Data-driven prediction of regional brain metabolism using neuropsychological assessment in Alzheimer's disease and behavioral variant Frontotemporal dementia.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the capacity of neuropsychological assessment to predict the regional brain metabolism in a cohort of patients with amnestic Alzheimer's disease (AD) and behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) using Machine Learning algorithms.

Methods: We included 360 subjects, consisting of 186 patients with AD, 87 with bvFTD, and 87 cognitively healthy controls. All participants underwent a neuropsychological assessment using the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination and the Neuronorma battery, in addition to [F]-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) imaging.

Cognitive outcome after stereo-electroencephalography-guided radiofrequency thermocoagulation in temporal lobe epilepsy.

Objective: Stereo-electroencephalography (SEEG)-guided radiofrequency thermocoagulation (RFTC) is being used incrementally in the invasive diagnosis of epilepsy. There is currently a lack of information regarding the potential cognitive consequences of the extended use of this technique. This work describes, for the first time, the cognitive outcomes after RFTC in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), evaluated longitudinally and using a control group.

Neuropsychological Assessment for Early Detection and Diagnosis of Dementia: Current Knowledge and New Insights.

Dementia remains an underdiagnosed syndrome, and there is a need to improve the early detection of cognitive decline. This narrative review examines the role of neuropsychological assessment in the characterization of cognitive changes associated with dementia syndrome at different states. The first section describes the early indicators of cognitive decline and the major barriers to their identification.

Updating functional brain units: Insights far beyond Luria.

This paper reviews Luria's model of the three functional units of the brain. To meet this objective, several issues were reviewed: the theory of functional systems and the contributions of phylogenesis and embryogenesis to the brain's functional organization. This review revealed several facts.

Spanish normative studies (NEURONORMA-Plus project): norms for the Delis Kaplan-Design Fluency Test, Color Trails Test, and Dual Task.

Introduction: Complex attention and non-verbal fluency tasks are used in neuropsychological assessments with the aim of exploring subdomains of executive function. The purpose of this study is to provide norms and age-, education-, and sex-adjusted data for the Delis Kaplan-Design Fluency Test (DK-DFT), Color Trails Test (CTT), and Dual Task (DT) as part of the NEURONORMA-Plus project.

Methods: The sample included 308 cognitively unimpaired individuals aged between 18 and 92 years.

Spanish normative studies (NEURONORMA-Plus project): norms for the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, the Modified Taylor Complex Figure, and the Ruff-Light Trail Learning Test.

Objective: The present study aims to provide norms and age-, education-, and sex-adjusted data for the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), the Modified Taylor Complex Figure (MTCF), and the Ruff-Light Trail Learning Test (RULIT) as part of the NEURONORMA-Plus project.

Methods: We recruited 308 cognitively healthy individuals aged between 18 and 92 years. Tables are provided to convert raw scores to age-adjusted scaled scores, as well as adjustments for education and sex after applying independent regression models in 2 age groups (< 50 and ≥ 50 years).

NEURONORMA Cognitive Battery Associations with Cerebrospinal Fluid Amyloid-β and Tau Levels in the Continuum of Alzheimer's Disease.

Background: Neuropsychological assessments are essential to define the cognitive profile and contribute to the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The progress in knowledge about the pathophysiological process of the disease has allowed conceptualizing AD through biomarkers as a biological continuum that encompasses different clinical stages.

Objective: To explore the association between cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of AD and cognition using the NEURONORMA battery, in a sample of cognitively unimpaired (CU), mild cognitive impaired (MCI), and mild dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) subjects, and to characterize the cognitive profiles in MCI subjects classified by A/T/N system.

The CORCOBIA study: Cut-off points of Alzheimer's disease CSF biomarkers in a clinical cohort.

Introduction: The analysis of the core biomarkers of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is recommended in the clinical units where it is available. Because of the absence of universal validated values, the determination of specific cut-off points for each center and its population is recommended. The main objective of the CORCOBIA study was to determine the cut-off points of core AD CSF biomarkers for several centers (Parc de Salut Mar, Barcelona and Hospital General de Granollers), which work with the same reference laboratory (Laboratori de Referència de Catalunya).

Development, equivalence study, and normative data of version B of the Spanish-language Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test.

Introduction: The Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT) is widely used for the assessment of verbal episodic memory, mainly in patients with Alzheimer disease. A Spanish-language version of the FCSRT and normative data were developed within the NEURONORMA project. Availability of alternative, equivalent versions is useful for following patients up in clinical settings.

Spanish normative studies (NEURONORMA-Plus project): norms for the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, the Modified Taylor Complex Figure, and the Ruff-Light Trail Learning Test.

Objective: The present study aims to provide norms and age-, education-, and sex-adjusted data for the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), the Modified Taylor Complex Figure (MTCF), and the Ruff-Light Trail Learning Test (RULIT) as part of the NEURONORMA-Plus project.

Methods: We recruited 308 cognitively healthy individuals aged between 18 and 92 years. Tables are provided to convert raw scores to age-adjusted scaled scores, as well as adjustments for education and sex after applying independent regression models in 2 age groups (<50 and ≥50 years).

Spanish normative studies (NEURONORMA-Plus project): norms for the Delis Kaplan-Design Fluency Test, Color Trails Test, and Dual Task.

Introduction: Complex attention and non-verbal fluency tasks are used in neuropsychological assessments with the aim of exploring subdomains of executive function. The purpose of this study is to provide norms and age-, education-, and sex-adjusted data for the Delis Kaplan-Design Fluency Test (DK-DFT), Color Trails Test (CTT), and Dual Task (DT) as part of the NEURONORMA-Plus project.

Methods: The sample included 308 cognitively healthy individuals aged between 18 and 92 years.

Assessment of aphasia: dialectal and cultural considerations in neurology.

Introduction: In the context of neurological disorders, language assessment is traditionally based on the use of the standard language of the community in which the assessment is performed. Dialectal variables constitute a "forgotten" topic. This review aims to provide resources and working guidelines to overcome this limitation.

Validation of the Neuronorma battery for neuropsychological assessment in multiple sclerosis.

Background: Cognitive dysfunction is prevalent among patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). In recent years, several (generally brief) neuropsychological batteries have been proposed for cognitive assessment. There is a need for comprehensive batteries providing complete cognitive assessment of patients with MS.

Assessment of aphasia: dialectal and cultural considerations in neurology.

Introduction: In the context of neurological disorders, language assessment is traditionally based on the use of the standard language of the community in which the assessment is performed. Dialectal variables constitute a 'forgotten' topic. This review aims to provide resources and working guidelines to overcome this limitation.

[The effect of traumatic brain injury on social decision making].

Introduction: Patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) can present difficulties in making decisions of a social nature. Such difficulties condition complicate their personal relationships.

Aims: To assess social decision-making in a sample of patients with moderate and severe TBI, and to empirically contrast if, as Ochsner's social-emotional processing model proposes, the ability to recognize and respond to socio-affective stimuli is related to the ability to regulate sensitive responses to the context based on the proposed assessment tests.

Underdiagnosis of Unilateral Spatial Neglect in stroke unit.

Objectives: Unilateral spatial neglect (USN) is the incapacity to respond to stimuli presented opposite to a dysfunctional cerebral hemisphere. It is usually caused by non-dominant hemisphere lesions, leads to poorer prognosis and might be underdiagnosed. The objectives of the study were to ascertain the presence of USN in acute stroke patients and analyze the possible degree of underdiagnosis in a Stroke Unit.

Visual search in unilateral spatial neglect: The effects of distractors on a dynamic visual search task.

The objective of this study was to examine visual scanning performance in patients with Unilateral Spatial Neglect (USN) in a visual search task. Thirty-one right hemisphere stroke patients with USN were recruited. They performed a dynamic visual search task with two conditions, with and without distractors, while eye movements were monitored with an eye-tracker.

[Barcelona Test for Intellectual Disability: a new instrument for the neuropsychological assessment of adults with intellectual disability].

Introduction: Neuropsychological assessment in individuals with intellectual disability is of utmost importance in order to determine the cognitive deficits underlying brain dysfunction and limiting intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior. However, no neuropsychological batteries in Spanish language have been created and validated for this population.

Aim: To adapt the 'programa integrado de exploracion neuropsicologica-test Barcelona' and to validate the new version, the Barcelona Test for Intellectual Disability (TB-DI).

Ischemic aetiology, self-reported frailty, and gender with respect to cognitive impairment in chronic heart failure patients.

Background: Decisive information on the parameters involved in cognitive impairment in patients with chronic heart failure is as yet lacking. Our aim was to determine the functional and psychosocial variables related with cognitive impairment using the mini-mental-state examination (MMSE) with age-and education-corrected scores.

Methods: A cohort study of chronic heart failure patients included in an integrated multidisciplinary hospital/primary care program.

One-Year Reference Norms of Cognitive Change in Spanish Old Adults: Data from the NEURONORMA Sample.

Objective: Serial cognitive assessments are useful for many purposes, such as monitoring cognitive decline or evaluating the result of an intervention. In order to determine if an observed change is reliable and meaningful, longitudinal reference data from non-clinical samples are needed. Since neuropsychological outcomes are affected by language and cultural background, cognitive tests should be adapted, and country-based norms collected.

The Memory Binding Test: Development of Two Alternate Forms into Spanish and Catalan.

Background: The Memory Binding Test (MBT) is emerging as a promising tool for the detection of subtle memory impairment suggestive of Alzheimer's disease (AD). For such a test to be widely accessed and used, the availability of both alternate forms and language adaptations is required.

Objectives: To develop a thorough methodology for obtaining alternate forms (A and B) of the MBT in Spanish and Catalan and to assess their equivalence.

Psychometric Properties of the Memory Binding Test: Test-Retest Reliability and Convergent Validity.

Background: Episodic memory testing is fundamental for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT) is widely used for this purpose, it may not be sensitive enough for early detection of subtle decline in preclinical AD. The Memory Binding Test (MBT) intends to overcome this limitation.

[What is hidden behind the Baking Tray Task? Study of sensibility and specificity in right-hemispheric stroke patients].

Introduction: Tham and Tegner proposed the Baking Tray Task (BTT) as a fast simple assessment test for detecting spatial negligence. However, very few studies have examined its validity as a diagnostic test.

Aim: To analyse the diagnostic validity of the BTT by measuring its specificity and sensitivity in a sample of subjects with right hemisphere strokes.

Reference Data of the Spanish Memory Binding Test in a Midlife Population from the ALFA STUDY (Alzheimer's and Family).

Background: The Memory Binding Test (MBT) is a novel test based on the learning of two lists of words, developed to detect early memory impairment suggestive of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Objective: To present and provide reference data of the Spanish MBT in a midlife population of mainly first-degree descendants of AD patients.

Methods: 472 cognitively unimpaired subjects, aged 45 to 65 and participants of the ALFA STUDY, were included.

Practical application of brief cognitive tests.

Introduction: Brief cognitive tests (BCT) may help detect cognitive impairment (CI) in the clinical setting. Several BCT have been developed and/or validated in our country, but we lack specific recommendations for use.

Development: Review of studies on the diagnostic accuracy of BCT for CI, using studies conducted in Spain with BCT which take less than 20 min.