BrainFit: improving executive and subjective cognitive functioning in late-life mood disorders - a double-blind randomized active-controlled study evaluating the effect of online cognitive training.

Introduction: Unipolar and bipolar mood disorders in older adults are accompanied by cognitive impairment, including executive dysfunction, with a severe impact on daily life. Up and till now, strategies to improve cognitive functioning in late-life mood disorders (LLMD) are sparse. Therefore, we aimed to assess the efficacy of adaptive, computerized cognitive training (CT) on executive and subjective cognitive functioning in LLMD.

Musicality and social cognition in dementia: clinical and anatomical associations.

Human musicality might have co-evolved with social cognition abilities, but common neuroanatomical substrates remain largely unclear. In behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia, social cognitive abilities are profoundly impaired, whereas these are typically spared in Alzheimer's disease. If musicality indeed shares a neuroanatomical basis with social cognition, it could be hypothesized that clinical and neuroanatomical associations of musicality and social cognition should differ between these causes of dementia.

A prediction model for electroconvulsive therapy effectiveness in patients with major depressive disorder from the Dutch ECT Consortium (DEC).

Reliable predictors for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) effectiveness would allow a more precise and personalized approach for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Prediction models were created using a priori selected clinical variables based on previous meta-analyses. Multivariable linear regression analysis was used, applying backwards selection to determine predictor variables while allowing non-linear relations, to develop a prediction model for depression outcome post-ECT (and logistic regression for remission and response as secondary outcome measures).

Trajectories of behavior and social cognition in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia and primary psychiatric disorders: A call for better operationalization of socioemotional changes.

Background And Purpose: Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and primary psychiatric disorders (PPD), such as mood, psychotic, and autism spectrum disorders, share similar clinical characteristics of behavior and social cognition. Better understanding of clinical progression in bvFTD and PPD is essential for adequate disease monitoring and trial design.

Methods: In this longitudinal study (N = 89), patients with bvFTD and PPD with at least one follow-up assessment were included from the Social Brain Project of the Alzheimer Center Amsterdam.

The Sensitivity of the Mini-Mental State Examination to Detect Objective Cognitive Side Effects Induced by Electroconvulsive Therapy: Results From the Dutch ECT Consortium.

Background: Monitoring cognitive side effects following electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is crucial for balancing side effects and clinical effectiveness. Yet, evidence-based guidelines on cognitive testing following ECT are lacking. A frequently used test in global ECT practice is the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).