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Cyr B, Curiel Cid R, Loewenstein D, Vontell RT, Dietrich WD, Keane RW, de Rivero Vaccari JP. The Inflammasome Adaptor Protein ASC in Plasma as a Biomarker of Early Cognitive Changes. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:7758. [PMID: 39063000 PMCID: PMC11276719 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25147758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2024] [Revised: 07/13/2024] [Accepted: 07/14/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Dementia is a group of symptoms including memory loss, language difficulties, and other types of cognitive and functional impairments that affects 57 million people worldwide, with the incidence expected to double by 2040. Therefore, there is an unmet need to develop reliable biomarkers to diagnose early brain impairments so that emerging interventions can be applied before brain degeneration. Here, we performed biomarker analyses for apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase recruitment domain (ASC), neurofilament light chain (NfL), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and amyloid-β 42/40 (Aβ42/40) ratio in the plasma of older adults. Participants had blood drawn at baseline and underwent two annual clinical and cognitive evaluations. The groups tested either cognitively normal on both evaluations (NN), cognitively normal year 1 but cognitively impaired year 2 (NI), or cognitively impaired on both evaluations (II). ASC was elevated in the plasma of the NI group compared to the NN and II groups. Additionally, Aβ42 was increased in the plasma in the NI and II groups compared to the NN group. Importantly, the area under the curve (AUC) for ASC in participants older than 70 years old in NN vs. NI groups was 0.81, indicating that ASC is a promising plasma biomarker for early detection of cognitive decline.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brianna Cyr
- The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA; (B.C.); (W.D.D.); (R.W.K.)
| | - Rosie Curiel Cid
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA; (R.C.C.); (D.L.)
| | - David Loewenstein
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA; (R.C.C.); (D.L.)
| | | | - W. Dalton Dietrich
- The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA; (B.C.); (W.D.D.); (R.W.K.)
| | - Robert W. Keane
- The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA; (B.C.); (W.D.D.); (R.W.K.)
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - Juan Pablo de Rivero Vaccari
- The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA; (B.C.); (W.D.D.); (R.W.K.)
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA; (R.C.C.); (D.L.)
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA
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Ofori E, Vaillancourt DE, Greig-Custo MT, Barker W, Hanson K, DeKosky ST, Garvan CS, Adjouadi M, Golde T, Loewenstein DA, Stecher C, Fowers R, Duara R. Free-water imaging reveals unique brain microstructural deficits in hispanic individuals with Dementia. Brain Imaging Behav 2024; 18:106-116. [PMID: 37903991 PMCID: PMC11157151 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-023-00819-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/22/2023] [Indexed: 11/01/2023]
Abstract
Prior evidence suggests that Hispanic and non-Hispanic individuals differ in potential risk factors for the development of dementia. Here we determine whether specific brain regions are associated with cognitive performance for either ethnicity along various stages of Alzheimer's disease. For this cross-sectional study, we examined 108 participants (61 Hispanic vs. 47 Non-Hispanic individuals) from the 1Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (1Florida ADRC), who were evaluated at baseline with diffusion-weighted and T1-weighted imaging, and positron emission tomography (PET) amyloid imaging. We used FreeSurfer to segment 34 cortical regions of interest. Baseline Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) were used as measures of cognitive performance. Group analyses assessed free-water measures (FW) and volume. Statistically significant FW regions based on ethnicity x group interactions were used in a stepwise regression function to predict total MMSE and MoCA scores. Random forest models were used to identify the most predictive brain-based measures of a dementia diagnosis separately for Hispanic and non-Hispanic groups. Results indicated elevated FW values for the left inferior temporal gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus, left banks of the superior temporal sulcus, left supramarginal gyrus, right amygdala, and right entorhinal cortex in Hispanic AD subjects compared to non-Hispanic AD subjects. These alterations occurred in the absence of different volumes of these regions in the two AD groups. FW may be useful in detecting individual differences potentially reflective of varying etiology that can influence cognitive decline and identify MRI predictors of cognitive performance, particularly among Hispanics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward Ofori
- College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, 425 N. 5th St Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ, 85004, USA.
| | - David E Vaillancourt
- Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Maria T Greig-Custo
- Wien Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Warren Barker
- Wien Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Kevin Hanson
- Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Steven T DeKosky
- Emory Center for Neurodegenerative Disease, Departments of Pharmacology, Chemical Biology, & Neurology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Cynthia S Garvan
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Malek Adjouadi
- Electrical and Computer Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Todd Golde
- Emory Center for Neurodegenerative Disease, Departments of Pharmacology, Chemical Biology, & Neurology, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Miller School of Medicine, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
| | - David A Loewenstein
- Department of Psychiatry, Miller School of Medicine, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Chad Stecher
- College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, 425 N. 5th St Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ, 85004, USA
| | - Rylan Fowers
- College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, 425 N. 5th St Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ, 85004, USA
| | - Ranjan Duara
- Wien Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami, FL, USA
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Curiel Cid RE, Crocco EA, Duara R, Vaillancourt D, Asken B, Armstrong MJ, Adjouadi M, Georgiou M, Marsiske M, Wang WI, Rosselli M, Barker WW, Ortega A, Hincapie D, Gallardo L, Alkharboush F, DeKosky S, Smith G, Loewenstein DA. Different aspects of failing to recover from proactive semantic interference predicts rate of progression from amnestic mild cognitive impairment to dementia. Front Aging Neurosci 2024; 16:1336008. [PMID: 38357533 PMCID: PMC10864586 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2024.1336008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2023] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction This study investigated the role of proactive semantic interference (frPSI) in predicting the progression of amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) to dementia, taking into account various cognitive and biological factors. Methods The research involved 89 older adults with aMCI who underwent baseline assessments, including amyloid PET and MRI scans, and were followed longitudinally over a period ranging from 12 to 55 months (average 26.05 months). Results The findings revealed that more than 30% of the participants diagnosed with aMCI progressed to dementia during the observation period. Using Cox Proportional Hazards modeling and adjusting for demographic factors, global cognitive function, hippocampal volume, and amyloid positivity, two distinct aspects of frPSI were identified as significant predictors of a faster decline to dementia. These aspects were fewer correct responses on a frPSI trial and a higher number of semantic intrusion errors on the same trial, with 29.5% and 31.6 % increases in the likelihood of more rapid progression to dementia, respectively. Discussion These findings after adjustment for demographic and biological markers of Alzheimer's Disease, suggest that assessing frPSI may offer valuable insights into the risk of dementia progression in individuals with aMCI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosie E. Curiel Cid
- Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Miami, FL, United States
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Elizabeth A. Crocco
- Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Miami, FL, United States
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Ranjan Duara
- Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Miami, FL, United States
- Department of Neurology and The Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - David Vaillancourt
- Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Miami, FL, United States
- Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Breton Asken
- Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Miami, FL, United States
- Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Melissa J. Armstrong
- Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Miami, FL, United States
- University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Malek Adjouadi
- Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Miami, FL, United States
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Mike Georgiou
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Michael Marsiske
- Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Miami, FL, United States
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Wei-in Wang
- Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Miami, FL, United States
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Monica Rosselli
- Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Miami, FL, United States
- Department of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, United States
| | - William W. Barker
- Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Miami, FL, United States
- Wien Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Alexandra Ortega
- Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Miami, FL, United States
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Diana Hincapie
- Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Miami, FL, United States
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Liz Gallardo
- Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Miami, FL, United States
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Feras Alkharboush
- Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Miami, FL, United States
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Steven DeKosky
- Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Miami, FL, United States
- Department of Neurology and McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Glenn Smith
- Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Miami, FL, United States
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Miami, FL, United States
- Center for Advanced Technology and Education, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States
| | - David A. Loewenstein
- Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Miami, FL, United States
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States
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Curiel Cid RE, Zheng DD, Kitaigorodsky M, Adjouadi M, Crocco EA, Georgiou M, Gonzalez-Jimenez C, Ortega A, Goryawala M, Nagornaya N, Pattany P, Sfakianaki E, Visser U, Loewenstein DA. A Novel Computerized Cognitive Test for the Detection of Mild Cognitive Impairment and Its Association with Neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's Disease Prone Brain Regions. ADVANCES IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE 2023; 12:38-54. [PMID: 38873169 PMCID: PMC11170665 DOI: 10.4236/aad.2023.123004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2024]
Abstract
During the prodromal stage of Alzheimer's disease (AD), neurodegenerative changes can be identified by measuring volumetric loss in AD-prone brain regions on MRI. Cognitive assessments that are sensitive enough to measure the early brain-behavior manifestations of AD and that correlate with biomarkers of neurodegeneration are needed to identify and monitor individuals at risk for dementia. Weak sensitivity to early cognitive change has been a major limitation of traditional cognitive assessments. In this study, we focused on expanding our previous work by determining whether a digitized cognitive stress test, the Loewenstein-Acevedo Scales for Semantic Interference and Learning, Brief Computerized Version (LASSI-BC) could differentiate between Cognitively Unimpaired (CU) and amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) groups. A second focus was to correlate LASSI-BC performance to volumetric reductions in AD-prone brain regions. Data was gathered from 111 older adults who were comprehensively evaluated and administered the LASSI-BC. Eighty-seven of these participants (51 CU; 36 aMCI) underwent MR imaging. The volumes of 12 AD-prone brain regions were related to LASSI-BC and other memory tests correcting for False Discovery Rate (FDR). Results indicated that, even after adjusting for initial learning ability, the failure to recover from proactive semantic interference (frPSI) on the LASSI-BC differentiated between CU and aMCI groups. An optimal combination of frPSI and initial learning strength on the LASSI-BC yielded an area under the ROC curve of 0.876 (76.1% sensitivity, 82.7% specificity). Further, frPSI on the LASSI-BC was associated with volumetric reductions in the hippocampus, amygdala, inferior temporal lobes, precuneus, and posterior cingulate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosie E. Curiel Cid
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - D. Diane Zheng
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Marcela Kitaigorodsky
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Malek Adjouadi
- Center for Advanced Technology and Education, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering and Computing, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Elizabeth A. Crocco
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Mike Georgiou
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Christian Gonzalez-Jimenez
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Alexandra Ortega
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Mohammed Goryawala
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Natalya Nagornaya
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Pradip Pattany
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Efrosyni Sfakianaki
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Ubbo Visser
- Department of Computer Science, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - David A. Loewenstein
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA
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Vogel A, Mellergaard C, Frederiksen KS. Different language profiles on neuropsychological tests in dementia with Lewy bodies and Alzheimer's disease. APPLIED NEUROPSYCHOLOGY. ADULT 2023:1-8. [PMID: 37595289 DOI: 10.1080/23279095.2023.2247112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/20/2023]
Abstract
Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) may lead to different cognitive profiles. The performance on single language tests have been investigated in these patient-groups, but few studies have compared DLB and AD patients' language performances on different types of tests. The aim was to compare performances for patients with DLB, AD and healthy controls on different aspects of language function. Boston Naming Test, Naming of famous faces and verbal fluency (both semantic and lexical) were investigated in 90 DLB patients, 77 matched AD patients (MMSE score ≥ 21), and in a control group (N = 61). The patients had significantly lower scores on all tests compared to controls. The AD patients scored significantly lower than DLB patients on naming measures whereas the lexical fluency score was significantly lower in DLB. No significant differences were found for the semantic fluency. The frequency of impairment on the Boston Naming Test was higher in AD as compared to DLB, whereas the frequency of impairment on the lexical fluency test was significantly higher in DLB. In conclusion, DLB may lead to a different language profile than AD, and performance on language-based tests may help to differentiate patients with AD and DLB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asmus Vogel
- Danish Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Clara Mellergaard
- Danish Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kristian Steen Frederiksen
- Danish Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Curiel Cid RE, Ortega A, Crocco EA, Hincapie D, McFarland KN, Duara R, Vaillancourt D, DeKosky ST, Smith G, Sfakianaki E, Rosselli M, Barker WW, Adjouadi M, Barreto Y, Feito Y, Loewenstein DA. Semantic intrusion errors are associated with plasma Ptau-181 among persons with amnestic mild cognitive impairment who are amyloid positive. Front Neurol 2023; 14:1179205. [PMID: 37602238 PMCID: PMC10436611 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1179205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Semantic intrusion errors (SI) have distinguished between those with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) who are amyloid positive (A+) versus negative (A-) on positron emission tomography (PET). Method This study examines the association between SI and plasma - based biomarkers. One hundred and twenty-eight participants received SiMoA derived measures of plasma pTau-181, ratio of two amyloid-β peptide fragments (Aβ42/Aβ40), Neurofilament Light protein (NfL), Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP), ApoE genotyping, and amyloid PET imaging. Results The aMCI A+ (n = 42) group had a higher percentage of ApoE ɛ4 carriers, and greater levels of pTau-181 and SI, than Cognitively Unimpaired (CU) A- participants (n = 25). CU controls did not differ from aMCI A- (n = 61) on plasma biomarkers or ApoE genotype. Logistic regression indicated that ApoE ɛ4 positivity, pTau-181, and SI were independent differentiating predictors (Correct classification = 82.0%; Sensitivity = 71.4%; Specificity = 90.2%) in identifying A+ from A- aMCI cases. Discussion A combination of plasma biomarkers, ApoE positivity and SI had high specificity in identifying A+ from A- aMCI cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosie E. Curiel Cid
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Alexandra Ortega
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Elizabeth A. Crocco
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Diana Hincapie
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Karen N. McFarland
- Department of Neurology and the Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Ranjan Duara
- Department of Neurology and the Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - David Vaillancourt
- Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Steven T. DeKosky
- Department of Neurology and McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Glenn Smith
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Efrosyni Sfakianaki
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Monica Rosselli
- Department of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, United States
| | - Warren W. Barker
- Wien Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Malek Adjouadi
- Center for Advanced Technology and Education, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Yarlenis Barreto
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Yuleidys Feito
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States
| | - David A. Loewenstein
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States
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Vyhnalek M, Jester DJ, Andel R, Markova H, Nikolai T, Laczó J, Matuskova V, Cechova K, Sheardova K, Hort J. Contribution of Memory Tests to Early Identification of Conversion from Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment to Dementia. J Alzheimers Dis 2022; 88:1397-1409. [PMID: 35786650 PMCID: PMC9484087 DOI: 10.3233/jad-215364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Background: Memory tests using controlled encoding and cued recall paradigm (CECR) have been shown to identify prodromal Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but information about the effectiveness of CECR compared to other memory tests in predicting clinical progression is missing. Objective: The aim was to examine the predictive ability of a memory test based on the CECR paradigm in comparison to other memory/non-memory tests for conversion to dementia in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). Methods: 270 aMCI patients from the clinical-based Czech Brain Aging Study underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment including the Enhanced Cued Recall test (ECR), a memory test with CECR, two verbal memory tests without controlled encoding: the Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT) and Logical memory test (LM), a visuospatial memory test: the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure test, and cognitive testing based on the Uniform Data Set battery. The patients were followed prospectively. Conversion to dementia as a function of cognitive performance was examined using Cox proportional hazard models. Results: 144 (53%) patients converted to dementia. Most converters (89%) developed dementia due to AD or mixed (AD and vascular) dementia. Comparing the four memory tests, the delayed recall scores on AVLT and LM best predicted conversion to dementia. Adjusted hazard ratios (HR) of immediate recall scores on ECR, AVLT, and LM were similar to the HR of categorical verbal fluency. Conclusion: Using the CECR memory paradigm in assessment of aMCI patients has no superiority over verbal and non-verbal memory tests without cued recall in predicting conversion to dementia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Vyhnalek
- Memory Clinic, Department of Neurology, Charles University, 2nd Faculty of Medicine and Motol University Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic.,International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Dylan J Jester
- School of Aging Studies, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.,Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Ross Andel
- Memory Clinic, Department of Neurology, Charles University, 2nd Faculty of Medicine and Motol University Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic.,International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Brno, Czech Republic.,School of Aging Studies, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Hana Markova
- Memory Clinic, Department of Neurology, Charles University, 2nd Faculty of Medicine and Motol University Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic.,International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Tomas Nikolai
- Memory Clinic, Department of Neurology, Charles University, 2nd Faculty of Medicine and Motol University Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic.,International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Laczó
- Memory Clinic, Department of Neurology, Charles University, 2nd Faculty of Medicine and Motol University Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic.,International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Veronika Matuskova
- Memory Clinic, Department of Neurology, Charles University, 2nd Faculty of Medicine and Motol University Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic.,International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Katerina Cechova
- Memory Clinic, Department of Neurology, Charles University, 2nd Faculty of Medicine and Motol University Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic.,International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Katerina Sheardova
- International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jakub Hort
- Memory Clinic, Department of Neurology, Charles University, 2nd Faculty of Medicine and Motol University Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic.,International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
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8
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De Marco M, Venneri A. Serial Recall Order of Category Fluency Words: Exploring Its Neural Underpinnings. Front Psychol 2022; 12:777838. [PMID: 35069359 PMCID: PMC8773965 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.777838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Accepted: 12/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Although performance on the category fluency test (CFT) is influenced by many cognitive functions (i.e., including language, executive functioning and speed of processing), item-level scoring methods of CFT performance might be a promising way to capture aspects of semantic memory that are less influenced by intervenient abilities. One such approach is based on the calculation of correlation coefficients that quantify the association between item-level features and the serial order with which words are recalled (SRO). Methods: We explored the neural underpinnings of 10 of these correlational indices in a sample of 40 healthy adults who completed a classic 1-min CFT and an MRI protocol inclusive of T1-weighted (analysed with voxel-based morphometry) and resting-state fMRI sequences for the evaluation of the default-mode network (DMN). Two sets of linear models were defined to test the association between neural maps and each correlational index: a first set in which major demographic and clinical descriptors were controlled for and a second set in which, additionally, all other 9 correlational indices were regressed out. Results: In the analysis of the DMN, ‘SRO-frequency’, ‘SRO-dominance’ and ‘SRO-body-object interaction’ correlational indices were all negatively associated with the anterior portion of the right temporoparietal junction. The ‘SRO-frequency’ correlational index was also negatively associated with the right dorsal anterior cingulate and the ‘SRO-dominance’ correlational index with the right lateral prefrontal cortex. From the second set of models, the ‘SRO-typicality’ correlational index was positively associated with the left entorhinal cortex. No association was found in relation to grey matter maps. Conclusion: The ability to retrieve more difficult words during CFT performance as measured by the correlational indices between SRO and item-level descriptors is associated with DMN expression in regions deputed to attentional reorienting and processing of salience of infrequent stimuli and dominance status. Of all item-level features, typicality appears to be that most closely linked with entorhinal functioning and may thus play a relevant role in assessing its value in testing procedures for early detection of subtle cognitive difficulties in people with suspected Alzheimer’s degeneration. Although exploratory, these findings warrant further investigations in larger cohorts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matteo De Marco
- Department of Life Sciences, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, United Kingdom
| | - Annalena Venneri
- Department of Life Sciences, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, United Kingdom
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9
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Loewenstein DA, Cid REC, Kitaigorodsky M, Ortega A, Hincapie D, Zheng DD, Amaya A, Gallardo L, Manso L, Sosa J, Crocco EA. Persistent Failure to Recover from Proactive Semantic Interference on the Cognitive Stress Test Differentiates Between Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment, Pre-Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Cognitively Unimpaired Older Adults. J Alzheimers Dis 2022; 90:313-322. [PMID: 36155503 PMCID: PMC11187974 DOI: 10.3233/jad-220348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Susceptibility to proactive semantic interference (PSI) and the inability to ameliorate these difficulties with one additional learning trial have repeatedly been implicated as early features of incipient Alzheimer's disease (AD). Unfortunately, persistent failure to recover from PSI (frPSI) after repeated learning trials, are not captured by existing memory measures, or been examined in pre-mild cognitive impairment (PreMCI). OBJECTIVE A novel Cognitive Stress Test (CST) was employed to measure the impact of PSI, initial failure to recover from PSI and persistent effects of PSI, despite multiple learning trials of the new to-be-remembered material (pfrPSI). We hypothesized that PSI deficits on the CST would persist in both PreMCI and amnestic MCI (aMCI) groups over repeated learning trials when compared to cognitively unimpaired (CU) older adults. METHODS One hundred fifty older adults (69 CU, 31 PreMCI, and 50 aMCI) underwent a standardized clinical and neuropsychological evaluation. The CST was independent of diagnostic classification. RESULTS Even after adjusting for strength of initial learning, aMCI and PreMCI groups demonstrated greater persistent PSI (pfrPSI) relative to the CU group despite repeated learning trials of List B. Further, the aMCI group made a higher number of semantic intrusion errors relative to the PreMCI and CU groups on all List B Cued Recall trials. CONCLUSION Persistent PSI appears to be a common feature of aMCI and PreMCI. The possible theoretical mechanisms and empirical implications of these new findings are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A. Loewenstein
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Rosie E. Curiel Cid
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Marcela Kitaigorodsky
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Alexandra Ortega
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Diana Hincapie
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
| | - D. Diane Zheng
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Alexandra Amaya
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Liz Gallardo
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Leslie Manso
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Jaylene Sosa
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Elizabeth A. Crocco
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
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10
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Kitaigorodsky M, Curiel Cid RE, Crocco E, Gorman KL, González-Jiménez CJ, Greig-Custo M, Barker WW, Duara R, Loewenstein DA. Changes in LASSI-L performance over time among older adults with amnestic MCI and amyloid positivity: A preliminary study. J Psychiatr Res 2021; 143:98-105. [PMID: 34464879 PMCID: PMC8557121 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2021.08.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2021] [Revised: 08/16/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
There is a pressing need to develop measures that are sensitive to the earliest subtle cognitive changes of Alzheimer's disease (AD) to improve early detection and track disease progression. The Loewenstein-Acevedo Scales of Semantic Interference (LASSI-L) has been shown to successfully discriminate between cognitively unimpaired (CU) older adults and those with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and to correlate with total and regional brain amyloid load. The present study investigated how the LASSI-L scores change over time among three distinct diagnostic groups. Eighty-six community-dwelling older adults underwent a baseline evaluation including: a clinical interview, a neuropsychological evaluation, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), and amyloid Positron Emission Tomography (PET). A follow up evaluation was conducted 12 months later. Initial mean values were calculated using one-way ANOVAs and chi-square analyses. Post-hoc comparisons were conducted using Tukey's Honestly Significant Difference (HSD). A 3 × 2 repeated measures analysis was utilized to examine differences in LASSI-L performance over time. The MCI amyloid positive group demonstrated a significantly greater decline in LASSI-L performance than the MCI amyloid negative and CU groups respectively. The scales that best differentiated the three groups included the Cued A2, which taps into maximum learning capacity, and Cued B2, which assesses the failure to recover from proactive semantic interference. Our findings further support the LASSI-L's discriminative validity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Elizabeth Crocco
- Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
| | | | | | - Maria Greig-Custo
- Wien Center for Alzheimer's Disease & Memory Disorders, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach, FL, USA
| | - Warren W Barker
- Wien Center for Alzheimer's Disease & Memory Disorders, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach, FL, USA
| | - Ranjan Duara
- Wien Center for Alzheimer's Disease & Memory Disorders, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach, FL, USA
| | - David A Loewenstein
- Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA; Wien Center for Alzheimer's Disease & Memory Disorders, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach, FL, USA
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11
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Hamada T, Higashiyama Y, Saito A, Morihara K, Landin-Romero R, Okamoto M, Kimura K, Miyaji Y, Joki H, Kishida H, Doi H, Ueda N, Takeuchi H, Tanaka F. Qualitative Deficits in Verbal Fluency in Parkinson's Disease with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Clinical and Neuroimaging Study. JOURNAL OF PARKINSONS DISEASE 2021; 11:2005-2016. [PMID: 34366367 DOI: 10.3233/jpd-202473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in Parkinson's disease (PD) is considered a risk factor for PD with dementia (PDD). Verbal fluency tasks are widely used to assess executive function in PDD. However, in cases of PD with MCI (PD-MCI), the relative diagnostic accuracy of different qualitative verbal fluency measures and their related neural mechanisms remain unknown. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate the relative diagnostic accuracy of qualitative (clustering and switching) verbal fluency strategies and their correlates with functional imaging in PD-MCI. METHODS Forty-five patients with PD (26 with MCI and 19 without MCI) and 25 healthy controls underwent comprehensive neurocognitive testing and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. MCI in patients with PD was diagnosed according to established clinical criteria. The diagnostic accuracy of verbal fluency measures was determined via receiver operating characteristic analysis. Changes in brain functional connectivity between groups and across clinical measures were assessed using seed-to-voxel analyses. RESULTS Patients with PD-MCI generated fewer words and switched less frequently in semantic and phonemic fluency tasks compared to other groups. Switching in semantic fluency showed high diagnostic accuracy for PD-MCI and was associated with reduced functional connectivity in the salience network. CONCLUSION Our results indicate that reduced switching in semantic fluency tasks is a sensitive and specific marker for PD-MCI. Qualitative verbal fluency deficits and salience network dysfunction represent early clinical changes observed in PD-MCI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomoya Hamada
- Department of Neurology and Stroke Medicine, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan.,Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Therapy, Japan Welfare Education College, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yuichi Higashiyama
- Department of Neurology and Stroke Medicine, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Asami Saito
- Department of Neurology and Stroke Medicine, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Keisuke Morihara
- Department of Neurology and Stroke Medicine, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Ramon Landin-Romero
- The University of Sydney, School of Psychology, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,The University of Sydney, Brain & Mind Centre, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Mitsuo Okamoto
- Department of Neurology and Stroke Medicine, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Katsuo Kimura
- Department of Neurology, Yokohama City University Medical Center Hospital, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Yousuke Miyaji
- Department of Neurology and Stroke Medicine, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Hideto Joki
- Department of Neurology and Stroke Medicine, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Hitaru Kishida
- Department of Neurology, Yokohama City University Medical Center Hospital, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Doi
- Department of Neurology and Stroke Medicine, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Naohisa Ueda
- Department of Neurology, Yokohama City University Medical Center Hospital, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Hideyuki Takeuchi
- Department of Neurology and Stroke Medicine, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Fumiaki Tanaka
- Department of Neurology and Stroke Medicine, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
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12
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McCollum LE, Das SR, Xie L, de Flores R, Wang J, Xie SX, Wisse LEM, Yushkevich PA, Wolk DA. Oh brother, where art tau? Amyloid, neurodegeneration, and cognitive decline without elevated tau. Neuroimage Clin 2021; 31:102717. [PMID: 34119903 PMCID: PMC8207301 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2021.102717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Revised: 05/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) can be an early manifestation of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology, other pathologic entities [e.g., cerebrovascular disease, Lewy body disease, LATE (limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy)], or mixed pathologies, with concomitant AD- and non-AD pathology being particularly common, albeit difficult to identify, in living MCI patients. The National Institute on Aging and Alzheimer's Association (NIA-AA) A/T/(N) [β-Amyloid/Tau/(Neurodegeneration)] AD research framework, which classifies research participants according to three binary biomarkers [β-amyloid (A+/A-), tau (T+/T-), and neurodegeneration (N+/N-)], provides an indirect means of identifying such cases. Individuals with A+T-(N+) MCI are thought to have both AD pathologic change, given the presence of β-amyloid, and non-AD pathophysiology, given neurodegeneration without tau, because in typical AD it is tau accumulation that is most tightly linked to neuronal injury and cognitive decline. Thus, in A+T-(N+) MCI (hereafter referred to as "mismatch MCI" for the tau-neurodegeneration mismatch), non-AD pathology is hypothesized to drive neurodegeneration and symptoms, because β-amyloid, in the absence of tau, likely reflects a preclinical stage of AD. We compared a group of individuals with mismatch MCI to groups with A+T+(N+) MCI (or "prodromal AD") and A-T-(N+) MCI (or "neurodegeneration-only MCI") on cross-sectional and longitudinal cognition and neuroimaging characteristics. β-amyloid and tau status were determined by CSF assays, while neurodegeneration status was based on hippocampal volume on MRI. Overall, mismatch MCI was less "AD-like" than prodromal AD and generally, with some exceptions, more closely resembled the neurodegeneration-only group. At baseline, mismatch MCI had less episodic memory loss compared to prodromal AD. Longitudinally, mismatch MCI declined more slowly than prodromal AD across all included cognitive domains, while mismatch MCI and neurodegeneration-only MCI declined at comparable rates. Prodromal AD had smaller baseline posterior hippocampal volume than mismatch MCI, and whole brain analyses demonstrated cortical thinning that was widespread in prodromal AD but largely restricted to the medial temporal lobes (MTLs) for the mismatch and neurodegeneration-only MCI groups. Longitudinally, mismatch MCI had slower rates of volume loss than prodromal AD throughout the MTLs. Differences in cross-sectional and longitudinal cognitive and neuroimaging measures between mismatch MCI and prodromal AD may reflect disparate underlying pathologic processes, with the mismatch group potentially being driven by non-AD pathologies on a background of largely preclinical AD. These findings suggest that β-amyloid status alone in MCI may not reveal the underlying driver of symptoms with important implications for enrollment in clinical trials and prognosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren E McCollum
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Medicine, University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine, Knoxville, TN, USA.
| | - Sandhitsu R Das
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Radiology, Penn Image Computing and Science Laboratory (PICSL), University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Long Xie
- Department of Radiology, Penn Image Computing and Science Laboratory (PICSL), University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Robin de Flores
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Radiology, Penn Image Computing and Science Laboratory (PICSL), University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; INSERM UMR-S U1237, Université de Caen Normandie, Caen, Normandy, USA
| | - Jieqiong Wang
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Sharon X Xie
- Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Laura E M Wisse
- Department of Radiology, Penn Image Computing and Science Laboratory (PICSL), University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Paul A Yushkevich
- Department of Radiology, Penn Image Computing and Science Laboratory (PICSL), University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - David A Wolk
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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13
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Crocco EA, Curiel RE, Kitaigorodsky M, Grau GA, Garcia JM, Duara R, Barker W, Chirinos CL, Rodriguez R, Loewenstein DA. Intrusion Errors and Progression of Cognitive Deficits in Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment and PreMCI States. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord 2021; 50:135-142. [PMID: 34161947 PMCID: PMC8376744 DOI: 10.1159/000512804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 11/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Among persons with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), intrusion errors on subscales that measure proactive semantic interference (PSI) may be among the earliest behavioral markers of elevated Alzheimer's disease brain pathology. While there has been considerable cross-sectional work in the area, it is presently unknown whether semantic intrusion errors are predictive of progression of cognitive impairment in aMCI or PreMCI (not cognitively normal but not meeting full criteria for MCI). METHODS This study examined the extent to which the percentage of semantic intrusion errors (PIE) based on total responses on a novel cognitive stress test, the Loewenstein-Acevedo Scales for Semantic Interference and Learning (LASSI-L), could predict clinical/cognitive outcomes over an average 26-month period in older adults initially diagnosed with aMCI, PreMCI, and normal cognition. RESULTS On the LASSI-L subscale sensitive to PSI, a PIE cut point of 44% intrusion errors distinguished between those at-risk individuals with PreMCI who progressed to MCI over time compared to individuals with PreMCI who reverted to normal on longitudinal follow-up. Importantly, PIE was able to accurately predict 83.3% of aMCI individuals who later progressed to dementia. DISCUSSION These preliminary findings indicate that PIE on LASSI-L subscales that measure PSI may be a useful predictor of clinical progression overtime in at-risk older adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A. Crocco
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1695 NW 9 Avenue, Miami, Florida, 33136. U.S.A
| | - Rosie E. Curiel
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1695 NW 9 Avenue, Miami, Florida, 33136. U.S.A.,Corresponding Author: Rosie E. Curiel Cid, Psy.D., Associate Professor and Neuropsychologist, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1695 NW 9 Avenue, Suite 3202, Miami, FL 33136.,
| | - Marcela Kitaigorodsky
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1695 NW 9 Avenue, Miami, Florida, 33136. U.S.A
| | - Gabriella A. Grau
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1695 NW 9 Avenue, Miami, Florida, 33136. U.S.A
| | - Jessica M. Garcia
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1695 NW 9 Avenue, Miami, Florida, 33136. U.S.A
| | - Ranjan Duara
- Wien Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders, Mount Sinai Medical Center, 4300 Alton Road, Miami Beach, Florida 33140, U.S.A
| | - Warren Barker
- Wien Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders, Mount Sinai Medical Center, 4300 Alton Road, Miami Beach, Florida 33140, U.S.A
| | - Cesar L. Chirinos
- Wien Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders, Mount Sinai Medical Center, 4300 Alton Road, Miami Beach, Florida 33140, U.S.A
| | - Rosemarie Rodriguez
- Wien Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders, Mount Sinai Medical Center, 4300 Alton Road, Miami Beach, Florida 33140, U.S.A
| | - David A. Loewenstein
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1695 NW 9 Avenue, Miami, Florida, 33136. U.S.A
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14
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Capp KE, Curiel Cid RE, Crocco EA, Stripling A, Kitaigorodsky M, Sierra LA, Melo JG, Loewenstein DA. Semantic Intrusion Error Ratio Distinguishes Between Cognitively Impaired and Cognitively Intact African American Older Adults. J Alzheimers Dis 2020; 73:785-790. [PMID: 31884484 DOI: 10.3233/jad-191022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Semantic intrusion errors on memory tests may represent very early cognitive changes associated with elevated Alzheimer's disease pathology within the brain, including amyloid-β (Aβ). Subscales that measure proactive semantic interference (PSI) and intrusions related to PSI on the Loewenstein Acevedo Scales of Semantic Interference and Learning (LASSI-L) have been associated with high levels of brain amyloid load, structural changes on brain MRI in Hispanic and non-Hispanic groups. It is presently unknown whether intrusion errors or other measures of the LASSI-L can differentiate between African-American (AA) older adults diagnosed with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) or classified as cognitively normal (CN). OBJECTIVE This study examined the extent to which a high percentage of semantic intrusion errors on LASSI-L subscales susceptible to PSI and other LASSI-L measures could differentiate between AA aMCI and CN groups. METHODS Forty-eight AA older adults were recruited (27 CN and 21 aMCI) and received a through clinical and neuropsychological evaluation. The LASSI-L was administered independent of diagnostic classification. RESULTS With and without statistical adjustment for literacy, AA aMCI participants scored lower on all LASSI-L measures. ROC analyses revealed an area under the curve exceeding 90% and correctly classified 86% of AA aMCI with 82% specificity for AA CN participants. CONCLUSIONS Percentage of intrusion errors on the LASSI-L subscales susceptible to PSI differentiated AA aMCI from AA CN. This adds to emerging evidence indicating that the LASSI-L may be culturally appropriate and can differentiate between aMCI and CN in diverse ethnic/cultural groups.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Rosie E Curiel Cid
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Crocco
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA
| | | | - Marcela Kitaigorodsky
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Luis A Sierra
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Jose G Melo
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA
| | - David A Loewenstein
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA
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15
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Crocco E, Curiel-Cid RE, Kitaigorodsky M, González-Jiménez CJ, Zheng D, Duara R, Loewenstein DA. A Brief Version of the LASSI-L Detects Prodromal Alzheimer's Disease States. J Alzheimers Dis 2020; 78:789-799. [PMID: 33074233 DOI: 10.3233/jad-200790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The Loewenstein-Acevedo Scales for Semantic Interference and Learning (LASSI-L) is an increasingly utilized cognitive stress test designed to identify early cognitive changes associated with incipient neurodegenerative disease. OBJECTIVE To examine previously derived cut-points for cognitively unimpaired older adults that were suggestive of performance impairment on multiple subscales of the LASSI-L. These cut-points were applied to a new sample of older adults who were cognitive healthy controls (HC: n = 26) and those on the Alzheimer's disease (AD) continuum from early stage mild cognitive impairment (EMCI: n = 28), late stage MCI (LMCI: n = 18) to mild AD (AD: n = 27). METHODS All participants were administered the LASSI-L. All cognitively impaired participants were PET amyloid positive which likely reflects underlying AD neuropathology, while cognitively normal counterparts were deemed to have amyloid negative scans. RESULTS There was a monotonic relationship between the number of deficits on LASSI-L subscales and independent classification of study groups with greater severity of cognitive impairment. Importantly, taken together, impairment on maximum learning ability and measures of proactive semantic interference (both reflected by cued recall and intrusion errors) correctly classified 74.1% of EMCI, 94.4% of LMCI, and 96.3% of AD. Only 7.7% of HC were incorrectly classified as having impairments. CONCLUSION A modest number of LASSI-L subscales taking approximately 8 minutes to administer, had excellent discriminative ability using established cut-offs among individuals with presumptive stages of AD. This has potential implications for both clinical practice and clinical research settings targeting AD during early prodromal stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Crocco
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.,1Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Rosie E Curiel-Cid
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.,1Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Marcela Kitaigorodsky
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Christian J González-Jiménez
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Diane Zheng
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Ranjan Duara
- 1Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Miami, FL, USA.,Wien Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami, FL, USA
| | - David A Loewenstein
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.,1Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Miami, FL, USA
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16
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Curiel Cid RE, Crocco EA, Duara R, Garcia JM, Rosselli M, DeKosky ST, Smith G, Bauer R, Chirinos CL, Adjouadi M, Barker W, Loewenstein DA. A novel method of evaluating semantic intrusion errors to distinguish between amyloid positive and negative groups on the Alzheimer's disease continuum. J Psychiatr Res 2020; 124:131-136. [PMID: 32146222 PMCID: PMC10026350 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2020.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2019] [Revised: 02/07/2020] [Accepted: 02/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The development and validation of clinical outcome measures to detect early cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarkers is imperative. Semantic intrusions on the Loewenstein Acevedo Scales of Semantic Interference and Learning (LASSI-L) has outperformed widely used cognitive measures as an early correlate of elevated brain amyloid in prodromal AD and has distinguished those with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and high amyloid load from aMCI attributable to other non-AD conditions. METHODS Since intrusion errors on memory tasks vary widely, we employed a novel method that accounts for the percentage of intrusion errors (PIE) in relation to total responses. Individuals with either high or low amyloid load across the spectrum of aMCI and dementia and amyloid negative cognitively normal older adults (CN) were studied. RESULTS Mean PIE on indices sensitive to proactive semantic interference (PSI) and failure to recover from proactive semantic interference (frPSI) could distinguish amyloid positive from amyloid negative aMCI and dementia groups. Number of correct responses alone, while able to differentiate the different diagnostic groups, did not differentiate amyloid positive aMCI from their counterparts without amyloid pathology. CONCLUSIONS PIE, a novel and sensitive index of early memory dysfunction, demonstrated high levels of sensitivity and specificity in differentiating CN from amyloid positive persons with preclinical AD. Mean levels of PIE are higher for amyloid positive aMCI and dementia participants relative to their amyloid negative counterparts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosie E Curiel Cid
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1695 NW 9th Avenue, Miami, FL, 33136, USA.
| | - Elizabeth A Crocco
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1695 NW 9th Avenue, Miami, FL, 33136, USA
| | - Ranjan Duara
- Wien Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders, Mount Sinai Medical Center, 4300 Alton Road, Miami Beach, FL, 33140, USA
| | - Jessica M Garcia
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1695 NW 9th Avenue, Miami, FL, 33136, USA
| | - Monica Rosselli
- Department of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton, FL, 33431, USA
| | - Steven T DeKosky
- Department of Neurology and McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, 1149 Newell Drive Bldg. 59, Rm L5-101, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Glenn Smith
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, 1225 Center Dr., RM 3154, Gainesville, FL, 32606, USA
| | - Russell Bauer
- Department of Neurology and McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, 1149 Newell Drive Bldg. 59, Rm L5-101, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Cesar L Chirinos
- Wien Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders, Mount Sinai Medical Center, 4300 Alton Road, Miami Beach, FL, 33140, USA
| | - Malek Adjouadi
- Center for Advanced Technology and Education, Florida International University, 10555 West Flagler Street, EC 2220, Miami, FL, 33174, USA
| | - Warren Barker
- Wien Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders, Mount Sinai Medical Center, 4300 Alton Road, Miami Beach, FL, 33140, USA
| | - David A Loewenstein
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1695 NW 9th Avenue, Miami, FL, 33136, USA
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Curiel Cid RE, Loewenstein DA, Rosselli M, Matias-Guiu JA, Piña D, Adjouadi M, Cabrerizo M, Bauer RM, Chan A, DeKosky ST, Golde T, Greig-Custo MT, Lizarraga G, Peñate A, Duara R. A cognitive stress test for prodromal Alzheimer's disease: Multiethnic generalizability. ALZHEIMER'S & DEMENTIA (AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS) 2019; 11:550-559. [PMID: 31417955 PMCID: PMC6691954 DOI: 10.1016/j.dadm.2019.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Culturally fair cognitive assessments sensitive to detecting changes associated with prodromal Alzheimer's disease are needed. METHODS Performance of Hispanic and non-Hispanic older adults on the Loewenstein-Acevedo Scale of Semantic Interference and Learning (LASSI-L) was examined in persons with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) or normal cognition. The association between a novel cognitive marker, the failure to recover from proactive semantic interference (frPSI), and cortical thinning was explored. RESULTS English-speaking aMCI participants scored lower than cognitively normal participants on all LASSI-L indices, while Spanish-speaking aMCI participants scored lower in learning, frPSI, and delayed recall. Healthy controls obtained equivalent scores on all indices except retroactive semantic interference. English-speaking and Spanish-speaking aMCI participants had equivalent scores except English speaker's greater vulnerability to frPSI. Across aMCI groups, frPSI was associated with cortical thinning of the entorhinal cortex and precuneus (r = -0.45 to r = 0.52; P < .005). DISCUSSION In diverse populations, LASSI-L performance differentiated patients with aMCI from cognitively normal older adults and was associated with thinning in Alzheimer's disease-prone regions, suggesting its clinical utility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosie E. Curiel Cid
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA
| | - David A. Loewenstein
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Monica Rosselli
- Department of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, USA
| | - Jordi A. Matias-Guiu
- Department of Neurology, San Carlos Research Health Institute (Hospital Clínico San Carlos, IdISSC), Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain
| | - Daema Piña
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Malek Adjouadi
- Center for Advanced Technology and Education, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Mercedes Cabrerizo
- Center for Advanced Technology and Education, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Russell M. Bauer
- Department of Neurology and McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Aldrich Chan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Steven T. DeKosky
- Department of Neurology and McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Todd Golde
- Department of Neurology and McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Maria T. Greig-Custo
- Wien Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach, FL, USA
| | - Gabriel Lizarraga
- Center for Advanced Technology and Education, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Ailyn Peñate
- Wien Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach, FL, USA
| | - Ranjan Duara
- Wien Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach, FL, USA
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Lim K, Kim J, Lee H, Yoo J, Kim HS, Kim C, Lee H. COWAT Performance of Persons with Alzheimer Dementia, Vascular Dementia, and Parkinson Disease Dementia According to Stage of Cognitive Impairment. PM R 2019; 11:737-744. [DOI: 10.1002/pmrj.12125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2018] [Accepted: 12/28/2018] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kil‐Byung Lim
- Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationIlsan Paik Hospital, Inje University Goyang South Korea
| | - Jiyong Kim
- Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationIlsan Paik Hospital, Inje University Goyang South Korea
| | - Hong‐Jae Lee
- Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationIlsan Paik Hospital, Inje University Goyang South Korea
| | - Jeehyun Yoo
- Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationIlsan Paik Hospital, Inje University Goyang South Korea
| | - Ha Seong Kim
- Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationIlsan Paik Hospital, Inje University Goyang South Korea
| | - Changgyu Kim
- Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationIlsan Paik Hospital, Inje University Goyang South Korea
| | - Hojin Lee
- Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationIlsan Paik Hospital, Inje University Goyang South Korea
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Wajman JR, Cecchini MA, Bertolucci PHF, Mansur LL. Quanti-qualitative components of the semantic verbal fluency test in cognitively healthy controls, mild cognitive impairment, and dementia subtypes. APPLIED NEUROPSYCHOLOGY-ADULT 2018; 26:533-542. [PMID: 30375889 DOI: 10.1080/23279095.2018.1465426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
This study is aimed to evaluating the underlying cognitive strategies used during Semantic Verbal Fluency (SVF) performance and comparing the differences between cognitively healthy controls (CHC), amnestic and amnestic-multiple domain mild cognitive impairment (a-MCI and a-md-MCI), Alzheimer's disease (AD), Lewy body dementia (LBD), and behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). The cross-sectional study comprised 236 participants involving 78 CHC individuals, 33 a-MCI and 48 a-md-MCI, 39 AD, 22 LBD, and 16 bvFTD patients. Scores differed significantly when comparing CHC with dementia groups, showing medium to large variances. The best components in distinguishing between CHC and the dementia groups were the SVF-Total score and SVF-Cluster Size variables. CHC showed different performance in the SVF-Cluster Size variable compared with a-md-MCI, AD, and bvFTD; whereas, in the SVF-Mean Cluster Size, CHC differed from MCI's, AD, and LBD. The switching component displayed smaller capacity to differentiate between the clinical groups. The effect size was large comparing AD with bvFTD (1.267) and medium comparing AD with LBD (0.689) using the SVF-Cluster Size variable, but small using the other variables for the comparisons between dementia groups. Quanti-qualitative examination of the SVF may provide a valuable clue in distinguishing CHC from MCI and different dementia subtypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Roberto Wajman
- Behavioural Neurology Section, Hospital São Paulo, Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) , São Paulo , São Paulo , Brazil.,Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo , São Paulo , São Paulo , Brazil
| | - Mario Amore Cecchini
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo , São Paulo , São Paulo , Brazil
| | | | - Letícia Lessa Mansur
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo , São Paulo , São Paulo , Brazil
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Distinct progression of the deterioration of thematic and taxonomic links in natural and manufactured objects in Alzheimer's disease. Neuropsychologia 2016; 91:426-434. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2016] [Revised: 08/30/2016] [Accepted: 09/03/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Caputi N, Di Giacomo D, Aloisio F, Passafiume D. Deterioration of semantic associative relationships in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer Disease. APPLIED NEUROPSYCHOLOGY-ADULT 2015; 23:186-95. [PMID: 26508434 PMCID: PMC4819827 DOI: 10.1080/23279095.2015.1030020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this research was to study semantic abilities and their loss in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and in dementia, while analyzing efficiency in the use of associative relations, within verbal and visuoperceptual modalities. Participants were split into 4 groups: 19 participants with amnestic MCI, 16 patients with mild Alzheimer disease (AD), 20 patients with moderate AD, and 20 healthy controls (HCs). All participants performed standardized neuropsychological tests and experimental (naming and semantic associations) tasks to evaluate verbal and visuoperceptual semantic abilities. We analyzed 4 associative relations (part/whole, function, superordinate, and contiguity) in both verbal and visuoperceptual code. Our results suggest a progressive impairment in semantic categorization knowledge, with worse performance in the AD groups relative to the MCI and HC groups. Our data show a different pattern in the 4 associative relations and the involvement of associative semantic relations already in the early stage of disease, as well as a different pattern of deterioration between verbal and visuoperceptual modalities. Our data indicate that the visuoperceptual semantic network appears to be less deteriorated than the verbal network in AD. The verbal semantic network may be more sensitive in detecting patients at an early stage of the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicoletta Caputi
- a Department of Life, Health and Environmental Science , University of L'Aquila , L'Aquila , Italy
| | - Dina Di Giacomo
- a Department of Life, Health and Environmental Science , University of L'Aquila , L'Aquila , Italy
| | - Federica Aloisio
- a Department of Life, Health and Environmental Science , University of L'Aquila , L'Aquila , Italy
| | - Domenico Passafiume
- a Department of Life, Health and Environmental Science , University of L'Aquila , L'Aquila , Italy
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22
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Cuetos F, Arce N, Martínez C, Ellis AW. Word recognition in Alzheimer's disease: Effects of semantic degeneration. J Neuropsychol 2015; 11:26-39. [DOI: 10.1111/jnp.12077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2014] [Revised: 05/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Abstract
Alzheimer’s disease irrevocably challenges a person’s capacity to communicate with others. Earlier research on these challenges focused on the language disorders associated with the condition and situated language deficit solely in the limitations of a person’s cognitive and semantic impairments. This research falls short of gaining insight into the actual interactional experiences of a person with Alzheimer’s and their family. Drawing on a UK data set of 70 telephone calls recorded over a two-and-a-half year period (2006–2008) between one elderly woman with Alzheimer’s disease, and her daughter and son-in-law, this paper explores the role which communication (and its degeneration) plays in family relationships. Investigating these interactions, using a conversation analytic approach, reveals that there are clearly communicative difficulties, but closer inspection suggests that they arise due to the contingencies that are generated by the other’s contributions in the interaction. That being so, this paper marks a departure from the traditional focus on language level analysis and the assumption that deficits are intrinsic to the individual with Alzheimer’s, and instead focuses on the collaborative communicative challenges that arise in the interaction itself and which have a profound impact on people’s lives and relationships.
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Mårdh S, Nägga K, Samuelsson S. A longitudinal study of semantic memory impairment in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Cortex 2013; 49:528-33. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2012.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2011] [Revised: 10/17/2011] [Accepted: 02/07/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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Passafiume D, De Federicis LS, Carbone G, Giacomo DD. Loss of Semantic Associative Categories in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease. APPLIED NEUROPSYCHOLOGY-ADULT 2012; 19:305-11. [DOI: 10.1080/09084282.2012.670160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Domenico Passafiume
- a Department of Internal Medicine and Public Health , University of L'Aquila , L'Aquila , Italy
- b Father A. Mileno Foundation , Vasto , Italy
| | | | - Gabriele Carbone
- c Alzheimer Center , Italian Hospital Group , Guidonia (Roma) , Italy
| | - Dina Di Giacomo
- a Department of Internal Medicine and Public Health , University of L'Aquila , L'Aquila , Italy
- b Father A. Mileno Foundation , Vasto , Italy
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Di Giacomo D, De Federicis LS, Pistelli M, Fiorenzi D, Sodani E, Carbone G, Passafiume D. The loss of conceptual associations in mild Alzheimer's dementia. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 2012; 34:643-53. [PMID: 22440014 DOI: 10.1080/13803395.2012.667393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Changes in semantic memory are a controversial topic in research on cognitive decline in aging. In this study, we analyzed whether the semantic deficits in mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) reflect the information acquisition process, and whether the deficits are related to when the information was initially stored. We hypothesized that in the earlier stages of dementia, the ability to access semantic associative relations reflects the use of these associations during different developmental stages. Specifically, we asserted that Alzheimer's patients might be able to access the relations that are learned earlier in life for the longest amount of time compared to those that are learned later. In this study, 254 subjects were divided into four groups (child, adult, senior, and Alzheimer's patients groups) and were evaluated with an experimental semantic association task that incorporated five semantic associative relations that were used to compare performance by age group. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) 4 × 5 test showed a significant main group effect, F(3, 250) = 97.1, p < .001, and an associative relations effect, F(4, 1000) = 23.1, p < .001, as well as an interaction of Group × Associative Relations, F(12, 1000) = 8.5, p < .001. The results demonstrated that the semantic associative relations that were acquired in later developmental stages were less preserved in persons with mild AD (i.e., superordinate relation, p < .0001). On the contrary, the semantic relations acquired earlier in childhood were better preserved in persons with mild AD. Our results suggest that semantic impairment begins with difficulties in using the associative relations that link concepts together in the semantic memory of patients with mild AD dementia (and possibly in individuals with mild cognitive impairment).
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Affiliation(s)
- Dina Di Giacomo
- Department of Internal Medicine and Public Health, University of L'Aquila, Coppito L'Aquila, Italy.
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Bueno OFA, Bertolucci PHF, Oliveira MGM, Abrisqueta-Gomez J. Effects of semantic relations, repetition of words, and list length in word list recall of Alzheimer's patients. ARQUIVOS DE NEURO-PSIQUIATRIA 2009; 66:312-7. [PMID: 18641862 DOI: 10.1590/s0004-282x2008000300005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2007] [Accepted: 03/24/2008] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Semantic relations among words and repetition enhance free recall, but it is unknown if these facilitating factors are effective in dementia. METHOD Alzheimer's patients (MILD-Alz, MOD-Alz) were compared to healthy elderly. Fifteen-word lists were read out to the subjects. In four sets of lists the words in intermediary input positions were semantically related or not, or the midlist words were repeated, or they were repeated and semantically related. RESULTS The usual third peak of recall of semantically related words was not observed in MOD-Alz, repetition of words did not increase recall of the patients, and the combination of relatedness and repetition benefited only MID-Alz. In a second experiment, with related or unrelated midlist words, and list length shortened from 15 to 9 words, semantic facilitation was observed in mild and moderate Alzheimer s patients, although diminished compared to controls. CONCLUSION Progression of dementia turns facilitating factors of recall less effective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Orlando F A Bueno
- Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
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Raboutet C, Sauzeon H, Corsini MM, Rodrigues J, Langevin S, N'kaoua B. Performance on a semantic verbal fluency task across time: dissociation between clustering, switching, and categorical exploitation processes. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 2009; 32:268-80. [PMID: 19657912 DOI: 10.1080/13803390902984464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
The aims of this study were to investigate semantic retrieval processes and errors across time during a semantic fluency task and to specify their components (i.e., executive vs. semantic). To do so, we analyzed the productions of 50 healthy participants (using the "supermarket" fluency task). The scores were compared before and after a 30-s interval. Across time, the results showed a decrease in the number of words produced and hard switching. Cluster switching and the number of intrusions remained constant, while clustering, and both the number of exemplars and repetitions increased. These results are discussed in terms of a progressive involvement of a semantic cognitive strategy of retrieval.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catriona Raboutet
- Laboratoire Cognition et Facteurs Humains, Universite Bordeaux 2, Bordeaux, France.
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Pekkala S, Goral M, Hyun J, Obler LK, Erkinjuntti T, Albert ML. Semantic verbal fluency in two contrasting languages. CLINICAL LINGUISTICS & PHONETICS 2009; 23:431-445. [PMID: 19440894 PMCID: PMC2760351 DOI: 10.1080/02699200902839800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
This cross-linguistic study investigated Semantic Verbal Fluency (SVF) performance in 30 American English-speaking and 30 Finnish-speaking healthy elderly adults with different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Despite the different backgrounds of the participant groups, remarkable similarities were found between the groups in the overall SVF performance in two semantic categories (animals and clothes), in the proportions of words produced within the first half (30 seconds) of the SVF tasks, and in the variety of words produced for the categories. These similarities emerged despite the difference in the mean length of words produced in the two languages (with Finnish words being significantly longer than English words). The few differences found between the groups concerned the types and frequencies of the 10 most common words generated for the categories. It was concluded that culture and language differences do not contribute significantly to variability in SVF performance in healthy elderly people.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seija Pekkala
- Department of Speech Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
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Ahmed S, Arnold R, Thompson SA, Graham KS, Hodges JR. Naming of objects, faces and buildings in mild cognitive impairment. Cortex 2008; 44:746-52. [PMID: 18472044 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2007.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2006] [Revised: 12/21/2006] [Accepted: 02/08/2007] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Accruing evidence suggests that the cognitive deficits in very early Alzheimer's Disease (AD) are not confined to episodic memory, with a number of studies documenting semantic memory deficits, especially for knowledge of people. To investigate whether this difficulty in naming famous people extends to other proper names based information, three naming tasks - the Graded Naming Test (GNT), which uses objects and animals, the Graded Faces Test (GFT) and the newly designed Graded Buildings Test (GBT) - were administered to 69 participants (32 patients in the early prodromal stage of AD, so-called Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), and 37 normal control participants). Patients were found to be impaired on all three tests compared to controls, although naming of objects was significantly better than naming of faces and buildings. Discriminant analysis successfully predicted group membership for 100% controls and 78.1% of patients. The results suggest that even in cases that do not yet fulfil criteria for AD naming of famous people and buildings is impaired, and that both these semantic domains show greater vulnerability than general semantic knowledge. A semantic deficit together with the hallmark episodic deficit may be common in MCI, and that the use of graded tasks tapping semantic memory may be useful for the early identification of patients with MCI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samrah Ahmed
- Medical Research Council, Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, UK.
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Kavé G. Phonemic Fluency, Semantic Fluency, and Difference Scores: Normative Data for Adult Hebrew Speakers. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 2007; 27:690-9. [PMID: 16019645 DOI: 10.1080/13803390490918499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 115] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Norms for Hebrew semantic and phonemic fluency were collected in a sample of 369 participants, ranging in age from 18 to 85. Two hundred and sixty nine persons completed both tests and the rest completed only the semantic test. Phonemic fluency was assessed with the use of three letters (bet, gimel, and shin) and semantic fluency with the use of three categories (animals, fruits and vegetables, and vehicles). Scores of individual letters and categories, sum scores, as well as the difference between the semantic and phonemic sum scores are presented for four age groups (18-30, 31-50, 51-70, and 71-85). Results show that age had the greatest effect on fluency performance, level of education was positively correlated to sum scores but contributed little to its prediction beyond the contribution of age, and gender had no significant effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gitit Kavé
- Department of Communication Disorders, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
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March EG, Pattison P. Semantic Verbal Fluency in Alzheimer's Disease: Approaches beyond the Traditional Scoring System. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 2007; 28:549-66. [PMID: 16624783 DOI: 10.1080/13803390590949502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
This study aimed to expand extant Alzheimer's disease (AD) research on cluster size and switching strategies in semantic verbal fluency (SVF). First, it addressed a significant shortcoming in research, that is, the use of a single semantic category (i.e., Animal). Second, it examined subjects of lower education levels, as research to date has primarily focussed on tertiary education. Subjects were 26 mild to moderate AD patients and 26 healthy elderly, 65 years old and over, with less than 12 years of schooling. The study examined the cluster size and switching variables, together with the number of subcategories, in two semantic categories (i.e., Animal and Supermarket). Furthermore, it investigated the error patterns (i.e., repetitions and categorical errors) across three semantic categories (i.e., Animal, Supermarket and Furniture). The findings provide preliminary support for category-specific effects on qualitative aspects of SVF highlighting the need to incorporate multiple semantic categories to research and clinical practice.
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Auriacombe S, Lechevallier N, Amieva H, Harston S, Raoux N, Dartigues JF. A longitudinal study of quantitative and qualitative features of category verbal fluency in incident Alzheimer's disease subjects: results from the PAQUID study. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord 2006; 21:260-6. [PMID: 16465054 DOI: 10.1159/000091407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/26/2005] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Category fluency tests were administered at baseline and after 3 and 5 years on two subgroups of subjects from a population-based cohort of elderly subjects: 52 cases of incident possible and probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 104 age- and education-matched subjects who remained nondemented. Quantitative and qualitative features of category fluency were assessed to determine how changes occur within 5 years of the diagnosis of AD. Consistent with previous results, we found that the number of words produced on this task was already significantly lower 5 years before the diagnosis in subjects with incident AD as compared with subjects who did not become demented. However, the rate of repetitions only significantly increased in AD subjects at the time of diagnosis, and the rate of intrusions remained low and not significantly different between the two groups. Thus, it is concluded that dysfunction in cognitive processes underlying repetitions and intrusions in verbal fluency tasks, such as inhibitory processes and working memory, may not be the main cause of the very early deficit in verbal fluency occurring in AD.
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Passafiume D, Di Giacomo D, Carolei A. Word-stem completion task to investigate semantic network in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Eur J Neurol 2006; 13:460-4. [PMID: 16722969 DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-1331.2006.01265.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Semantic impairment in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) is revealed by tasks of verbal naming, verbal fluency, and semantic knowledge. Causes of the deficit remain unclear in spite of many studies to investigate whether AD patients suffer from the inability to have voluntary access to an almost intact semantic store or from its break down. Word-stem completion (WSC) tasks have been utilized in healthy subjects in order to study semantic memory and network by exploiting the possibility of the involuntary access to them. Available conflicting data refer to the presence of semantic prime in AD patients. To explore the semantic network in AD, patients were requested to complete with the first word that sprang to their mind a stem submitted immediately after presentation of the word prime, as a WSC task. Stems consisted of the three beginning letters of words that were semantically related to primes. We compared data obtained with this task from patients with mild to moderate AD with those from normal controls (NC). AD patients completed less stems (P<0.001) with the expected words than NC, suggesting a break down of the semantic network rather than a deficit in the access to the semantic store.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Passafiume
- Unità di Neuropsicologia Clinica e Comportamentale, Clinica Neurologica, Dipartimento di Medicina Interna e Sanità Pubblica, Università degli Studi di l'Aquila, Coppito, Italy.
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Boccardi M, Frisoni GB. Cognitive rehabilitation for severe dementia: Critical observations for better use of existing knowledge. Mech Ageing Dev 2006; 127:166-72. [PMID: 16280151 DOI: 10.1016/j.mad.2005.09.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2004] [Revised: 05/20/2005] [Accepted: 09/15/2005] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Cognitive rehabilitation for severely demented patients is a hard job for a number of reasons. The most recent evidence-based strategies (such as the cued recall or the spaced retrieval techniques) aim to improve cognitive function at initial stages of the disease, while in more severe stages interventions such as validation therapy are used, which are traditionally adopted, but lack a solid scientific rationale, and often even a consistent evidence-based efficacy. Many studies have been carried out to try demonstrate the effect of these "therapies", or to project new interventions, while little attention has been given to the fact that simple neuropsychological principles keeping into account the nature of the pathological aging observed in dementia can be fruitfully adopted to improve and personalize different kinds of intervention. A rational use of current neuropsychological concepts optimizes the patient's benefit as well as the operator's efforts. A rehabilitative intervention based on current neuropsychological concepts and on awareness of the mechanisms of pathological ageing of cognition provides the possibility of tailored treatments for many different patients, an important reduction of burn-out in the personnel, and clinically relevant outcomes, such as an implicit orientation for the patient, with beneficial effects on mood and behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Boccardi
- LENITEM Laboratory of Epidemiology, Neuroimaging & Telemedicine, IRCCS San Giovanni di Dio-FBF, via Pilastroni 4, I-25125 Brescia, Italy
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Semantic and phonemic sequence effects in random word generation: a dissociation between Alzheimer's and Huntington's disease patients. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2005; 11:303-10. [PMID: 15892906 DOI: 10.1017/s1355617705050356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2004] [Revised: 08/27/2004] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients perform worse on category than letter fluency tasks, while Huntington's disease (HD) patients show the reverse pattern or comparable impairment on both tasks. We developed a random word generation task to further investigate these deficits. Twenty AD and 16 HD patients and 20 elderly and 16 middle-aged controls guessed which of three pictures (hat, cat, or dog) landed on a die's top face sixty times. Three consecutive response pairings were possible: semantic (cat-dog), phonemic (hat-cat), and neutral (hat-dog). Since healthy individuals avoid repeating meaningful associates ("repetition avoidance"), an increased pairing frequency reflects processing deficits. AD patients produced more semantic and HD patients more phonemic pairings compared to their respective control groups, indicating selective semantic and phonemic processing deficits in AD and HD patients, respectively.
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Miller KJ, Rogers SA, Siddarth P, Small GW. Object naming and semantic fluency among individuals with genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 2005; 20:128-36. [PMID: 15660408 DOI: 10.1002/gps.1262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES This study longitudinally examined the object naming and semantic fluency of individuals who are at risk for developing Alzheimer's disease (AD) by virtue of having APOE-4 or a family history of AD. METHODS A total of 108 participants (40 with a family history of AD and 43 with APOE-4) completed the Boston Naming Test and the Animal Naming task at initial assessment and after two years. RESULTS At baseline, object naming was significantly lower for those with both risk factors, F(2, 99) = 5.72, p < 0.01, but those with either risk factor had significantly lower scores at follow-up, F(2, 99) = 3.41, p < 0.05. Semantic fluency (animal naming) was reduced among subjects with the APOE-4 allele at baseline, F(1, 100) = 4.02, p < 0.05, but it was not associated with either risk factor at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS These deficits may be associated with a prodromal risk for AD and may serve as pre-symptomatic markers for the development of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen J Miller
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, the Neuropsychiatric Institute, the Alzheimer's Disease Center, and the Center on Aging, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles 90024-1759, USA.
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Abstract
Memory impairment is one of the most common complaints affecting patients with neurodegenerative disorders, and its investigation has provided insights into the function and properties of human memory. The study of Alzheimer's disease has indicated the importance of mesial temporal structures and the hippocampus in episodic memory. In progressive supranuclear palsy, frontotemporal dementias, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease fronto-striatal networks are involved in working memory and higher level cognition. The study of semantic dementia, where there is lobar atrophy of the temporal lobe, has shown that the temporal neocortex has an important function in semantic memory. The investigation of human memory in neurodegenerative disorders suggests that the interaction of networks subserving episodic memory, semantic memory, and working memory contributes to higher level cognition and results in the fundamental homeostatic processes of recall and learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- P K Panegyres
- Neuregene Pty Ltd, The Mount Medical Centre, Suite 33, 146 Mounts Bay Road, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
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Lipton RB, Katz MJ, Kuslansky G, Sliwinski MJ, Stewart WF, Verghese J, Crystal HA, Buschke H. Screening for dementia by telephone using the memory impairment screen. J Am Geriatr Soc 2003; 51:1382-90. [PMID: 14511157 DOI: 10.1046/j.1532-5415.2003.51455.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 186] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES : To develop and assess telephone-based screening tests for dementia, especially Alzheimer's disease (AD). DESIGN : A cross-sectional validation study nested within a longitudinal study of aging and dementia. SETTING : The Einstein Aging Study of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York. PARTICIPANTS : Three hundred elderly community volunteers living in Bronx County, 27 of whom were diagnosed with dementia based on in-person clinical evaluation. Of the 27 individuals with dementia, 18 had AD. MEASUREMENTS : A telephone battery was administered that included the Memory Impairment Screen by telephone (MIS-T, a test of semantic memory), the Category Fluency Test (CF-T), and the Telephone Instrument for Cognitive Status (TICS). An in-person evaluation then followed that included a neurological examination, a neuropsychological battery, demographics, and medical history. RESULTS : The telephone battery was well accepted. The MIS-T required 4 minutes; the CF-T, 3 minutes; and the TICS, 10 minutes. The MIS-T had excellent sensitivity and specificity when compared with the CF-T and the TICS. Using cutscores on all three tests that provide a sensitivity of 78%, specificity was significantly higher for the MIS-T (93%) than for the CF-T (78%, P<.05) or the TICS (80%, P<.05). Combining the MIS-T and CF-T improved discriminative validity but increased screening time and the complexity of scoring. Normative data for the MIS-T, the CF-T, and the TICS for use in settings with different base rates (prevalence) of dementia are presented in this study. CONCLUSION : The MIS-T outperforms the CF-T and the TICS as a valid and time-efficient telephone screen for dementia. For applications that require optimal efficiency and accuracy, the MIS-T is recommended.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard B Lipton
- Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461, USA.
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Bethlehem D, de Picciotto J, Watt N. Assessment of Verbal Fluency in Bilingual Zulu-English Speakers. SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2003. [DOI: 10.1177/008124630303300406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
This study investigated verbal fluency abilities in a sub-group of Zulu-English bilingual speakers ( n=35). Subjects were required to generate a list of animal names in English-only, Zulu-only, and then in bilingual mode, where both languages could be used. Results were analysed in terms of raw scores and the influence of language mode factors, as well as the effects of age of language acquisition, medium of education, and gender on performance. The results indicate that, if the individual has a high proficiency in both languages, and if both languages can for some reason not be assessed, it appears preferable to test verbal fluency in English (L2).
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Affiliation(s)
- Deborah Bethlehem
- 55 Harvard Court, Honeybourne Rd., West Hampstead, London NW6 1HN, UK
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Abstract
Previous experiments have found that individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) show increased activity in prefrontal regions compared with healthy age-matched controls during cognitive tasks. This has been interpreted as compensatory reallocation of cognitive resources, but direct evidence for a facilitating effect on performance has been lacking. To address this we measured neural activity during semantic and episodic memory tasks in mildly demented AD patients and healthy elderly controls. Controls recruited a left hemisphere network of regions, including prefrontal and temporal cortices in both the semantic and episodic tasks. Patients engaged a unique network involving bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal and posterior cortices. Critically, activity in this network of regions was correlated with better performance on both the semantic and episodic tasks in the patients. This provides the most direct evidence to date that AD patients can use additional neural resources in prefrontal cortex, presumably those mediating executive functions, to compensate for losses attributable to the degenerative process of the disease.
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Willis L, Behrens M, Mack W, Chui H. Ideomotor apraxia in early Alzheimer's disease: time and accuracy measures. Brain Cogn 1998; 38:220-33. [PMID: 9853098 DOI: 10.1006/brcg.1998.1029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Twenty-six Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 42 healthy control (NC) subjects were evaluated with neuropsychological and apraxia batteries. ADs produced a greater range of error types, but did not differ from NCs in their most frequent error types. Hand sequencing ability contributed significantly to AD praxis with no predictors for NCs. Although groups did not differ in gesture time, the AD group had significantly longer response latencies for periods prior to gesture execution and the effect was prominent for transitive tasks and nondominant hand use. Results illustrate the sensitivity of timing measures in identifying abnormal praxis in early stages of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Willis
- University of Southern California School of Medicine, Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center, Downey 90242, USA
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Abstract
The present study focuses on semantic deficits in Alzheimer's disease (AD). We distinguish three different levels of semantic knowledge: (1) lexical, (2) semantic-conceptual, (3) conscious understanding. We devised methods that tap levels (2) and (3). Our aim was to determine how much guidance AD patients need to consciously access a given semantic-conceptual field and how well they can understand the meanings of concepts and semantic relations. Four different tasks were used to tap different kinds of concepts, the relationships between concepts and their attributes, and the hierarchical structure among different concepts. The retrieval demands of the tasks were eased by presenting guiding questions. The results revealed that AD patients have deficient voluntary access to semantic-conceptual representations. The deficits persist even in passive recognition and forced-choice tasks. We conclude that AD patients have a generalized access deficit, although some aspects of the results are suggestive of storage deficit.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Laatu
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Turku, Finland
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Abstract
To evaluate the specificity of the semantic fluency deficit in Alzheimer's disease (AD), we compared the performances of patients with AD, Huntington's disease (HD), vascular dementia (VD), and healthy control subjects on tasks of category (i.e., semantic) and first-letter (i.e., phonemic/lexical) word list generation. As compared to age-appropriate controls, all three patient groups demonstrated relatively more impaired semantic than phonemic fluency. Dementia severity did not affect this relationship. Thus, the greater vulnerability of semantically guided fluency is not specific to AD but occurs in other dementias as well. Deficits in both the organization of semantic memory and retrieval from long-term storage appear to contribute to the relatively poorer performance on semantic than phonemic fluency tasks observed in patients with AD, VD, and HD.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Barr
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, MD 21287-7218, USA
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