Validation of a Malayalam Version of the Apathy Evaluation Scale.

Background: The apathy evaluation scale (AES) measures apathy, but its usefulness as a screening tool in diverse populations is limited without translation into more languages. To date, there is no reported translation of the AES into Malayalam, a language spoken by over 32 million people in the southern Indian state of Kerala. In the present study, we aimed to validate the Malayalam version of the AES.

Health Outcomes Associated with Loneliness and Social Isolation in Older Adults Living with HIV: A Systematic Review.

Self-management of HIV is crucial to reduce disease-related negative health outcomes. Loneliness and social isolation are associated with poor disease self-management (e.g.

Elevated Blood Homocysteine Increases the Risk of Incident Motoric Cognitive Risk Syndrome: A Two-Cohort Study.

Background: Motoric Cognitive Risk (MCR) syndrome, a predementia syndrome characterized by cognitive complaints and slow gait, may have an underlying vascular etiology. Elevated blood levels of homocysteine, a known vascular risk factor, have been linked to physical and cognitive decline in older adults, though the relationship with MCR is unknown. We aimed to identify the association between homocysteine and MCR risk.

The Effects of Mind-Wandering, Cognitive Load, and Task Engagement on Working Memory Performance in Remote Online Experiments.

Recent changes in environments from in-person to remote present several issues for work, education, and research, particularly related to cognitive performance. Increased distraction in remote environments may lead to increases in mind-wandering and disengagement with tasks at hand, whether virtual meetings, online lectures, or psychological experiments. The present study investigated mind-wandering and multitasking effects during working memory tasks in remote and in-person environments.

Secondary task engagement drives the McCabe effect in long-term memory.

Processing that occurs while information is held in working memory is critical in long-term retention of that information. One counterintuitive finding is that the concurrent processing required during complex span tasks typically impairs immediate memory, while also leading to improved delayed memory. One proposed mechanism for this effect is retrieval practice that occurs each time memory items are displaced to allow for concurrent processing during complex span tasks.

Is there a role of creativity in the relationship between working memory consolidation and long-term memory?

While holding items in working memory has been shown to improve delayed long-term recall, the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. One potential mechanism is working memory consolidation, which may facilitate the formation of novel associations between items during learning and lead to improved memory search at delayed retrieval. Forming novel associations via consolidation may share mechanisms with creative ability.

Examining the relationship between working memory consolidation and long-term consolidation.

An emerging area of research is focused on the relationship between working memory and long-term memory and the likely overlap between these processes. Of particular interest is how some information first maintained in working memory is retained for longer periods and eventually preserved in long-term memory. The process of stabilizing transient memory representations for lasting retention is referred to as consolidation in both the working memory and long-term memory literature, although these have historically been viewed as independent constructs.

Working memory consolidation improves long-term memory recognition.

Recent research has found that maintaining an item in working memory improves subsequent long-term memory performance. The present study explored the role of working memory consolidation in long-term recognition. Participants completed a stimuli-identification task followed by a surprise delayed recognition task.

Gray Matter Volume Covariance Networks, Social Support, and Cognition in Older Adults.

Objective: We examined the neural substrates of social support in older adults. Social support is associated with better outcomes in many facets of aging-including cognitive and functional health-but the underlying neural substrates remain largely unexplored.

Methods: Voxel-based morphometry and multivariate statistics were used to identify gray matter volume covariance networks associated with social support in 112 older adults without dementia (M age = 74.

Multisensory Integration Predicts Balance and Falls in Older Adults.

Background: Effective integration of concurrent sensory information is crucial for successful locomotion. This study aimed to determine the association of multisensory integration with mobility outcomes in aging.

Methods: A total of 289 healthy older adults (mean age 76.

Mental Fatigability and Heart Rate Variability in Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Objectives: Adaptive physiological stress regulation is rarely studied in mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Here we targeted mental fatigability (MF) as a determinant of altered high frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) reactivity in individuals with MCI, and examined frontobasal ganglia circuitry as a neural basis supporting the link between MF and HF-HRV reactivity.

Methods: We measured mental fatigability and HF-HRV during a 60-minute cognitive stress protocol in 19 individuals with MCI.