Thyroid function, depressed mood, and cognitive performance in older individuals: the Maastricht Aging Study.

The hypothesis was tested that thyroid function, as indicated by serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) level, is associated with cognitive performance in a healthy aging population. In a random sample of 120 participants recruited from the Maastricht Aging Study (MAAS), aged between 49 and 71 years, we assessed TSH level, mood state (Symptom Check List, subscale depression), and three domains of cognitive function: verbal memory, general sensorimotor speed, and complex flexibility. After correction for age, sex, and educational level, a negative association between TSH and memory function was apparent: higher levels of TSH predicted lower levels of memory performance.

Reliability and validity of a qualitative and quantitative motor test for 5- to 6-year-old children.

Clumsiness in preschool children may be a precursor to impaired academic performance and psychological and developmental problems. It is assumed that in this age group especially the qualitative aspects (=pattern) of a movement reflect variations in motor development. Currently available motor tests for this age group, however, mostly objectify quantitative aspects of a movement alone and do not objectify qualitative aspects.

A voxel-based morphometric study to determine individual differences in gray matter density associated with age and cognitive change over time.

Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to examine the relation between age and gray matter density cross-sectionally and to study the association between gray matter density and longitudinal decline in performance on cognitive tests in healthy, non-demented elderly individuals. Participants were neuropsychologically tested at baseline and again after 3 years. Thirty-seven subjects (mean age 72.

The lysozyme of the starfish Asterias rubens. A paradygmatic type i lysozyme.

On the basis of a partial N-terminal sequence, Jollès and Jollès previously proposed that the lysozyme from the starfish Asterias rubens represents a new form of lysozyme, called type i (invertebrate) lysozyme. Indeed, it differed from both the types c (chicken) and g (goose) known in other animals, as well as from plant and phage lysozymes. Recently, several proteins belonging to the same family have been isolated from protostomes.

Do caregiver management strategies influence patient behaviour in dementia?

Objectives: Little is known about the effectiveness of caregiver management strategies on the functioning of the demented patient. However, identification of specific caregiver strategies may provide useful information on the management and manifestation of behavioural problems in dementia.

Methods: Ninety-nine patients with dementia and their informal caregivers were followed up for one year.

Cross-national comparison and validation of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale: results from the European Harmonization Project for Instruments in Dementia (EURO-HARPID).

Background: The Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS) is often used in international multicenter trials. Use across countries presupposes correct translation and adaptation of the scale, and maintenance of its psychometric properties.

Objectives: To compare the various translations of the ADAS used in Western Europe, to design internationally harmonized translations and to validate these.

Cognitive functioning in young and middle-aged unmedicated out-patients with major depression: testing the effort and cognitive speed hypotheses.

Background: Cognitive deficits are common in major depressive disorder, but their nature is unclear. The effort hypothesis states that performance on effortful tasks is disproportionately impaired compared with the performance on automatic tasks. The cognitive speed hypothesis states that depression is characterized by cognitive slowness, which is a source of cognitive dysfunctioning.

Alpha-linolenic acid supplementation during human pregnancy does not effect cognitive functioning.

Increasing evidence suggests a positive association between docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) and cognitive performance. In addition, pregnancy is associated with a reduction of the DHA status and cognitive deficits. In the current study, cognition was assessed in pregnant women receiving a margarine enriched with alpha-linolenic acid (ALA, 18:3n-3, the ultimate dietary precursor of DHA) and some linoleic acid (LA, 18:2n-6, to prevent a possible reduction in n-6 fatty acids).

Cognitive dysfunction after minor surgery in the elderly.

Background: Major surgery is frequently associated with postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) in elderly patients. Type of surgery and hospitalization may be important prognostic factors. The aims of the study were to find the incidence and risk factors for POCD in elderly patients undergoing minor surgery.

On the involvement of prefrontal networks in cognitive ageing.

Normal ageing is associated with a wide variety of disturbances in the structure and function of the human brain. Recent neuroimaging studies suggest that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is particularly vulnerable to the effects of ageing. These findings are compatible with the so-called 'frontal ageing hypothesis' which has been formulated on the basis of neuropsychological research on non-pathological ageing.

Contributions of thalamic nuclei to declarative memory functioning.

In spite of the acknowledged role that the thalamus plays in declarative memory, details about the precise memory processes it is involved in and which are the structures of the thalamus that contribute to these processes remain unknown. An overview is presented of human clinical and animal experimental findings showing the involvement of the thalamus, at the level of white matter tracts and separate nuclei, in aspects of memory functioning. The region in the thalamus that contributes to declarative memory is the anterior and medial division, containing the anterior nuclei, the medial dorsal nucleus and the intralaminar and midline nuclei.

Low- and high-level controlled processing in executive motor control tasks in 5-6-year-old children at risk of ADHD.

Background: The scant research on the characteristics of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in kindergarten years curtails progress on early assessment of ADHD.

Method: By screening a general population sample of 1317 five- to six-year-old children, four groups of children were selected. The performance of 30 children later diagnosed with ADHD was compared with 74 children later diagnosed with 'borderline ADHD' (children exhibiting all ADHD symptoms but without disruptions on two situations), 113 children later diagnosed with other psychopathology, and 126 healthy controls on computerised motor control tasks involving low- and high-level controlled processing.

Cross-national comparisons of the Cambridge Cognitive Examination-revised: the CAMCOG-R: results from the European Harmonization Project for Instruments in Dementia.

Background: Transnational and psychometrically appropriate versions of instruments used in the diagnosis of dementia are essential for comparing information between different countries. The Cambridge Examination for Mental Disorders of the Elderly incorporates a brief neuropsychological test battery, Cambridge Cognitive Examination (recently revised version), which provides objective data on performance across a number of cognitive domains.

Objective: To harmonise the Cambridge Cognitive Examination between seven European countries.

The effects of habitual caffeine use on cognitive change: a longitudinal perspective.

The efficiency of higher cortical functions, such as memory and speed of complex information processing, tends to decrease with advancing age in normal healthy individuals. Recently, a high habitual intake of caffeine was found associated with better verbal memory performance and psychomotor speed in several cross-sectional population studies. We tested the hypothesis that habitual caffeine intake can reduce or postpone age-related cognitive decline in healthy adults.

Memory functions and focussed attention in middle-aged and elderly subjects are unaffected by a low, acute dose of caffeine.

The putative beneficial effects of caffeine on cognitive performance may vary between ages. The acute cognitive effects of 100 g caffeine on memory functions and focussed attention were investigated in sixteen middle-aged (45-60 years) and fourteen elderly (60-75 years) healthy men and women according to a cross-over design. Caffeine did not affect short-term memory span or speed, long-term memory retrieval functions or focussed attention.

Memory performance, but not information processing speed, may be reduced during early pregnancy.

Several studies have investigated aspects of cognitive functioning during late pregnancy or in the period around delivery. The present paper describes a controlled study of neurocognitive functioning in an early phase of pregnancy (14 weeks). Seventy-one pregnant women and 57 control subjects matched for age and education were tested with a cognitive test battery.

Alterations in theory of mind in patients with schizophrenia and non-psychotic relatives.

Objective: It has been proposed that alterations in theory of mind underlie specific symptoms of psychosis. The present study examined whether alterations in theory of mind reflect a trait that can be detected in non-psychotic relatives of patients with schizophrenia.

Method: Participants were 43 patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, 41 first-degree non-psychotic relatives and 43 controls from the general population.

Is there a side predilection for cerebrovascular disease?

In studies on carotid artery intima-media thickness and stroke, researchers implicitly assume that cerebrovascular abnormalities show a symmetrical distribution. To evaluate whether there is a difference in intima-media thickness between the 2 carotids, we compared left and right common carotid artery intima-media thickness as measured by B-mode ultrasonography in a group of 102 untreated hypertensive patients. This yielded a significant difference between both sides (left, 0.

Methylphenidate down-regulates the dopamine receptor and transporter system in children with attention deficit hyperkinetic disorder (ADHD).

Adults suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are known to have disturbed central dopaminergic transmission. With Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) we studied brain dopamine transporter and receptor activity in six boys with ADHD. Three months after initiation of treatment with methylphenidate we found a down-regulation of the post-synaptic dopamine receptor with a maximum of 20 % and a down-regulation of the dopamine transporter with a maximum of 74.

Homocysteine: a marker for cognitive performance? A longitudinal follow-up study.

The present prospective study investigated whether elevated total serum homocysteine concentration is a risk factor for cognitive decline. The outcomes were compared to the possible relation between cognition and vitamin B12 or folic acid. Cognitive performance of 144 normal aging individuals (aged 30-80 years) was tested at baseline and after six years of follow-up.

Deficits of memory, executive functioning and attention following infarction in the thalamus; a study of 22 cases with localised lesions.

The thalamus plays a crucial role in memory, executive functioning and attention. It remains, however, unclear whether thalamic structures have specific roles in each of these functions. We tested 22 cases of thalamic infarction, proven with MR imaging, using experimental and established neuropsychological tests.

Neuroticism does not affect cognitive functioning in later life.

In a cross-sectional study, Jorm and colleagues (1993. Personality and Individual Differences, 15, 721-723) found that neuroticism was related to poorer cognitive performance in the elderly. The present study was initiated to expand their findings using both cross-sectional and longitudinal data from the Maastricht Aging Study.

Mental work demands protect against cognitive impairment: MAAS prospective cohort study.

Little is known about whether persons with mentally demanding jobs are protected against cognitive impairment and whether this association is independent of intellectual abilities and other confounders. Longitudinal data from the Maastricht Aging Study (MAAS) were used to examine this association. After the 1993-1995 baseline examination, there was a first 3-year follow-up examination (1996-1998) among 630 men and women, aged 50 to 80, who exhibited no cognitive impairment at baseline.

Distractor interference in selective reaching: dissociating distance and grouping effects.

In the present experiment, the authors sought to differentiate between a distance and a grouping explanation for the symmetric versus asymmetric patterns of distractor interference in selective reaching. Participants (N = 16) pointed to a green target that appeared either with or without a red distractor. Target-distractor separation was manipulated within an array of 5 closely grouped stimulus boxes, and distractor interference (difference in performance between trials with and trials without a distractor) was measured in reaction time, movement time, percentage errors, and movement endpoints.

Salivary cortisol patterns and cognitive speed in major depression: a comparison with allergic rhinitis and healthy control subjects.

Few studies have investigated the relationship between cortisol and cognitive functions other than memory in depression. This study investigated daily salivary cortisol patterns (basal cortisol levels at 08:00, 16:00, and 21:00 h and flatness of the diurnal curve) in relation to cognitive speed and memory. Twenty-seven unmedicated outpatients with major depressive disorder (MDD) were compared with 36 healthy controls and with 20 allergic rhinitis patients, to determine whether effects should be ascribed to MDD or to more general disease-related processes.