Validity of the brief executive-function assessment tool in an outpatient substance use disorder setting.

The Brief Executive-function Assessment Tool (BEAT) was developed and validated for use in residential substance use disorder treatment settings, where participants are mostly abstinent. It is therefore unclear whether the BEAT is valid for use in outpatient settings, where participants may be actively using substances. The effects of acute intoxication and withdrawal have the potential to alter the results of the BEAT.

Pregnant and Parenting Women's Experiences with Substance Use Disorder.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to describe and analyze the experience of women with substance use disorder during pregnancy and parenting to inform health care services that promote recovery.

Study Design: Interviews of pregnant or parenting women with substance use disorder were used in this qualitative descriptive study.

Methods: Participants were recruited from two recovery centers serving pregnant or parenting women with substance use disorder.

Brief executive-function assessment tool: A new cognitive impairment screening tool for alcohol and other drug services.

Accurate screening for cognitive impairment in alcohol and other drug (AOD) services would help to identify individuals who may need supports to obtain the greatest benefit from substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. At present there is no screening measure that has been developed specifically to detect cognitive impairment in a SUD population. This study examines the psychometric properties of the Brief Executive-function Assessment Tool (BEAT), which was specifically designed for this purpose.

The Alcohol and Drug Cognitive Enhancement (ACE) Screening Tool: A simple and brief questionnaire to screen for cognitive impairment in substance use disorder treatment services.

The objective of this study was to determine the test-retest reliability; construct and criterion validity; and test operating characteristics of a newly developed cognitive impairment risk factor screening instrument, the Alcohol and Drug Cognitive Enhancement (ACE) Screening Tool. Participants in the validation study were 129 adults with substance use disorder (SUD) enrolled in residential SUD treatment services and 209 normal controls. Test and retest data were available for 36 participants with SUD and 40 normal control individuals on the ACE Screening Tool.

Outcomes of mothers and newborns to prenatal exposure to kratom: a systematic review.

Kratom is a legal, widely available substance that contains opioid agonist alkaloids. Due to the marketing of kratom as an opioid alternative for treatment of pain, anxiety, depression, or to reduce opioid withdrawal symptoms, the use of kratom has increased among persons in the USA including pregnant women. This systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature regarding kratom in relation to maternal and infant outcomes resulted in analysis of six case reports of prenatal kratom exposure.

A Psychometric Replication of Fan (1998) Item Response Theory and Classical Test Theory: An Empirical Comparison of their Item/Person Statistics.

Streiner, Norman and Cairney (2015) "Health Measurement Scales: A practical guide to their development and use", now in its fifth edition, is one of the foundational texts of the health outcomes movement. It states that "the differences between scales constructed with IRT and CTT are trivial." (Streiner, Norman and Cairney, 2015, p.

Supplementation with Synbiotics and/or Branched Chain Amino Acids in Hepatic Encephalopathy: A Pilot Randomised Placebo-Controlled Clinical Study.

Introduction: Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is common in patients with cirrhosis and is characterised by reduced hepatic ammonia clearance. This is accompanied by alterations in gut bacteria that may be ameliorated with synbiotics (pro- and prebiotics). Branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) are thought to have a role in the detoxification of ammonia.

Déjà vecu for news events but not personal events: A dissociation between autobiographical and non-autobiographical episodic memory processing.

In déjà vu, the feeling that what we are currently experiencing we have experienced before is fleeting and is not accepted as true. In contrast, in déjà vecu or "recollective confabulation", the sense of déjà vu is persistent and convincing, and patients genuinely believe that they have lived through the current moment at some previous time. In previous reports of cases of déjà vecu, both personal events and non-personal, world events gave rise to this experience.

The Abbreviated Westmead Post-traumatic Amnesia Scale and Pocket Concussion Recognition Tool: Data from amateur sports players in live-match conditions.

Sports-related concussion is a growing public health concern. A short, simple sideline assessment tool is essential for evaluation of concussion at an amateur participation level. The current study examined responses to sideline assessment measures in a sample of amateur Australian Rules Football players competing in real-time live matches who had not sustained a concussion on the day of testing.

Identifying posttraumatic amnesia in individuals with a Glasgow Coma Scale of 15 after mild traumatic brain injury.

Objective: To examine the utility of the Abbreviated Westmead Post-traumatic Amnesia Scale, which includes the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and 3 picture cards used to measure amnesia, in identifying the presence or absence of posttraumatic amnesia in individuals with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).

Design: Prospective study using data from the Abbreviated Westmead Post-traumatic Amnesia Scale.

Setting: Trauma hospital.

A comparison of the degree of effort involved in the TOMM and the ACS Word Choice Test using a dual-task paradigm.

The aims of the current study were to: (a) examine the predictive validity and efficacy of the Advanced Clinical Solutions Word Choice Test (WCT) as a measure of effort relative to the Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM); (b) investigate whether performing a dual (distraction) task would undermine performance on either test; (c) assess the effect of coaching on the diagnostic accuracy of both the WCT and the TOMM; and (d) establish an optimal cut score for the WCT. The current study used a simulation design based on an analogue design in which normal participants were instructed to either apply full effort or simulate a brain injury on the tasks without being detected. Participants included 93 undergraduate university students who were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 conditions: (a) distraction, (b) uncoached traumatic brain injury (TBI) simulators, (c) coached TBI simulators, or (d) full effort.

Diagnostic efficiency of ImPACT and CogSport in concussed rugby union players who have not undergone baseline neurocognitive testing.

The current study endeavored to replicate the approach to sports-related concussion management adopted by some community-based sporting organizations by examining the diagnostic efficiency of CogSport and ImPACT in athletes without baseline test data and assessed only once postinjury. Recently concussed nonelite-level rugby union players (N = 51) were tested within 72 hours of sustaining a concussion and were compared to nonconcussed matched controls (N = 41). Demographic information and history of recent concussion were also collected.

Paired associate learning in children with neurofibromatosis type 1: implications for clinical trials.

Studies investigating behavior in mice with a heterozygous null mutation of the NF1 gene (Nf1 (+/-)) have provided critical insights into the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying cognitive impairments associated with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). Hyperactivation of the Ras-MAPK signaling cascade, which results in increased GABA-mediated inhibition and significantly reduced long-term potentiation, has been proposed as a core mechanism underlying Nf1 (+/-) mice deficits in visuospatial learning and attention. This assertion has been reinforced by preclinical trials that reveal that these impairments can be rescued both at a cognitive and cellular level.

Validation of the Abbreviated Westmead Post-traumatic Amnesia Scale: a brief measure to identify acute cognitive impairment in mild traumatic brain injury.

Objective: To validate the use of the Abbreviated Westmead Post-traumatic Amnesia Scale (A-WPTAS) in the assessment of acute cognitive impairment in mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).

Methods: Data previously collected from 82 mTBI and 88 control participants using the Revised Westmead Post-traumatic Amnesia Scale (R-WPTAS) was converted to A-WPTAS scores and pass/fail classifications were calculated for both scales.

Results: The proportion of failures on the R-WPTAS and the A-WPTAS did not differ and a similar number of mTBIs were classified on each.

Compliance with return-to-play regulations following concussion in Australian schoolboy and community rugby union players.

Background: There is a risk of concussion when playing rugby union. Appropriate management of concussion includes compliance with the return-to-play regulations of the sports body for reducing the likelihood of premature return-to-play by injured players.

Purpose: To describe the proportion of rugby union players who comply with the sports body's regulations on returning to play postconcussion.

The prospective course of postconcussion syndrome: the role of mild traumatic brain injury.

Objective: To investigate whether postconcussion syndrome (PCS) represents long-term sequelae associated with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).

Methods: Prospective consecutive admissions to a Level 1 trauma hospital were assessed a mean 4.9 days and again 106.

Mild traumatic brain injury among a cohort of rugby union players: predictors of time to injury.

This study reports the time to sustain a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) among a cohort of community rugby union players. Demographic and player characteristics were collected and players followed up for between one and three playing seasons. 7% of the cohort sustained an mTBI within 10 h of game time, increasing twofold to 14% within 20 h.

Assessment of executive function and attention in children with neurofibromatosis type 1: relationships between cognitive measures and real-world behavior.

The aim of this study was to examine functional attention and executive deficits present in everyday living in a large sample of children with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). Data are presented from 199 children with NF1 and 55 unaffected sibling controls who were administered the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) and Conners' ADHD DSM-IV Scales (CADS). Convergent validity was examined by correlating scale scores from these functional measures with scores from traditional cognitive measures of attention and executive function.

The cognitive profile of preschool-aged children with neurofibromatosis type 1.

Few studies have examined the cognitive profile of young children with NF1. In this study, 26 children with NF1 (M(age) = 5 years 3 months) were compared with 21 peer comparisons (M(age) = 4 years 8 months) and available normative data on neuropsychological measures. Children with NF1 demonstrated the characteristic downward shift in IQ, poor visuospatial constructional skills, and inattention.

Reduced processing speed in rugby union players reporting three or more previous concussions.

The issue pertaining to the effect of multiple self-reported sports-related concussions on cognitive function is controversial. Although this topic has received increased attention in the literature recently, the issue remains unresolved. Evidence supporting a detrimental cognitive effect has been reported at a sub-concussive level and following one, two, and three or more previous concussions.

Corpus callosum morphology and its relationship to cognitive function in neurofibromatosis type 1.

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is associated with cognitive dysfunction and structural brain abnormalities such as an enlarged corpus callosum. This study aimed to determine the relationship between corpus callosum morphology and cognitive function in children with neurofibromatosis type 1 using quantitative neuroanatomic imaging techniques. Children with neurofibromatosis type 1 (n = 46) demonstrated a significantly larger total corpus callosum and corpus callosum index compared with control participants (n = 30).

The effect of moderate to heavy alcohol consumption on neuropsychological performance as measured by the repeatable battery for the assessment of neuropsychological status.

Background: Excessive alcohol use is associated with damage to the structure and function of the brain and impairment of cognition and behavior. Traditional test batteries used to assess cognitive performance in alcoholics are extensive and costly, limiting their use across various clinical and research settings. The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) is a relatively new instrument that attempts to overcome some of these limitations.