Neuropsychological Test Performance Differentiates Subgroups of Individuals With Adult Moyamoya Disease: A Cross-Sectional Clinical Study.

Background And Objectives: Moyamoya disease (MMD) is a rare noninflammatory disorder involving progressive intracranial vasculopathy and impaired cerebral blood flow in the anterior circulation, resulting in stroke and cognitive impairment. We aimed to characterize cognitive impairment and the possible predictive value of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of adults with MMD.

Methods: This cross-sectional study examined neurocognitive performance in a group of 42 consecutive adult patients (mean age = 40.

Adverse childhood experiences, cognitive functioning, depression, and anxiety in adulthood.

Background: Evidence suggests that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) predict cognitive dysfunction, possibly through direct (e.g., brain structure/function changes) and indirect (e.

Exploring Subfactors of Adult Cognitive Disengagement Syndrome and Impact on Neuropsychological Performance.

Objective: This study investigated subfactors of cognitive disengagement syndrome (CDS; previously referred as sluggish cognitive tempo) among adults referred for neuropsychological evaluation of attentiondeficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Method: Retrospective analyses of data from 164 outpatient neuropsychological evaluations examined associations between CDS subfactors and self-reported psychological symptoms and cognitive performance.

Results: Factor analysis produced two distinct but positively correlated constructs: "Cognitive Complaints'' and "Lethargy.

Social Determinants of Health: Associations Between Dichotomous Versus Dimensional Scores, Neuropsychological Test Performance, and Psychiatric Symptoms.

This study examined the utility of dichotomous versus dimensional scores across two measures of social determinants of health (SDOH) regarding their associations with cognitive performance and psychiatric symptoms in a mixed clinical sample of 215 adults referred for neuropsychological evaluation ( = 43.91, 53.5% male, 44.

Cognitive Performance and Psychiatric Self-Reports Across Adult Cognitive Disengagement Syndrome and ADHD Diagnostic Groups.

Objective: Cognitive disengagement syndrome (CDS) is characterized by inattention, under-arousal, and fatigue and frequently co-occurs with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Although CDS is associated with cognitive complaints, its association with objective cognitive performance is less well understood.

Method: This study investigated neuropsychological correlates of CDS symptoms among 169 adults ( = 29.

Sustained Long-term Improvement in Neuropsychiatric Symptoms of an Individual With Initial bvFTD Diagnosis: A Case Report.

The behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) is a neurodegenerative disease that is diagnosed by progressive neuropsychiatric changes and supportive neuroimaging. Making an accurate diagnosis of bvFTD is a challenging process that can be complicated by the presence of a subset of nonprogressive, or phenocopy, cases whose symptoms remain stable. Our patient, who presented with neuropsychiatric symptoms that are characteristic of bvFTD, improved and stabilized after thorough neuropsychiatric and neuropsychological evaluation and treatment.

Pain Influences Neuropsychological Performance Following Electrical Injury: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Objective: Electrical injury (EI) is a significant, multifaceted trauma often with multi-domain cognitive sequelae, even when the expected current path does not pass through the brain. Chronic pain (CP) research suggests pain may affect cognition directly and indirectly by influencing emotional distress which then impacts cognitive functioning. As chronic pain may be critical to understanding EI-related cognitive difficulties, the aims of the current study were: examine the direct and indirect effects of pain on cognition following EI and compare the relationship between pain and cognition in EI and CP populations.

Establishing the base rate of performance invalidity in a clinical electrical injury sample: Implications for neuropsychological test performance.

: The base rate of neuropsychological performance invalidity in electrical injury, a clinically-distinct and frequently compensation-seeking population, is not well established. This study determined the base rate of performance invalidity in a large electrical injury sample, and examined patient characteristics, injury parameters, and neuropsychological test performance based on validity status.: This cross-sectional study included data from 101 patients with electrical injury consecutively referred for post-acute neuropsychological evaluation.

The relationship between neuropsychological dispersion, processing speed and memory after electrical injury.

: Previous studies of neuropsychological performance in electrical injury (EI) patients have produced evidence of deficits in various cognitive domains, but studies have yet to investigate relationships among performance in cognitive domains post-EI. This study examined whether dispersion among neuropsychological test scores was associated with injury parameters and neuropsychological performance in EI patients. Additionally, we examined whether dispersion, processing speed and/or executive abilities explain variance in episodic verbal and visual memory performance among EI patients.

Working Memory, Processing Speed, and Memory Functioning Are Minimally Predictive of Victoria Symptom Validity Test Performance.

A sound performance validity test is accurate for detecting invalid neuropsychological test performance and relatively insensitive to actual cognitive ability or impairment. This study explored the relationship of several cognitive abilities to several performance indices on the Victoria Symptom Validity Test (VSVT), including accuracy and response latency. This cross-sectional study examined data from a mixed clinical sample of 88 adults identified as having valid neurocognitive test profiles via independent validity measures, and who completed the VSVT along with objective measures of working memory, processing speed, and verbal memory during their clinical neuropsychological evaluation.

Population Health Solutions for Assessing Cognitive Impairment in Geriatric Patients.

In December 2017, the National Academy of Neuropsychology convened an interorganizational Summit on Population Health Solutions for Assessing Cognitive Impairment in Geriatric Patients in Denver, Colorado. The Summit brought together representatives of a broad range of stakeholders invested in the care of older adults to focus on the topic of cognitive health and aging. Summit participants specifically examined questions of who should be screened for cognitive impairment and how they should be screened in medical settings.

Integration of neuropsychology services in a sickle cell clinic and subsequent healthcare use for pain crises.

Growing literature has documented the clinical utility of neuropsychological evaluations for predicting functional outcomes, including reduced healthcare service utilization, in a variety of clinical samples. The present study investigates the relationship between the integration of clinical neuropsychology services into an existing outpatient sickle cell clinic and frequency of emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations for pain crises. Participants included 144 adults diagnosed with sickle cell disease (SCD) who either underwent neuropsychological evaluation (NP+), including interview, neuropsychological testing, and feedback, or treatment as usual (NP-).

Population Health Solutions for Assessing Cognitive Impairment in Geriatric Patients.

In December 2017, the National Academy of Neuropsychology convened an interorganizational Summit on Population Health Solutions for Assessing Cognitive Impairment in Geriatric Patients in Denver, Colorado. The Summit brought together representatives of a broad range of stakeholders invested in the care of older adults to focus on the topic of cognitive health and aging. Summit participants specifically examined questions of who should be screened for cognitive impairment and how they should be screened in medical settings.

Population Health Solutions for Assessing Cognitive Impairment in Geriatric Patients.

In December 2017, the National Academy of Neuropsychology convened an interorganizational Summit on Population Health Solutions for Assessing Cognitive Impairment in Geriatric Patients in Denver, Colorado. The Summit brought together representatives of a broad range of stakeholders invested in the care of older adults to focus on the topic of cognitive health and aging. Summit participants specifically examined questions of who should be screened for cognitive impairment and how they should be screened in medical settings.

The Economics of Healthcare Shape the Practice of Neuropsychology in the Era of Integrated Healthcare.

The healthcare system in the United States is in the midst of a major transformation that has affected all healthcare specialties, including clinical psychology/neuropsychology. If this shift in the economics of healthcare reimbursement continues, it promises to impact clinical practice patterns for neuropsychologists far into the next decade.

Physician Preferences to Communicate Neuropsychological Results: Comparison of Qualitative Descriptors and a Proposal to Reduce Communication Errors.

Objective: Errors in communication are a leading cause of medical errors. A potential source of error in communicating neuropsychological results is confusion in the qualitative descriptors used to describe standardized neuropsychological data. This study sought to evaluate the extent to which medical consumers of neuropsychological assessments believed that results/findings were not clearly communicated.

Neuropsychological feedback services improve quality of life and social adjustment.

Objective: In more recent years, studies have begun to examine levels of satisfaction of individuals or family members of individuals who undergo neuropsychological evaluation. However, to date there have been only a handful of formal studies that have specifically examined the role and contribution of neuropsychological assessment in patient care and management. This study sought to examine one specific component of neuropsychological assessment, namely the impact of patient feedback regarding neuropsychological testing on patient outcome.

Discriminating cognitive screening and cognitive testing from neuropsychological assessment: implications for professional practice.

Objective: To provide clarification on the distinction between cognitive screening, cognitive testing, and neuropsychological assessment and highlight practical implications.

Method: Non-systematic brief clinical review.

Results: There is a present lack of explicit distinction between the various levels of measurement of cognitive functioning with regard to goals, indications for use, levels of complexity, and outcome.

A follow-up study of a large group of children struck by lightning.

Background: On 11 November 1994, 26 preadolescent girls, 2 adult supervisors and 7 dogs were sleeping in a tent in rural South Africa when the tent was struck by lightning. Four of the girls and 4 of the dogs were killed. The 2 adults were unharmed, but all but 3 of the children suffered significant injuries.

Depression and performance on the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status.

There is strong evidence that depression is associated with neuropsychological deficits across multiple domains. However, research on this topic has spanned a variety of measures with different psychometric properties and normative samples, which prevents drawing definitive conclusions about the pattern of neuropsychological deficiencies. The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) is a brief neurocognitive battery that is routinely used in clinical settings and provides co-normed measures of attention, language, memory, and visuospatial/constructional skills.

Long-term consequences of electrical injury: neuropsychological predictors of adjustment.

Objective: Electrical injury (EI) produces an assortment of consequences for individuals. Survivors perform poorly on measures of attention and mental speed, memory, and emotional functioning. Moreover, sequelae are not always reported immediately following injury and often increase over the months following injury.

The Times They Are a Changin': Neuropsychology and Integrated Care Teams.

Objective: To gather illustrative data from clinical neuropsychologists who are working in integrated care settings in order to provide an initial blueprint for moving forward in this new era of health care.

Method: A survey was designed to illustrate the ways in which neuropsychologists are participating in integrated care teams and distributed on major neuropsychology listservs. The survey evaluated the settings, roles, services provided, practice issues, remuneration, and impact of neuropsychologists' participation in integrated care teams with respect to patient care and health outcomes.