A voxel- and source-based morphometry analysis of grey matter volume differences in very-late-onset schizophrenia-like psychosis.

Background: Very-late-onset schizophrenia-like psychosis (VLOSLP) is associated with significant burden. Its clinical importance is increasing as the global population of older adults rises, yet owing to limited research in this population, the neurobiological underpinnings of VLOSP remain insufficiently clarified. Here we address this knowledge gap using novel morphometry techniques to investigate grey matter volume (GMV) differences between VLOSLP and healthy older adults, and their correlations with neuropsychological scores.

Dissecting Digital Card Games to Yield Digital Biomarkers for the Assessment of Mild Cognitive Impairment: Methodological Approach and Exploratory Study.

Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), the intermediate cognitive status between normal cognitive decline and pathological decline, is an important clinical construct for signaling possible prodromes of dementia. However, this condition is underdiagnosed. To assist monitoring and screening, digital biomarkers derived from commercial off-the-shelf video games may be of interest.

Reduced tendency to attribute mental states to abstract shapes in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia links with cerebellar structural integrity.

Theory of mind (ToM) refers to the ability to attribute mental states to others. Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by profound deficits in social cognition, including ToM. We investigate whether bvFTD affects intention attribution tendency while viewing abstract animations and whether this might represent a primary deficit.

Ghosts from the past? The association between childhood interpersonal trauma, attachment and anxiety and depression in late life.

Research suggests that vulnerability for anxiety and depression in late life results from a complex interaction between (neuro)biological and environmental factors. In this context, there is growing evidence for the role of childhood trauma on vulnerability for both anxiety and depression throughout the course of life, mainly through its effects on attachment as a biologically based neurodevelopmental stress regulation system. Yet, the impact of childhood trauma on depression and anxiety in late life specifically remains unclear.

The Neuropsychological Profile and Phenomenology of Late Onset Psychosis: A Cross-sectional Study on the Differential Diagnosis of Very-Late-Onset Schizophrenia-Like Psychosis, Dementia with Lewy Bodies and Alzheimer's Type Dementia with Psychosis.

Objective: Late onset psychosis not only occurs as a prodromal symptom to neurodegeneration, but it can also be associated with a non-progressive mild cognitive deficit. Studying the phenomenology of psychotic symptoms and the neuropsychological profile may serve as sensitive and non-invasive tools for differential diagnosis.

Method: We compared 57 individuals with very-late-onset schizophrenia-like psychosis (VLOSLP), 49 participants with Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) and 35 patients with Alzheimer's type Dementia and psychosis (AD+P) concerning the phenomenology of psychotic symptoms and the neuropsychological profile using several measures of cognitive function in a cross-sectional study.

The neuropsychology and neurobiology of late-onset schizophrenia and very-late-onset schizophrenia-like psychosis: A critical review.

Objective: The current review discusses neuropsychological profiles and the longitudinal course of cognitive dysfunction in Late Onset Schizophrenia (LOS) and Very-late-onset schizophrenia-like psychosis (VLOSLP), and attempts to clarify its neurobiological underpinnings.

Method: A systematic literature search resulted in 29 publications describing original research on the neuropsychology of LOS/VLOSLP and 46 studies focussing on neurobiology.

Results: Although mildly progressive cognitive impairment is usually present, only a subgroup of LOS/VLOSLP develops dementia during a 10-year follow-up succeeding the onset of psychosis.

Attachment in old age: theoretical assumptions, empirical findings and implications for clinical practice.

Contemporary theoretical models that conceptualize attachment as a biologically-based behavioral system that is activated under threat offer a heuristic theoretical framework to understand processes involved in aging and particularly individual differences in coping with the inevitable losses associated with aging and age-related disease, including dementia. This paper provides a systematic qualitative review of research concerning attachment in old age published between 1983 and June 2012. Four major findings emerged.