Publications by authors named "Joel Macoir"

Objective: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is defined as a self-reported perception of cognitive decline that occurs without clear objective signs of cognitive impairment. There is still uncertainty in the literature about the reliability of SCD as an accurate indicator of the early stages of major neurocognitive disorders. Furthermore, objectifying cognitive impairment in SCD is difficult, mainly due to the insensitivity of the assessment instruments.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The Dépistage Cognitif de Québec (DCQ) was created to detect atypical dementia, addressing the lack of specific cognitive screening tools and reducing delays in diagnosis and care.
  • - A study in Canada and the U.S. involving 260 English-speaking participants validated the English version of the DCQ, showing strong correlations with other cognitive assessments and high reliability across testing conditions.
  • - The English DCQ effectively identifies various atypical dementias, making it a quick, 20-minute alternative to comprehensive neuropsychological tests, with standardized scores based on age and education levels.
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Background: Although episodic memory is the primary concern in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), other cognitive functions may also be affected, including language. Language impairment in individuals with MCI has been attributed primarily to the breakdown of semantic representations, difficulties in accessing semantic information, and the weakening of executive functions. However, in most prior studies of word processing in individuals with MCI, researchers have used measures focused on noun production.

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Objective: The production of words in verbal fluency tests relies heavily on executive functions and linguistic abilities. New tests such as the famous people fluency test can also be useful in clinical practice and research. This test, in which participants are asked to name so many famous people, has the potential to distinguish healthy individuals from participants with neurological disorders such as mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease.

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Objective: The mini Social cognition & Emotional Assessment (mini-SEA) is a social cognition battery which assesses theory of mind and emotion recognition. Currently, no psychometrically validated measure of social cognition with adapted normative data exists for the middle-aged and elderly French-Quebec population. This project aims to determine the known-group discriminant validity of a cultural and linguistic adaptation of the mini-SEA between cognitively healthy people, those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or living with Alzheimer's Disease (AD).

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Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) may serve as an early indicator of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, accurately quantifying cognitive impairment in SCD is challenging, mainly because existing assessment tools lack sensitivity. This study examined how tasks specifically designed to assess knowledge of famous people, could potentially aid in identifying cognitive impairment in SCD.

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Objective: People with aphasia often experience semantic memory (SM) impairment. To improve diagnostic outcomes, SM tasks should recruit various sensory input channels (oral, written, and pictographic), permitting accessible, complete evaluation. There is a need for SM batteries for French-speaking Quebecers that use multiple input channels.

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Assessing naming abilities is a standard clinical procedure for adults and is usually carried out using picture naming tests. However, the use of picture naming tests can have limitations, as people may have visual impairments that can affect the validity of the measurement. This article introduces the DDQ-30, a new naming-from-definition test for detecting anomia in people with visual-perceptual limitations.

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Like other Semitic languages, Arabic is known for its rich morphology and consonantal writing system. In this article, we report the first case of acquired surface dyslexia in an Arabic-speaking patient (HBS). Surface dyslexia is characterised by difficulty reading irregularly spelled words, while performance is better with regular words and nonwords.

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There is no quick, valid, and reliable screening tool in Turkish that can be used for screening language disorders associated with major neurocognitive disorders (MND). To fill this gap, we designed three distinct studies. In the first study, we adapted the Detection Test for Language Impairments in Adults and the Aged into the Turkish language (DTLA-Tr).

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The Judgment of Line Orientation (JLO) Test of Benton assesses visuospatial processing without requiring motor skills. The test is frequently used in geriatric or brain-injured populations. As with other cognitive tests, performance on the JLO test may vary according to age, level of education, sex, and cultural background of individuals.

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Verbal fluency tests, known to elicit executive functions (EFs), have proven useful in distinguishing healthy individuals from those with cognitive impairment. The present study addresses two new tests of verbal fluency that elicit EFs, namely, extradimensional alternating fluency (EAF) and extradimensional orthographic constraint semantic fluency (EOCSF). The aim of Study 1 was to provide normative data in the adult and elderly population of French Québec for the two fluency tests.

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The logopenic variant of primary progressive aphasia (lvPPA) is characterized mainly by anomia, production of phonological errors, and impairment in repetition of sentences. The functional origin of these language impairments is mainly attributed to the breakdown of phonological short-term memory. The present study examined the effects of phonological short-term memory impairment on language processing in lvPPA.

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Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) encompasses a wide range of conditions, including cognitive impairment associated with stroke or vascular brain injury, mild vascular cognitive impairment, and vascular dementia (VD). Knowledge of language impairment associated with VD is far less extensive than that of Alzheimer's disease. Although not prevalent in VD, impairment in language skills has been reported.

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The Tower of London (ToL) is a neuropsychological test used to assess several executive functions such as strategical reasoning, mental planning, and problem-solving. Like other cognitive tests, performance on the ToL can vary according to age, level of education, sex, and cultural background of individuals. The present study aimed to establish normative data for the Drexel version of the ToL among French-Quebec people aged 50 years and over.

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Objective: The 12-item Buschke memory test is used to assess verbal episodic memory in adults and older adults. However, there is no normative data for this test adjusted to the older Quebec-French population. The aim of the study was to produce normative data for the 12-item Buschke for the Quebec-French population aged 50 and older.

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Verbal fluency tests are used to assess executive functions and language. The verb fluency test has proven successful in distinguishing healthy individuals (HCs) from participants with pathological conditions. However, few normative and psychometric studies have been published for the verb fluency test.

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Objective: Despite the widespread use of the Color Trails Test (CTT) in clinical and research settings, information regarding the impact of sociodemographic variables on test performance in Quebec-French adults and elderly people is non-existent. This study aimed to establish French-Quebec normative data for error scores and completion time on all test trials (CTT1 and CTT2) taking into account the impact of age, education, and sex on test performance.

Method: The sample consisted of 169 community-dwelling and healthy Quebec-French individuals aged between 50 and 90 years and having between 6 and 21 years of formal education.

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Objective: Although evidence has indicated that subjective cognitive decline (SCD) may be an early sign of Alzheimer's disease (AD), the objectification of cognitive impairment in SCD is challenging, mainly due to the lack of sensitivity in assessment tools. The present study investigated the potential contribution of two verbal fluency tasks with high executive processing loads to the identification of cognitive impairment in SCD.

Methods: A total of 60 adults with SCD and 60 healthy controls (HCs) performed one free action (verb) fluency task and two fluency tasks with more executive processing load-an alternating fluency task and an orthographic constraint fluency task-and the results were compared.

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The Arabic writing system includes ambiguities that create difficulties in spelling. These ambiguities relate mainly to the long vowels, some phoneme-grapheme conversions, lexical particularities, and the connectivity of letters. In this article, the first to specifically explore acquired spelling impairments in an Arabic-speaking individual, we report the case of CHS, who presented with agraphia following a stroke.

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Objective: The story recall subtest of the (BEM-144) is a verbal episodic memory test that assesses immediate and episodic memory. Variables such as age, sex, and education level can impact performance on this type of memory test, as can cultural differences. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to establish normative data for the story recall subtest of the BEM-144 in the elderly French-Quebec population.

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Background: Alzheimer disease dementia may be preceded by cognitive stages during which behavioral and psychological changes can occur. More precisely, behavioral symptoms may be observed during the subjective cognitive decline (SCD) or the mild cognitive impairment (MCI) stages; these symptoms can be measured using the Mild Behavioral Impairment Checklist (MBI-C).

Objective: To validate the French-Quebec version of the MBI-C in individuals ages 60-85 years.

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Unlabelled: The Detection Test for Language Impairments in Adults and the Aged (DTLA) is a quick, sensitive, and standardized screening test designed to assess language disorders in adults and elderly people. The test was specifically developed to detect linguistic impairment associated with major neurocognitive disorders. In 2017, we established normative data on 545 healthy individuals between 50 and 80 years old from four French-speaking countries: Belgium, Canada (Quebec), France, and Switzerland.

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Background: Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is a clinico-radiological syndrome characterized by a progressive decline in visuospatial/visuoperceptual processing. PCA is accompanied by the impairment of other cognitive functions, including language abilities.

Methods: The present study focused on three patients presenting with language complaints and a clinical profile that was compatible with PCA.

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Background: The role of semantic knowledge in emotion recognition remains poorly understood. The semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia (svPPA) is a degenerative disorder characterized by progressive loss of semantic knowledge, while other cognitive abilities remain spared, at least in the early stages of the disease. The syndrome is therefore a reliable clinical model of semantic impairment allowing for testing the propositions made in theoretical models of emotion recognition.

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