Cardiorespiratory fitness, hippocampal subfield morphology, and episodic memory in older adults.

Objective: Age-related hippocampal atrophy is associated with memory loss in older adults, and certain hippocampal subfields are more vulnerable to age-related atrophy than others. Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) may be an important protective factor for preserving hippocampal volume, but little is known about how CRF relates to the volume of specific hippocampal subfields, and whether associations between CRF and hippocampal subfield volumes are related to episodic memory performance. To address these gaps, the current study evaluates the associations among baseline CRF, hippocampal subfield volumes, and episodic memory performance in cognitively unimpaired older adults from the Investigating Gains in Neurocognition Trial of Exercise (IGNITE) (NCT02875301).

Understanding Cognitive Aging Through White Matter: A Fixel-Based Analysis.

Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) has been frequently used to examine age-related deterioration of white matter microstructure and its relationship to cognitive decline. However, typical tensor-based analytical approaches are often difficult to interpret due to the challenge of decomposing and (mis)interpreting the impact of crossing fibers within a voxel. We hypothesized that a novel analytical approach capable of resolving fiber-specific changes within each voxel (i.

Cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with cognitive function in late adulthood: baseline findings from the IGNITE study.

Objectives: To evaluate the association between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and cognition in a large sample of older adults, and to examine clinical and demographic factors that might moderate these associations.

Methods: CRF was measured with a graded exercise test performed on a motorised treadmill. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted using data from a comprehensive neuropsychological battery to obtain latent factors reflecting core cognitive domains.

Influence of medical conditions on the diagnostic accuracy of plasma p-tau217 and p-tau217/Aβ42.

Introduction: Blood-based biomarkers (BBMs) can enable early detection of brain amyloid beta (Aβ) pathology in cognitively unimpaired individuals. However, the extent to which common medical conditions affect biomarker performance remains unclear.

Methods: Participants (n = 348) included individuals without cognitive impairment.

A digital intervention for cognitive deficits following COVID-19: a randomized clinical trial.

Post-COVID-19 cognitive deficits are common, persistent, and disabling. Evidence on effective treatments is limited. The goal of this study was to investigate the efficacy of a digital intervention to reduce cognitive and functional deficits in adults with persistent post-COVID-19 cognitive dysfunction.

Predictors of psychosocial impairment in a transdiagnostic sample: Unique effects of repetitive negative thinking.

Background: Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is a transdiagnostic process involving perseverative, unproductive, and uncontrollable thoughts. Although RNT may impede adaptive psychosocial functioning by prolonging negative mood states, strengthening cognitive biases, and preventing effective problem-solving, the extent to which RNT is associated with risk for poor psychosocial outcomes is unclear. Given that this has clear transdiagnostic treatment implications, the present study aimed to isolate the unique relationship of RNT with social functioning and life satisfaction in a mixed clinical and non-clinical sample.

Treatment resistant late-life depression: A narrative review of psychosocial risk factors, non-pharmacological interventions, and the role of clinical phenotyping.

Background: Treatment resistant depression (TRD) is a subset of major depressive disorder (MDD) in which symptoms do not respond to front line therapies. In older adults, the assessment and treatment of TRD is complicated by psychosocial risk factors unique to this population, as well as a relative paucity of research.

Methods: Narrative review aimed at (1) defining TRLLD for clinical practice and research; (2) describing psychosocial risk factors; (3) reviewing psychological and non-pharmacological treatments; (4) discussing the role of clinical phenotyping for personalized treatment; and (5) outlining research priorities.

Cognitive Symptoms of Post-COVID-19 Condition and Daily Functioning.

Importance: The frequent occurrence of cognitive symptoms in post-COVID-19 condition has been described, but the nature of these symptoms and their demographic and functional factors are not well characterized in generalizable populations.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of self-reported cognitive symptoms in post-COVID-19 condition, in comparison with individuals with prior acute SARS-CoV-2 infection who did not develop post-COVID-19 condition, and their association with other individual features, including depressive symptoms and functional status.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Two waves of a 50-state nonprobability population-based internet survey conducted between December 22, 2022, and May 5, 2023.

Comparison of Functional and Structural Neural Network Features in Older Adults With Depression With vs Without Apathy and Association With Response to Escitalopram: Secondary Analysis of a Nonrandomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Apathy is prevalent among individuals with late-life depression and is associated with poor response to pharmacotherapy, including chronicity and disability. Elucidating brain networks associated with apathy and poor treatment outcomes can inform intervention development.

Objectives: To assess the brain network features of apathy among individuals with late-life depression and identify brain network abnormalities associated with poor antidepressant response.

Strategies to Promote Cognitive Health in Aging: Recent Evidence and Innovations.

Purpose Of Review: We review recent work on applications of non-pharmacologic strategies to promote cognitive health in older adulthood and discuss potential network mechanisms, limitations, and considerations for improving intervention uptake and efficacy.

Recent Findings: In healthy older adults and patients with mild cognitive impairment, cognitive training produces global and domain-specific cognitive gains, though effect sizes tend to be modest and transfer is variable. Non-invasive brain stimulation has shown moderate success in enhancing cognitive function, though the optimum approach, parameters, and cortical targets require further investigation.

The CopeNYP program: A model for brief treatment of psychological distress among healthcare workers and hospital staff.

In the midst of the Spring 2020 initial surge of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York, members of the Psychiatry Department of Weill Cornell Medicine/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital rapidly created and implemented a brief, behavioral skills-based intervention program, "CopeNYP", to address the immediate mental health needs of the employees of the hospital and medical school. We describe the development, implementation and evolution of this telehealth-delivered program staffed primarily by in-house clinical psychologists, postdoctoral fellows, pre-doctoral interns and counselors who were redeployed or volunteered their time to provide urgent support for employees. We discuss the challenges and lessons learned in providing brief, skills-based psychological interventions for employees subjected to chronic stress.

Estimated Regional White Matter Hyperintensity Burden, Resting State Functional Connectivity, and Cognitive Functions in Older Adults.

Objective: White matter hyperintensities (WMH) are linked to deficits in cognitive functioning, including cognitive control and memory; however, the structural, and functional mechanisms are largely unknown. We investigated the relationship between estimated regional disruptions to white matter fiber tracts from WMH, resting state functional connectivity (RSFC), and cognitive functions in older adults.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

A systematic review of neuropsychological and psychiatric sequalae of COVID-19: implications for treatment.

Purpose Of Review: COVID-19 impacts multiple organ systems and is associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Pathogenesis of viral infection, co-morbidities, medical treatments, and psychosocial factors may contribute to COVID-19 related neuropsychological and psychiatric sequelae. This systematic review aims to synthesize available literature on psychiatric and cognitive characteristics of community-dwelling survivors of COVID-19 infection.

Brain-based mechanisms of late-life depression: Implications for novel interventions.

Late-life depression (LLD) is a particularly debilitating illness. Older adults suffering from depression commonly experience poor outcomes in response to antidepressant treatments, medical comorbidities, and declines in daily functioning. This review aims to further our understanding of the brain network dysfunctions underlying LLD that contribute to disrupted cognitive and affective processes and corresponding clinical manifestations.

Peripheral inflammatory biomarkers predict the deposition and progression of amyloid-β in cognitively unimpaired older adults.

Introduction: Systemic inflammation has been increasingly implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), yet the mechanistic and temporal specificity of this relationship is poorly understood. We aimed to characterize the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between peripheral inflammatory biomarkers, cognition, and Aβ deposition in oldest-old cognitively unimpaired (CU) adults.

Methods: A large sample of 139 CU older adults (mean age (range) = 85.

Late-life depression accentuates cognitive weaknesses in older adults with small vessel disease.

Neuroimaging features of small vessel disease (SVD) are highly prevalent in older adulthood and associated with significant variability in clinical symptoms, yet the factors predicting these symptom disparities are poorly understood. We employed a novel metric of SVD, peak width of skeletonized mean diffusivity (PSMD), to elucidate the relationship of late-life depression (LLD) to the cognitive presentation of vascular pathology. A total of 109 older adults without a diagnosis of a neurocognitive disorder were enrolled in the study; 44 with major depressive disorder and 65 age-matched controls.

Minocycline augmentation in older adults with persistent depression: an open label proof of concept study.

Less than 40% of depressed older adults treated with an antidepressant achieve remission. Incomplete response to treatment is common. Current augmentation strategies have limited efficacy, and many have side effects that restrict their utilization in older adults.

Cortical Thickness of the Salience Network and Change in Apathy Following Antidepressant Treatment for Late-Life Depression.

Objective: Apathy is common in late-life depression and is associated with poor response to antidepressant drugs. In depressed older adults, apathy may be characterized by neuroanatomical abnormalities of the salience network. The current study examined whether cortical thickness of select salience network structures predicted change in apathy following a 12-week treatment with escitalopram.

Dimensions of Poststroke Depression and Neuropsychological Deficits in Older Adults.

Objective: Poststroke depression (PSD) has a heterogeneous presentation and is often accompanied by cognitive impairment. This study aimed to identify distinct dimensions of depressive symptoms in older adults with PSD and to evaluate their relationship to cognitive functioning.

Design: Cross-sectional factor and correlational analyses of patients with poststroke depression.

Technology-assisted cognitive-behavioral therapy intervention for end-stage renal disease.

Technology-assisted cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) interventions have been conducted for symptoms including depression, pain, and fatigue in patients with chronic illnesses but not in end-stage renal disease (ESRD). The purpose of this study was to pilot the feasibility and acceptability of a technology-assisted CBT intervention in ESRD patients on hemodialysis (HD), share design and implementation lessons learned, and provide preliminary results on changes in select patient-reported symptoms. This was a single-center pilot feasibility study of adult ESRD patients on HD.