Self-reported attention and mood symptoms in cocaine abusers: relationship to neurocognitive performance.

Objective: This study examined the relationship between subjective measures of inattention/hyperactivity-impulsivity and mood and objective measures of neurocognitive function in cocaine users.

Design: Ninety-four active cocaine users not seeking treatment (73 male, 21 female) were administered two self-report psychiatric measures (the ADHD Rating Scale - Fourth Edition; ARS-IV), and the Beck Depression Inventory - Second Edition; (BDI-II), and a battery of tests measuring attention, executive, psychomotor, visual and verbal learning, visuospatial, and language functions. Correlations between scores on the psychiatric measures (total and subscale) and the neurocognitive measures were examined.

Effect of armodafinil on cognition in patients with HIV/AIDS and fatigue.

Fatigue and cognitive impairment are common in HIV+ adults and may occur independently or be causally linked. This study examined whether alleviation of fatigue with armodafinil in a placebo-controlled double-blind 4-week trial had an effect on cognitive function among those with and without mild neuropsychological impairment at baseline. Sixty-one patients completed a standard battery of neuropsychological tests at study entry and Week 4: A total of 33 were randomized to armodafinil and 28 to placebo.

Does antiretroviral therapy improve HIV-associated cognitive impairment? A quantitative review of the literature.

The development of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has dramatically improved survival for those living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), but whether ART improves cognitive functioning remains unclear. The aim of the present review was to examine systematically the extent to which ART improves cognition among individuals with HIV using meta-analytic methods. Twenty-three studies were included in the quantitative review.

Specificity of verbal learning impairment and recovery in a marijuana-dependent male: the effects of sustained marijuana abstinence.

Introduction: We present the case of a young adult in treatment for marijuana dependence, with recurrent depression and a history of possible traumatic brain injury, complaining of concentration, memory, and initiation problems.

Methods: The patient was assessed longitudinally during treatment with a brief neuropsychological battery, as well as measures of marijuana use and mood.

Results: Testing at treatment baseline revealed performance that was generally in the high average range or higher on measures of reaction time and attention, with a selective impairment in verbal learning (borderline to extremely low range).

Modafinil effects on cognitive function in HIV+ patients treated for fatigue: a placebo controlled study.

Both mild cognitive impairment and fatigue are common among people with HIV/AIDS. This study examined the efficacy of modafinil for HIV+ patients who sought treatment for fatigue in a placebo-controlled double-blind 4-week trial. A battery of standard neuropsychological tests was administered at study entry and Week 4, and change in performance was compared for 59 patients receiving modafinil versus 44 patients receiving placebo.

On becoming a peer reviewer for a neuropsychology journal.

The peer-review process is an invaluable service provided by the professional community, and it provides the critical foundation for the advancement of science. However, there is remarkably little systematic guidance for individuals who wish to become part of this process. This paper, written from the perspective of reviewers and editors with varying levels of experience, provides general guidelines and advice for new reviewers in neuropsychology, as well as outlining benefits of participation in this process.

Functional consequences of HIV-associated neuropsychological impairment.

This review focuses on the "real world" implications of infection with HIV/AIDS from a neuropsychological perspective. Relevant literature is reviewed which examines the relationships between HIV-associated neuropsychological impairment and employment, driving, medication adherence, mood, fatigue, and interpersonal functioning. Specifically, the relative contributions of medical, cognitive, psychosocial, and psychiatric issues on whether someone with HIV/AIDS will be able to return to work, adhere to a complicated medication regimen, or safely drive a vehicle will be discussed.

Decision-making in long-term cocaine users: Effects of a cash monetary contingency on Gambling task performance.

Background: The Iowa Gambling task, which typically incorporates hypothetical monetary earnings and losses for performance, has been widely used to measure decision-making in substance abusers. We examined the effects of a cash monetary contingency on Gambling task performance in cocaine abusers and control participants.

Methods: Twenty-two long-term cocaine smokers who met DSM-IV criteria for cocaine dependence and 24 non-cocaine-using control participants completed this study.

Neurological function and HIV risk behaviors of female prison inmates.

The purpose of this study was to explain relationships between neurological dysfunction, HIV serological status, and HIV risk behaviors that have not been well understood. A secondary analysis was conducted on data from 117 female prison inmates. Another 18 female inmates from the same prison were further evaluated with more specific neurological, neuropsychological, and HIV risk behavior Risk Assessment Battery (RAB) measures.

A relationship between neurocognitive impairment and functional impairment in bipolar disorder: a pilot study.

We assessed the relationship between neurocognitive status and role function in 14 euthymic bipolar subjects. Role function scores were bimodally distributed. Poor verbal memory and executive function were associated with functional impairment, suggesting that functional disability may be restricted to a subgroup of cognitively impaired bipolar patients.

Acute effects of smoked marijuana on decision making, as assessed by a modified gambling task, in experienced marijuana users.

The impact of regular marijuana use on executive cognitive abilities, including decision making, is not well understood. While cross-sectional studies have suggested that substance abusers exhibit impaired decision making, as assessed by the Iowa Gambling Task, the direct role of marijuana use in the Gambling Task performance of marijuana smokers has not been well defined. In this report, we present data on performance on a modified Gambling Task in experienced marijuana users after they had smoked marijuana under controlled laboratory conditions.

Neuropsychiatric predictors of return to work in HIV/AIDS.

This study followed 118 HIV+ individuals who had taken steps to return to work to determine facilitators or barriers in returning to work. Over the two-year study period, 52% of the participants obtained employment. Memory function served as the most potent predictor of obtaining employment.

Do tests of malingering concur? Concordance among malingering measures.

Malingering test accuracy is increasingly a major issue in psychology and law. Integrating results across measures might offset limitations of a single test, but the practical benefits of using several tests depend on the extent to which they misclassify the same individuals. Data from 66 evaluatees were used to assess the degree of overlap and consistency of classification among several commonly used malingering instruments.

Detection of inadequate effort on the California Verbal Learning Test-Second edition: forced choice recognition and critical item analysis.

The Forced Choice Recognition (FCR) and the Critical Item Analysis (CIA) indices of the California Verbal Learning Test-II (CVLT-II) have been identified by the CVLT-II test developers as potentially useful, brief screening indicators of effort in neuropsychological assessment. This retrospective study analyzes performance on these measures in three groups: (1) clinically referred individuals; (2) forensically referred individuals not suspected of inadequate effort; and (3) forensically referred individuals whose performance on freestanding tests of effort suggested inadequate effort. Performances on FCR were analyzed for their relation to actual memory impairment and with regard to concrete and abstract distractor endorsement.

Functional ("psychogenic") amnesia.

Patients who present with severely impaired memory functioning without a discernable neurological cause typically have experienced one or more severely stressful life events. These patients, who are described as having "psychogenic" or "dissociative" amnesia, typically differ from patients with the neurologic amnestic syndrome in that memory for their personal life histories is much more severely affected than is their ability to learn and retain new information; that is, they have isolated retrograde amnesia. Recent cognitive and brain imaging research has begun to reveal some of the cerebral mechanisms underlying functional amnesia, but this disorder remains best conceptualized as a relatively rare form of illness-simulating behavior rather than a disease.

Cognitive function of older patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer: a pilot prospective longitudinal study.

Objectives: To report on the longitudinal cognitive functioning of older women receiving adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer.

Design: Neuropsychological and functional status testing were performed before chemotherapy and 6 months after chemotherapy.

Setting: Cancer center.

Components of depression in HIV-1 infection: their differential relationship to neurocognitive performance.

Both depression and neurocognitive compromise are commonly observed among persons infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). To date, the majority of studies have failed to find a consistent relationship between mood and cognition among HIV-seropositive (HIV+) individuals, suggesting that these constructs are independent of one another. However, depression is a multi-dimensional syndrome and its measurement often utilizes multi-factorial instruments containing cognitive, affective, somatic, and motivational components.

Effect of adjuvant breast cancer chemotherapy on cognitive function from the older patient's perspective.

Purpose: This longitudinal prospective study describes the older breast cancer patient's perception of the cognitive impact of adjuvant chemotherapy.

Methods: A total of 50 patients > or =age 65 with stage I to III breast cancer enrolled in this IRB-approved prospective study. Of the 50, 3 refused postchemotherapy testing and 2 had a cerebrovascular accident (CVA) during therapy, leaving 45 evaluable patients.

Neurocognitive function in clinically stable men with bipolar I disorder or schizophrenia and normal control subjects.

Background: Patients with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia have been shown to have neurocognitive deficits when compared with control subjects. The degree and pattern of impairment between psychiatric groups have rarely been compared, especially when subjects are psychiatrically stable.

Methods: Using a standard neurocognitive battery, we compared euthymic outpatients with bipolar disorder (n = 40), stable patients with schizophrenia (n = 20), and subjects with no psychiatric disorder (n = 22).

Predictors of employment of men with HIV/AIDS: a longitudinal study.

Objective: To identify patterns and predictors of work status and number of hours employed in a group of men with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

Methods: A total of 141 participants had semiannual neuropsychiatric, psychosocial, and medical assessments over a period of 30 months. These six occasions provided the basis for identifying patterns of employment (part-time, full-time, or unemployed).