Verbal learning and memory in older adults with minor and major depression.

Late-life minor depression (miD) is a prevalent but poorly understood illness. Verbal learning and memory profiles have commonly been used to characterize neuropsychiatric disorders. This study compared the performance of 27 older adults with miD on the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) with 26 age-matched individuals with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and 36 non-depressed controls.

The relationship between adult neuropsychological profiles and diabetic patients' glycemic control.

The purpose of this study was to assess, in relation to metabolic control, the cognitive, depressive, and anxiety symptoms among 40 adult patients (age: 18-60 years) with either type 1 (n = 28) or type 2 (n = 12) diabetes mellitus (DM1, DM2). Nineteen healthy subjects matched for age, gender, and education served as the control group. For most cognitive domains, no significant performance differences were found between subjects from the diabetic groups and control subjects.

Distinguishing between neuropsychological malingering and exaggerated psychiatric symptoms in a neuropsychological setting.

It is unclear whether symptom validity test (SVT) failure in neuropsychological and psychiatric domains overlaps. Records of 105 patients referred for neuropsychological evaluation, who completed the Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM), Reliable Digit Span (RDS), and Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III), were examined. TOMM and RDS scores were uncorrelated with MCMI-III symptom validity indices and factor analysis revealed two distinct factors for neuropsychological and psychiatric SVTs.

Sex differences in baseline neuropsychological function and concussion symptoms of collegiate athletes.

Objective: To investigate sex differences in baseline neuropsychological function and concussion symptoms between male and female collegiate athletes.

Methods: A post-test only design was used to examine baseline neuropsychological test scores and concussion symptoms. A total of 1209 NCAA Division I collegiate athletes from five northeastern universities in the USA completed a baseline ImPACT test.

Principles of forensic mental health assessment: implications for neuropsychological assessment in forensic contexts.

Forensic mental health assessment (FMHA) is a form of evaluation performed by a mental health professional to provide relevant clinical and scientific data to a legal decision maker or the litigants involved in civil or criminal proceedings. Such FMHA evaluations can be further specialized when the clinical and scientific data are primarily neuropsychological. This paper provides an adaptation of 29 recently derived principles of FMHA (Heilbrun, 2001) that have been described in two forms: general guidelines for application in FMHA, and guidelines for application to neuropsychological assessment in forensic contexts.

The Tower of London(DX): a standardized approach to assessing executive functioning in children.

In the current study, the Tower of London (Shallice, 1982) was modified to enhance its clinical utility as a measure of childhood executive functioning. The Tower of London-Drexel (TOL(DX)) was administered to normal control (NC; N = 56) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; N = 99) children (ages 7 to 12) to determine whether age-related changes in performance were evident, to gather normative data, and to evaluate the test-retest reliability and criterion-validity of the measure. The results revealed age-related changes in score performance, age-group normative data, an acceptable level of reliability and significant differences in performance of NC and ADHD subjects.

Computer-based assessment of sports-related concussion.

Sports-related concussion has received considerable attention from neuropsychologists, athletic trainers, team coaches, physicians, families, and athletes. In this context, researchers have recently developed computer programs for the assessment of sports-related concussion. Computer-based assessment of sports-related concussion saves time, allows for team baseline testing, and can be easily incorporated into the sports medicine environment.

The neuropsychology of repeated 1- and 3-meter springboard diving among college athletes.

This study examined the neuropsychological effects of repeated springboard diving. It was hypothesized that the impact velocity, which can range from 20 to 30 mph, and accompanying deceleration in the water may lead to concussions and affect the diver's cognitive function. Six varsity National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1 springboard divers participated in the study.

The construct validity of the Tower of LondonDX as a measure of the executive functioning of ADHD children.

Currently, there are a limited number of measures that have been developed to assess childhood executive planning and problem-solving abilities. The present study represents ongoing efforts to determine the psychometric properties of the newly developed Tower of London Drexel (TOLDX), a measure of executive functions. Specifically, the construct-related validity of the TOLDX was investigated with a sample of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) children (N = 129), 7 to 15 years of age.

MMPI-2 profiles of battered women in transition.

Domestic violence is a widespread problem in our society that has not been extensively studied using psychological assessment tools. In this investigation, the psychological functioning of battered women in transition was examined through the use of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2). Thirty-one women (M age = 30 years, M education = 11.

The effects of unilateral and multifocal lesions on the WAIS-R: a factor analytic study of stroke patients.

An exploratory maximum likelihood factor analysis of the inter-correlations among the 11 subtests of the WAIS-R was undertaken for 167 patients who had a primary diagnoses of cerebrovascular accident (right hemisphere, n = 79; left hemisphere, n = 55; diffuse or multifocal, n = 33). On the WAIS-R, this sample performed below normative standards (average scaled score = 7.1), but demonstrated a pattern of variability among subtests similar to the normative groups.

Wechsler Verbal-Performance IQ discrepancies among psychiatric inpatients: implications for subtle neuropsychological dysfunctioning.

One hundred seventy-nine psychiatric inpatients were administered the WAIS-R and several neuropsychological and academic achievement tests. All subjects were assigned to three groups based on their WAIS-R's VIQ-PIQ discrepancy scores: (i) Low Verbal (Verbal IQ < Performance IQ. by at least 13 points); (ii) Low Performance (Performance IQ < Verbal IQ by at least 13 points); and (iii) Equal (Verbal IQ-Performance IQ within 13 points).

Confirmatory factor analytic models of the WAIS-R for neuropsychiatric patients.

Five multifactor models, in both orthogonal and oblique versions, and a single-factor model of the WAIS-R's factor pattern were examined by confirmatory maximum likelihood factor analyses of a data matrix constructed from the results for 90 neuropsychiatric patients. None of the models fits the data matrix in an absolute sense, even though all of the models represented an improvement over a null statistical model. For the multifactor models, the best results were obtained by oblique solutions, in which the degree of correlation between the factors varied from .

Comparison of two cognitive bedside screening instruments in nursing home residents: a factor analytic study.

The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Blessed Orientation-Memory-Concentration test (BOMC) were each administered to 110 nursing home residents. The correlation between the MMSE and BOMC's total score was -.79.

Measurement and prediction of hearing loss in a nursing home.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the abilities of three paper-and-pencil tests to predict pure-tone hearing loss of nursing home residents. The three tests used were the staff version of the Nursing Home Hearing Handicap Index and two tests of mental status, the Mini Mental State and the Short Orientation-Memory-Concentration Test. Testing was done on the residents (n = 122) of a long-term, intermediate-care nursing home.

Rorschach records of Nazi war criminals: a reanalysis using current scoring and interpretation practices.

The Nuremberg trials focused worldwide attention on 22 Nazi war criminals. Rorschach Inkblot tests were administered to these Nazi leaders in an attempt to understand the Nazi personality. Past studies which have described and interpreted these Rorschach records have made at least two types of errors in their analyses.

Mood states in the volunteer blood donor.

Mood changes across time were evaluated as they applied to the process of volunteer blood donation. Measures of mood (from the Mood Adjective Check List) were taken before and at three different intervals after blood donations by 245 college students. Anxiety scores were significantly higher before blood donation, and elation scores showed a significant increase following donation.

A multifactor model of the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery and its relationship to cognitive status and psychiatric diagnosis.

An oblique, five-factor model of a modified Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery is presented. One hundred fifty-one neuropsychiatric inpatients (94 men, 57 women) were examined on 44 neuropsychological indices. Five correlated dimensions (r = .

WAIS factor pattern for neuropsychiatric inpatients.

The current study examines the factor pattern of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale for a sample of 151 neuropsychiatric inpatients (97 men, 54 women). As expected, these patients performed less well on all 11 of the subtests and ranged from .60 to 1.

Relationships between the WAIS and neuropsychological measures for neuropsychiatric inpatients.

The current study examines the sensitivity of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale in predicting performance on a modified Halstead Neuropsychological Test Battery for lower-functioning neuropsychiatric inpatients (97 men, 54 women). Regression analyses support earlier-reported findings that the WAIS's subtests more accurately predict neuropsychological test performance than do the WAIS IQ's alone. The IQ's and scaled scores respectively predicted 27% and 39% of the variance in the Halstead's measures.

Characteristics and correlates of MMPI change within an adult psychiatric inpatient setting.

This study investigated characteristics and correlates of MMPI change scores among 188 male and female inpatients who were assessed at admission and upon completion of a 9-week residential program. Predictor variables included admission scores from the standard 13 MMPI scales, the Internal-External Locus of Control Scale, the trait component of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Shipley-Hartford Verbal IQ scores, as well as demographic variables including factors that involved psychiatric history. Outcome variables consisted of change scores based on raw score values for each of the 13 MMPI scales.