Influences: Structural Equation Modeling on the study of Benton Visual Retention Test (BVRT).

This study searched for sociodemographic influences on visual memory and visuoconstructive ability in healthy and clinical samples evaluated with Benton Visual Retention Test (BVRT) in two studies. In Study 1, we searched for changes related to age in children, adolescents, adults and elderly on the performance of the BVRT. In Study 2, we investigated the relations among age, years of education and intellectual quotient (IQ) on the performance of the BVRT using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM).

Intragroup differences and similarities in performance on rapid automatized naming tasks in children with ADHD symptoms, children with reading disabilities, and controls.

Introduction Rapid automatized naming (RAN) is the ability to name, as fast as possible, symbols such as letters, digits and figures. The present study aimed to investigate intragroup performance patterns on RAN tasks in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms alone, children with reading disability (RD) alone and controls with typical development. Methods A total of 216 Brazilian children between 8 to 11 years old were selected from public schools located in two Brazilian capitals, namely Porto Alegre and Belo Horizonte, to participate in the study.

Are "cool" executive function impairments more salient in ADHD symptoms than in reading disability?

Introduction: Reading disability (RD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms often co-occur in school-age children.

Methods: The present study evaluated the performance of 216 Brazilian children from 3 and 4 grades on "cool" executive function (EF) abilities and phonological processing. The children were divided into three groups: those with ADHD symptoms only, those with RD only, and controls.

Development of an instrument for collective assessment of fluency and comprehension of reading in elementary school students II.

Purpose: The study presents the process of developing of an instrument for collective evaluation of reading fluency and comprehension of secondary elementary school students in grades 6-9 and verifies the effect of schooling on performance in the instrument.

Methods: 100 students regularly enrolled in grades 6-9 in secondary elementary public schools participated in the study. The construction of the instrument involved seven steps, with the participation of two judges.

Memory monitoring and memory control in chronic stroke patients Dissociated processes.

Unlabelled: Memory problems are common in stroke patients, although little is known about how accurately chronic stroke patients can monitor and control memory processes.

Objective: The performance of memory and metamemory in stroke patients and healthy controls were investigated, as well as dissociation between performances.

Methods: 10 adults with right hemisphere lesion (mean [M] age=53.

Psychometric properties of cognitive screening for patients with cerebrovascular diseases A systematic review.

Unlabelled: Screening instruments are ideal for acute clinical settings because they are easy to apply, fast, inexpensive and sensitive for specific samples. However, there is a need to verify the psychometric properties of screening in stroke patients.

Objective: This study investigated the psychometric properties (methodological procedures) of cognitive screening for patients with cerebrovascular diseases.

What neuropsychological functions best discriminate performance in adults post-stroke?

This study aimed to develop a short version of an instrument to detect cognitive impairment in stroke patients, investigate which cognitive dimensions best discriminate between stroke patients and healthy adults and to graphically analyze the relationships among the neuropsychological variables and groups. This pilot study included 94 adults (49 post-stroke and 45 neurologically healthy) who answered the Brief Neuropsychological Assessment Battery NEUPSILIN for patients with expressive aphasia (NEUPSILIN-Af) to assess orientation, perception, memory, praxis, executive functions, oral language, and academic achievement (written language and arithmetic). The IRT Rasch model for dichotomous data indicated the exclusion of items that could not be used to discriminate performances.

Genetic and environmental risk factors for developmental dyslexia in children: systematic review of the last decade.

Despite advances in the characterization of developmental dyslexia (DD), several questions regarding the interplay between DD-susceptibility genes and environmental risk factors remain open. This systematic review aimed at answering the following questions: What has been the impact of new resources on the knowledge about DD? Which questions remain open? What is the investigative agenda for the short term? Forty-six studies were analyzed. Despite the growing literature on DD candidate genes, most studies have not been replicated.

Attention, memory, visuoconstructive, and executive task performance in adolescents with anxiety disorders: a case-control community study.

Objective:: The aim of the present study was to assess children and adolescents with mild and severe anxiety disorders for their performance in attention, verbal episodic memory, working memory, visuoconstructive skills, executive functions, and cognitive global functioning and conduct comparative analyses with the performance of children free from anxiety disorders.

Methods:: Our sample comprised 68 children and adolescents aged 10 to 17 years (41 with current diagnoses of anxiety disorders and 27 controls) selected from a larger cross-sectional community sample of adolescents. Children and adolescents with anxiety disorders were categorized into two groups on the basis of anxiety severity (mild or severe).

Phonemic verbal fluency and severity of anxiety disorders in young children.

Introduction: Previous studies have implicated impaired verbal fluency as being associated with anxiety disorders in adolescents.

Objectives: To replicate and extend previously reported evidence by investigating whether performance in phonemic verbal fluency tasks is related to severity of anxiety symptoms in young children with anxiety disorders. We also aim to investigate whether putative associations are independent from co-occurring attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms.

Can reactivity to stress and family environment explain memory and executive function performance in early and middle childhood?

Introduction: According to the literature, children's overall reactivity to stress is associated with their socioeconomic status and family environment. In turn, it has been shown that reactivity to stress is associated with cognitive performance. However, few studies have systematically tested these three constructs together.

Heterogeneity in semantic priming effect with a lexical decision task in patients after left hemisphere stroke.

Investigations on the semantic priming effect (SPE) in patients after left hemisphere (LH) lesions have shown disparities that may be explained by the variability in performance found among patients. The aim of the present study was to verify the existence of subgroups of patients after LH stroke by searching for dissociations between performance on the lexical decision task based on the semantic priming paradigm and performance on direct memory, semantic association and language tasks. All 17 patients with LH lesions after stroke (ten non-fluent aphasics and seven non aphasics) were analyzed individually.

Associations among environmental exposure to manganese, neuropsychological performance, oxidative damage and kidney biomarkers in children.

Environmental exposure to manganese (Mn) results in several toxic effects, mainly neurotoxicity. This study investigated associations among Mn exposure, neuropsychological performance, biomarkers of oxidative damage and early kidney dysfunction in children aged 6-12 years old. Sixty-three children were enrolled in this study, being 43 from a rural area and 20 from an urban area.

Acquired dysgraphia in adults following right or left-hemisphere stroke.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the strengths and difficulties in word and pseudoword writing in adults with left- and right-hemisphere strokes, and discuss the profiles of acquired dysgraphia in these individuals.

Methods: The profiles of six adults with acquired dysgraphia in left- or right-hemisphere strokes were investigated by comparing their performance on word and pseudoword writing tasks against that of neurologically healthy adults. A case series analysis was performed on the patients whose impairments on the task were indicative of acquired dysgraphia.

Phonemic verbal fluency is associated with pediatric anxiety disorders: evidence from a community study.

Background: Anxiety disorders typically begin in childhood and adolescence and predict risk for many problems throughout life. Although some neuropsychological correlates have been described, more research is needed, particularly in adolescents. This study compares neurocognitive characteristics of anxious adolescents with and without comorbidity to externalizing disorders to those of typically developing comparison (TDC) adolescents and adolescents with externalizing disorders alone.

Studies on semantic priming effects in right hemisphere stroke: A systematic review.

Unlabelled: The role of the right cerebral hemisphere (RH) associated with semantic priming effects (SPEs) must be better understood, since the consequences of RH damage on SPE are not yet well established.

Objective: The aim of this article was to investigate studies analyzing SPEs in patients affected by stroke in the RH through a systematic review, verifying whether there are deficits in SPEs, and whether performance varies depending on the type of semantic processing evaluated or stimulus in the task.

Methods: A search was conducted on the LILACS, PUBMED and PSYCINFO databases.

Comparison of neuropsychological performance between students from public and private Brazilian schools.

Neuropsychological assessment reveals that certain cognitive changes that take place during the neural development process may be associated with biopsychosocial issues. A substantial body of research has focused on cognitive development in children and adults, but few such studies have been carried out on adolescents. Therefore, research into the processing of neuropsychological functions in adolescents, taking into account the role of major socio-cultural factors such as school type (public vs.