Incremental validity of the test of practical judgment (TOP-J) in the prediction of diagnosis in preclinical dementia.

The Test of Practical Judgment (TOP-J) has not been thoroughly investigated in terms of its incremental validity. In the current study, we explored whether the TOP-J adds unique and meaningful information to the neuropsychological assessment beyond other executive functioning tests that are often used as proxies for practical judgment. Ninety-seven older adults who were classified as cognitively unimpaired, with subjective cognitive decline, or with mild cognitive impairment completed a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation.

Concurrent Validity of Performance-Based Measures of Daily Functioning with Cognitive Measures and Informant Reported Everyday Functioning.

Objective: Despite the substantial need for reliable and valid assessment of functional ability in older adults, there is currently limited research on the emergence of early functional declines during prodromal dementia stages, such as subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). This study uses novel performance-based assessments to characterize subtle, yet clinically meaningful, changes in functional ability.

Method: A sample of 93 older adults classified as cognitively unimpaired (CU; n = 30, Mage = 73.

Development and psychometric evaluation of the Test of Practical Judgment alternate form (Form B).

The Test of Practical Judgment (TOP-J) is increasingly used by neuropsychologists to measure everyday judgment ability in older adulthood. In the present study, we developed an alternate TOP-J Form B, which may be used to reduce practice effects for repeat assessment situations or in place of the original Form A. In developing the measure, special attention was given to limiting cultural bias and making items similar in content and difficulty to Form A.

Informant report of practical judgment ability in a clinical sample of older adults with subjective cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment, and dementia.

Despite the importance of capturing problems with judgment and decision-making during neuropsychological evaluations of older adults, there are a limited number of validated measures and no informant rating scales. We developed an informant measure that captures compromised judgment related to safety, medical, financial, and social-ethical issues After item refinement and piloting in a memory disorders clinic, we utilized the Test of Practical Judgment-Informant (TOP-J-Informant) at two clinics in the Midwestern U.S.

Visual contrast sensitivity in Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment, and older adults with cognitive complaints.

Deficits in contrast sensitivity (CS) have been reported in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the extent of these deficits in prodromal AD stages, including mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or even earlier, has not been investigated. In this study, CS was assessed using frequency doubling technology in older adults with AD (n = 10), amnestic MCI (n = 28), cognitive complaints without performance deficits (CC; n = 20), and healthy controls (HC; n = 29).

Selective changes in white matter integrity in MCI and older adults with cognitive complaints.

Background: White matter changes measured using diffusion tensor imaging have been reported in Alzheimer's disease and amnestic mild cognitive impairment, but changes in earlier pre-mild cognitive impairment stages have not been fully investigated.

Methods: In a cross-sectional analysis, older adults with mild cognitive impairment (n=28), older adults with cognitive complaints but without psychometric impairment (n=29) and healthy controls (n=35) were compared. Measures included whole-brain diffusion tensor imaging, T1-weighted structural magnetic resonance imaging, and neuropsychological assessment.

Differential memory test sensitivity for diagnosing amnestic mild cognitive impairment and predicting conversion to Alzheimer's disease.

Episodic memory is the first and most severely affected cognitive domain in Alzheimer's disease (AD), and it is also the key early marker in prodromal stages including amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The relative ability of memory tests to discriminate between MCI and normal aging has not been well characterized. We compared the classification value of widely used verbal memory tests in distinguishing healthy older adults (n = 51) from those with MCI (n = 38).

Mild traumatic brain injury and its sequelae: characterisation of divided attention deficits.

Deficits in divided attention occur after a mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) but many extant tasks lack sensitivity for detecting subtle cognitive difficulties. We use the Test d'Attention Partagee Informatise (TAPI), a novel dual-task paradigm, to investigate the impact of MTBI on the ability to divide attention between two stimuli sources. Individuals with MTBI (n=37) were evaluated within the first week following head trauma and at three months post-injury.

Verbal fluency performance in amnestic MCI and older adults with cognitive complaints.

Verbal fluency tests are employed regularly during neuropsychological assessments of older adults, and deficits are a common finding in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Little extant research, however, has investigated verbal fluency ability and subtypes in preclinical stages of neurodegenerative disease. We examined verbal fluency performance in 107 older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n=37), cognitive complaints (CC, n=37) despite intact neuropsychological functioning, and demographically matched healthy controls (HC, n=33).

The Memory and Aging Telephone Screen: development and preliminary validation.

Background: Telephone interviews are widely used in geriatric settings to identify eligible research participants and to perform brief follow-up assessments of cognition. This article reports on the development and validation of the Memory and Aging Telephone Screen (MATS), a structured interview for older adults with mild cognitive impairment and/or significant memory complaints. We also developed three alternate forms of the MATS objective memory test to reduce practice effects engendered by multiple administrations.

Self- and informant reports of executive function on the BRIEF-A in MCI and older adults with cognitive complaints.

Amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is characterized by impaired episodic memory, although subtle executive problems have been noted on neuropsychological tests. Recent research also has described a group of healthy, non-depressed older adults with significant cognitive complaints (CC) but normal performance on neuropsychological testing. These individuals show structural and functional brain changes intermediate between those seen in MCI and healthy older adults without such complaints (HC).