Machine learning models of plasma proteomic data predict mood in chronic stroke and tie it to aberrant peripheral immune responses.

Post-stroke depression is common, long-lasting and associated with severe morbidity and death, but mechanisms are not well-understood. We used a broad proteomics panel and developed a machine learning algorithm to determine whether plasma protein data can predict mood in people with chronic stroke, and to identify proteins and pathways associated with mood. We used Olink to measure 1,196 plasma proteins in 85 participants aged 25 and older who were between 5 months and 9 years after ischemic stroke.

A longitudinal study of the post-stroke immune response and cognitive functioning: the StrokeCog study protocol.

Background: Stroke increases the risk of cognitive impairment even several years after the stroke event. The exact mechanisms of post-stroke cognitive decline are unclear, but the immunological response to stroke might play a role. The aims of the StrokeCog study are to examine the associations between immunological responses and long-term post-stroke cognitive trajectories in individuals with ischemic stroke.

Streamlining screening of emotional function in Veterans with traumatic brain injury.

Objectives: This study examined how depression, anxiety, and sleep items from the Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory (NSI) predict results from longer inventories.

Method: This was a retrospective review from 484, predominantly male (96.1%) Veterans, mean age 29.

Incidental Learning: A Brief, Valid Measure of Memory Based on the WAIS-IV Vocabulary and Similarities Subtests.

Objective: We assessed the validity of a brief incidental learning measure based on the Similarities and Vocabulary subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV).

Background: Most neuropsychological assessments for memory require intentional learning, but incidental learning occurs without explicit instruction. Incidental memory tests such as the WAIS-III Symbol Digit Coding subtest have existed for many years, but few memory studies have used a semantically processed incidental learning model.

Neuropsychological test validity in Veterans presenting with subjective complaints of 'very severe' cognitive symptoms following mild traumatic brain injury.

Objective: This study explored the utility of combining data from measures of performance validity and symptom validity among Veterans undergoing neuropsychological evaluation for mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).

Background: Persistent cognitive impairments following mTBI are often reported by returning combat veterans. However, objectively-measured cognitive deficits are not common among individuals with mTBI, raising the question of whether negative impression management influences self-ratings.

Reliability and factor structure of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale in a polytrauma clinic.

The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) is a brief self-report measure of anxiety and depression symptoms. This study examined the internal consistency and factor structure of the HADS among Veterans in a polytrauma/traumatic brain injury clinic. The sample consisted of 312 Veterans.

Limited usefulness of the Rey Fifteen-Item Test in detection of invalid performance in veterans suspected of mild traumatic brain injury.

Objective: This study explored using the FIT as a measure of performance validity among veterans undergoing neuropsychological evaluation for mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).

Background: The Rey Fifteen-Item Memory Test (FIT) is a performance validity measure criticized for poor sensitivity.

Methods: Two hundred and fifty-seven veterans completed the FIT and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Fourth Edition, Digit Span (DS); 109 of whom completed the Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM).

Patterns of frontoparietal activation as a marker for unsuccessful visuospatial processing in healthy aging.

Visuospatial abilities are sensitive to age-related decline, although the neural basis for this decline (and its everyday behavioral correlates) is as yet poorly understood. fMRI was employed to examine age-related differences in patterns of functional activation that underlie changes in visuospatial processing. All participants completed a brief neuropsychological battery and also a figure ground task (FGT) assessing visuospatial processing while fMRI was recorded.

WAIS-IV reliable digit span is no more accurate than age corrected scaled score as an indicator of invalid performance in a veteran sample undergoing evaluation for mTBI.

Reliable Digit Span (RDS) is a measure of effort derived from the Digit Span subtest of the Wechsler intelligence scales. Some authors have suggested that the age-corrected scaled score provides a more accurate measure of effort than RDS. This study examined the relative diagnostic accuracy of the traditional RDS, an extended RDS including the new Sequencing task from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV, and the age-corrected scaled score, relative to performance validity as determined by the Test of Memory Malingering.

The influence of sleep and mood on cognitive functioning among veterans being evaluated for mild traumatic brain injury.

Objective: Veterans undergoing evaluation for mild traumatic brain injury commonly report insomnia, psychiatric symptoms, and cognitive dysfunction. This study examines the effects of self-reported amount of sleep and subjective sleep quality on neuropsychological test performance.

Method: 262 veterans were seen for neuropsychological assessment in a Veterans Affairs traumatic brain injury clinic.

The contributions of self-reported injury characteristics and psychiatric symptoms to cognitive functioning in OEF/OIF veterans with mild traumatic brain injury.

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) affects a significant number of combat veterans returning from Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF). Although resolution of mTBI symptoms is expected over time, some individuals continue to report lingering cognitive difficulties. This study examined the contributions of self-reported mTBI injury characteristics (e.

Predictors of perceived need for medical care in an inpatient rehabilitation unit: an update.

Limited awareness of illness, or poor insight, has been associated with poor treatment outcomes and prognoses in both psychiatric and medical populations. We examined predictors of insight in a sample of 403 patients in an inpatient rehabilitation unit at a Midwest Veterans Affairs Medical Center. A multiple regression analysis revealed that age, depression, IQ, and a measure of judgment were significant predictors of acknowledgement of illness.

Self-reported cognitive symptoms following mild traumatic brain injury are poorly associated with neuropsychological performance in OIF/OEF veterans.

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is not uncommon among Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) veterans, and many individuals within this group report lingering cognitive difficulties following their injury. For Department of Veterans Affairs clinicians, an accurate assessment of cognitive symptoms is important in providing appropriate clinical care. Although self-assessment is commonly employed to screen for difficulties in cognitive functioning, little is known about the accuracy of self-report in this population.

Cognitive functioning, retirement status, and age: results from the Cognitive Changes and Retirement among Senior Surgeons study.

Background: Accurate assessment of cognitive functioning is an important step in understanding how to better evaluate both clinical and cognitive competence in practicing surgeons. As part of the Cognitive Changes and Retirement among Senior Surgeons study, we examined the objective cognitive functioning of senior surgeons in relation to retirement status and age.

Study Design: Computerized cognitive tasks measuring visual sustained attention, reaction time, and visual learning and memory were administered to both practicing and retired surgeons at annual meetings of the American College of Surgeons.

Contemporary review 2009: cognitive aging.

This article addresses key topics in cognitive aging, intending to provide the reader with a brief overview of the current state of research in this growing, multidisciplinary field. A summary of the physiological changes in the aging brain is provided as well as a review of variables that influence cognitive abilities in older age. Normal aging differentially affects various aspects of cognition, and specific changes within various domains such as attention, executive functioning, and memory are discussed.

Results from the cognitive changes and retirement among senior surgeons self-report survey.

Background: The Cognitive Changes and Retirement among Senior Surgeons (CCRASS) study suggested that although subjective cognitive awareness may play a role in surgeons' retirement decisions, self-perceived cognitive decline did not predict objective cognitive performance. This article summarizes results from all participants who completed the survey portion of the CCRASS study.

Study Design: A survey examining subjective cognitive changes, changes in caseload, involvement in new technology, and retirement decisions, was administered to 995 surgeons at annual meetings of the Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons between 2001 and 2006.

Source memory and frontal functioning in Parkinson's disease.

The most extensively described pathological abnormality in Parkinson's disease (PD) is loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta and the ventral tegmental area, with degeneration of their striatal terminals. Because of the intimate connections between the striatum and the frontal lobes, individuals with PD often demonstrate impairments on those tasks relying on the prefrontal cortex (e.g.