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Wischmann HA, Logroscino G, Kurth T, Piccininni M. Consequences of age and education correction of cognitive screening tests - A simulation study of the MoCA test in Italy. Neurol Sci 2024:10.1007/s10072-024-07691-6. [PMID: 39009894 DOI: 10.1007/s10072-024-07691-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2024] [Accepted: 07/08/2024] [Indexed: 07/17/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cognitive screening tools are widely used in clinical practice to screen for age-related cognitive impairment and dementia. These tools' test scores are known to be influenced by age and education, leading to routine correction of raw scores for these factors. Despite these corrections being common practice, there is evidence suggesting that corrected scores may perform worse in terms of discrimination than raw scores. OBJECTIVE To address the ongoing debate in the field of dementia research, we assessed the impact of the corrections on discrimination, specificity, and sensitivity of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment test in Italy, both for the overall population and across age and education strata. METHODOLOGY We created a realistic model of the resident population in Italy in terms of age, education, cognitive impairment and test scores, and performed a simulation study. RESULTS We confirmed that the discrimination performance was higher for raw scores than for corrected scores in discriminating patients with cognitive impairment from individuals without (areas under the curve of 0.947 and 0.923 respectively). With thresholds determined on the overall population, raw scores showed higher sensitivities for higher-risk age-education groups and higher specificities for lower-risk groups. Conversely, corrected scores showed uniform sensitivity and specificity across demographic strata, and thus better performance for certain age-education groups. CONCLUSION Raw and corrected scores show different performances due to the underlying causal relationships between the variables. Each approach has advantages and disadvantages, the optimal choice between raw and corrected scores depends on the aims and preferences of practitioners and policymakers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hans-Aloys Wischmann
- Institute of Public Health, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Giancarlo Logroscino
- Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases and the Aging Brain, Department of Clinical Research in Neurology, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", "Pia Fondazione Cardinale G. Panico", Tricase, Lecce, Italy
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Bari, Italy
| | - Tobias Kurth
- Institute of Public Health, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Marco Piccininni
- Institute of Public Health, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
- Digital Health - Machine Learning Research Group, Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Engineering, Potsdam, Germany.
- Digital Engineering Faculty, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.
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Petit N, Noveck I, Baltazar M, Prado J. Assessing Theory of Mind in Children: A Tablet-Based Adaptation of a Classic Picture Sequencing Task. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 2024:10.1007/s10578-023-01648-0. [PMID: 38168718 DOI: 10.1007/s10578-023-01648-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
Correctly assessing children's theory of mind (TOM) is essential to clinical practice. Yet, most tasks heavily rely on language, which is an obstacle for several populations. Langdon and Coltheart's (Cognition 71(1):43-71, 1999) Picture Sequencing Task (PST), developed for research purposes, avoids this limitation through a minimally-verbal procedure. We thus developed a tablet adaptation of this task for individual application, engaging children's motivation and allowing response times collection. To assess this tablet-PST, we first tested a large sample of neurotypical children (6-11 years-old, N = 248), whose results confirmed the task's structural and content validity, and permitted the construction of three standardized clinical indices. In a second experiment, we applied those to previously diagnosed autistic children (N = 23), who were expected to show atypical TOM performance. Children's outcomes were consistent with what was hypothesized and confirmed the task's external validity and moderate clinical sensitivity. The tablet-PST thus appears as a suitable tool, providing detailed profiles to inform clinical decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Petit
- Le Vinatier Psychiatrie Universitaire, Lyon Métropole, France.
- Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon (CRNL), Lyon, France.
| | - Ira Noveck
- Laboratoire de Linguistique Formelle (LLF), Paris, France
| | - Matias Baltazar
- Le Vinatier Psychiatrie Universitaire, Lyon Métropole, France
| | - Jérôme Prado
- Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon (CRNL), Lyon, France
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Montemurro S, Mondini S, Pucci V, Durante G, Riccardi A, Maffezzini S, Scialpi G, Signorini M, Arcara G. Tele-Global Examination of Mental State (Tele-GEMS): an open tool for the remote neuropsychological screening. Neurol Sci 2023; 44:3499-3508. [PMID: 37248426 PMCID: PMC10226870 DOI: 10.1007/s10072-023-06862-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Tele-neuropsychology, i.e., the application of remote audio-visual technologies to neuropsychological evaluation or rehabilitation, has become increasingly popular and widespread during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. New tools with updated normative data and appropriate methodological developments are necessary. We present Tele-GEMS, a telephone-based cognitive screening developed on N = 601 Italian participants. It yields a global score tapping on orientation, memory, spatial representation, language, and pragmatic abilities. Its administration lasts about 10 min. Clinical cut-offs are provided, accounting for demographic variables (age, education, and sex) and also for a comprehensive index taking into account cognitively stimulating life experiences that can build up a cognitive reserve. Tele-GEMS shows good internal consistency and a good inter-rater agreement. The test includes the thresholds for estimating a significant change after repeated measurements. Tele-GEMS has a good construct validity as assessed with MoCA and a suitable criterion validity assessed with its in-person version (GEMS). All the materials and the instructions, including scripts and an online Application for the automatic calculation of cut-offs, are accessible on OSF at https://osf.io/t3bma/ under a Creative Commons license.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sara Mondini
- Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education and Applied Psychology (FISPPA), Università di Padova, Padova, Italy
- Centro di Ateneo Servizi Clinici Universitari Psicologici (SCUP), Università di Padova, Padova, Italy
- Human Inspired Technology Research Centre HIT, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Veronica Pucci
- Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education and Applied Psychology (FISPPA), Università di Padova, Padova, Italy
- Human Inspired Technology Research Centre HIT, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Giorgia Durante
- Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education and Applied Psychology (FISPPA), Università di Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Alice Riccardi
- Multiple Sclerosis Centre, Department of Neurosciences-DNS, Università di Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Sabrina Maffezzini
- Multiple Sclerosis Centre, Department of Neurosciences-DNS, Università di Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Graziana Scialpi
- Multiple Sclerosis Centre, Department of Neurosciences-DNS, Università di Padova, Padova, Italy
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Montemurro S, Filippini N, Ferrazzi G, Mantini D, Arcara G, Marino M. Education differentiates cognitive performance and resting state fMRI connectivity in healthy aging. Front Aging Neurosci 2023; 15:1168576. [PMID: 37293663 PMCID: PMC10244540 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2023.1168576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Objectives In healthy aging, the way people cope differently with cognitive and neural decline is influenced by exposure to cognitively enriching life-experiences. Education is one of them, so that in general, the higher the education, the better the expected cognitive performance in aging. At the neural level, it is not clear yet how education can differentiate resting state functional connectivity profiles and their cognitive underpinnings. Thus, with this study, we aimed to investigate whether the variable education allowed for a finer description of age-related differences in cognition and resting state FC. Methods We analyzed in 197 healthy individuals (137 young adults aged 20-35 and 60 older adults aged 55-80 from the publicly available LEMON database), a pool of cognitive and neural variables, derived from magnetic resonance imaging, in relation to education. Firstly, we assessed age-related differences, by comparing young and older adults. Then, we investigated the possible role of education in outlining such differences, by splitting the group of older adults based on their education. Results In terms of cognitive performance, older adults with higher education and young adults were comparable in language and executive functions. Interestingly, they had a wider vocabulary compared to young adults and older adults with lower education. Concerning functional connectivity, the results showed significant age- and education-related differences within three networks: the Visual-Medial, the Dorsal Attentional, and the Default Mode network (DMN). For the DMN, we also found a relationship with memory performance, which strengthen the evidence that this network has a specific role in linking cognitive maintenance and FC at rest in healthy aging. Discussion Our study revealed that education contributes to differentiating cognitive and neural profiles in healthy older adults. Also, the DMN could be a key network in this context, as it may reflect some compensatory mechanisms relative to memory capacities in older adults with higher education.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Dante Mantini
- Movement Control and Neuroplasticity Research Group, Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Marco Marino
- Movement Control and Neuroplasticity Research Group, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
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Ilardi CR, Menichelli A, Michelutti M, Cattaruzza T, Manganotti P. Optimal MoCA cutoffs for detecting biologically-defined patients with MCI and early dementia. Neurol Sci 2023; 44:159-170. [PMID: 36169756 PMCID: PMC9816212 DOI: 10.1007/s10072-022-06422-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE In this phase II psychometric study on the Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA), we tested the clinicometric properties of Italian norms for patients with mild cognitive impairment (PwMCI) and early dementia (PwD) and provided optimal cutoffs for diagnostic purposes. METHODS Retrospective data collection was performed for consecutive patients with clinically and biologically defined MCI and early dementia. Forty-five patients (24 PwMCI and 21 PwD) and 25 healthy controls were included. Raw MoCA scores were adjusted according to the conventional 1-point correction (Nasreddine) and Italian norms (Conti, Santangelo, Aiello). The diagnostic properties of the original cutoff (< 26) and normative cutoffs, namely, the upper limits (uLs) of equivalent scores (ES) 1, 2, and 3, were evaluated. ROC curve analysis was performed to obtain optimal cutoffs. RESULTS The original cutoff demonstrated high sensitivity (0.93 [95% CI 0.84-0.98]) but low specificity (0.44 [0.32-0.56]) in discriminating between patients and controls. Nominal normative cutoffs (ES0 uLs) showed excellent specificity (SP range = 0.96-1.00 [0.88-1.00]) but poor sensitivity (SE range = 0.09-0.24 [0.04-0.36]). The optimal cutoff for Nasreddine's method was 23.50 (SE = 0.82 [0.71-0.90]; SP = 0.72 [0.60-0.82]). Optimal cutoffs were 20.97, 22.85, and 22.29 (SE range = 0.69-0.73 [0.57-0.83], SP range = 0.88-0.92 [0.77-0.97]) for Conti's, Santangelo's, and Aiello's methods, respectively. CONCLUSION Using the 1-point correction, combined with a cutoff of 23.50, might be useful in ambulatory settings with a large turnout. Our optimal cutoffs can offset the poor sensitivity of Italian cutoffs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ciro Rosario Ilardi
- Department of Psychology, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Viale Ellittico 31, 81100, Caserta, Italy.
| | - Alina Menichelli
- Neuropsychology Service, Rehabilitation Unit, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Health Sciences, Trieste University Hospital-ASUGI, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| | - Marco Michelutti
- Clinical Unit of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Health Sciences, Trieste University Hospital-ASUGI, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| | - Tatiana Cattaruzza
- Clinical Unit of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Health Sciences, Trieste University Hospital-ASUGI, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| | - Paolo Manganotti
- Clinical Unit of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Health Sciences, Trieste University Hospital-ASUGI, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
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