Sensation seeking and visual selective attention in adults with HIV/AIDS.

The association between sensation seeking and visual selective attention was examined in 31 adults with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Sensation seeking was measured with Zuckerman's Sensation Seeking Scale Form V (SSS-V). Selective attention was assessed with a perceptual span task, where a target letter-character must be identified in a quickly presented array of nontarget letter-characters.

Risky decision making assessed with the gambling task in adults with HIV.

Decision making was assessed using a laboratory gambling task in 67 adults with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV+) and in 19 HIV-seronegative (HIV-) control participants. Neurocognitive test performance across several domains was also analyzed to examine potential cognitive mechanisms of gambling task performance. As predicted, the HIV+ group performed worse on the gambling task, indicating greater risky decision making.

Variations in patterns of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) adherence.

Strict adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is necessary for successful suppression of HIV replication. A large number of individuals are not adherent, however, and the reasons for non-adherence are varied and complex. We utilized cluster analyses to identify subgroups of adherers in a sample of 222 HIV positive individuals whose HAART use was electronically monitored.

Medication adherence in HIV-infected adults: effect of patient age, cognitive status, and substance abuse.

Objective: To examine the predictors of antiretroviral adherence among HIV-infected adults, with a particular focus on advancing age, neuropsychological dysfunction, and substance abuse.

Design: : Prospective observational design.

Methods: Participants were 148 HIV-infected adults between the ages of 25 and 69 years, all on a self-administered antiretroviral regimen.

Verbal and spatial working memory performance among HIV-infected adults.

Subtypes of working memory performance were examined in a cohort of 50 HIV-infected adults and 23 uninfected controls using an n-back paradigm (2-back) in which alphabetic stimuli were quasi-randomly presented to a quadrant of a computer monitor. In the verbal working memory condition, participants determined whether each successive letter matched the letter that appeared two previously in the series, regardless of spatial location. In the spatial working memory condition, participants determined whether each letter matched the spatial location of the letter that had appeared two previously, regardless of letter identity.