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Karsazi H, Rezapour T, Ghamsari ASM, Kormi-Nouri R, Hatami J. Which intellectual activities are related to cognitive reserve? Introduction and testing a three-dimensional model. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2024; 88:1081-1091. [PMID: 38315217 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-024-01926-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/01/2024] [Indexed: 02/07/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND A common belief among people and some researchers is that keeping yourself mentally active may decrease the risk of dementia. Over the past years, despite widespread efforts to identify proxies for protecting cognitive reserve against age-related changes, it is still not clear what type of intellectual activity would be beneficial for cognitive reserve. To fill this gap, we propose a three-dimensional model of intellectual activity. According to this conceptual model, intellectual activities could be distinguished based on their locations in a three-dimensions space, including; (1) Activation: active vs. passive, (2) Novelty: novel vs. familiar, and (3) Productivity: productive vs. receptive. We assumed that the activities that are categorized as more active, novel, and productive could be considered as a cognitive reserve proxy. METHODS To test this hypothesis, a sample of 237 participants older than 50 years (Mage = 58.76 ± 6.66; 63.7% women) was recruited to take part in the study. Episodic, semantic and working memory were assessed with computerized battery tests (Sepidar) and a self-report questionnaire was used to assess intellectual activities. Activities were categorized in terms of; (1) passive, familiar, and receptive activities (radio/watching TV), (2) active, familiar, and receptive activities (solving crosswords), (3) active, novel, and receptive activities (reading), and (4) active, novel, and productive activities (writing). RESULTS The results indicated that writing moderates the effect of age on episodic and semantic memory. Reading only moderates the effect of age on semantic memory, and radio/watching TV and solving crosswords do not play a role in moderation analysis. CONCLUSIONS Our finding suggests that intellectual activities have different moderating effects on the relationships between age and memory performance. Individuals with high levels of participation in novel and productive activities over the life course are less likely to clinically demonstrate cognitive impairments. Our results support the potential benefit of the three-dimensional model to provide a better insight into the complex role of intellectual activities in cognitive reserve, particularly for older adults. Further research is needed to evaluate the efficacy and the benefits of the model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hossein Karsazi
- Department of Psychology, University of Tehran, No.1 Kardan St., Al-E-Ahmad Exp., Chamran Exp., Tehran, Iran
| | - Tara Rezapour
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Institute for Cognitive Sciences Studies (ICSS), Tehran, Iran
| | | | - Reza Kormi-Nouri
- Center for Health and Medical Psychology, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden
| | - Javad Hatami
- Department of Psychology, University of Tehran, No.1 Kardan St., Al-E-Ahmad Exp., Chamran Exp., Tehran, Iran.
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Lopez A, Tinella L, Caffò A, Bosco A. Measuring the reliability of proxy respondents in behavioural assessments: an open question. Aging Clin Exp Res 2023; 35:2173-2190. [PMID: 37540380 PMCID: PMC10520105 DOI: 10.1007/s40520-023-02501-z] [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: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND In behavioural assessment, information can be gathered from internally referenced self-reports or from proxy informants. AIMS This study aimed to fine-tune a brief but reliable method for evaluating the proxy accuracy in cases where responses obtained from adult and older adults' patient cannot be considered reliable. METHODS We generated a set of items reflecting both overt and covert behaviours related to the basic instrumental activities of daily living. The psychometric properties of the content, factorial, and criterium validity of these items were then checked. The Proxy Reliability Questionnaire-ProRe was created. We tested the frequency of "I don't know" responses as a measure of proxy reliability in a sample of healthy older adults and their proxies, and in a second sample of proxy respondents who answered questions about their parents. RESULTS As expected, response precision was lower for items characterizing covert behaviours; items about covert compared to overt behaviours generated more "I don't know" answers. Proxies provided less "I don't know" responses when evaluating the parent, they claimed they knew better. Moreover, we tried to validate our approach using response confidence. Encouragingly, these results also showed differences in the expected direction in confidence between overt and covert behaviours. CONCLUSIONS The present study encourages clinicians/researchers to how well the proxy the patient know each other, the tendency of proxies to exhibit, for example, response bias when responding to questions about patients' covert behaviours, and more importantly, the reliability of informants in providing a clinical assessment of neurocognitive diseases associated with aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonella Lopez
- Faculty of Law, Giustino Fortunato University, Via Delcogliano, 12, Benevento, Italy
- Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari, Via Crisanzio 42, 70122 Bari, Italy
| | - Luigi Tinella
- Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari, Via Crisanzio 42, 70122 Bari, Italy
| | - Alessandro Caffò
- Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari, Via Crisanzio 42, 70122 Bari, Italy
| | - Andrea Bosco
- Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari, Via Crisanzio 42, 70122 Bari, Italy
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Alessia B, Massimiliano P, Laura P. Walking on a minefield: planning, remembering, and avoiding obstacles: preliminary findings. Exp Brain Res 2022; 240:1921-1931. [PMID: 35695920 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-022-06391-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Accepted: 05/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Travel planning (TP) is a kind of planning devoted to spatial orientation that is distinguishable from general planning (GP). It is crucial to reach a destination, since it allows to select the best route according to the environmental features (e.g., the one with little traffic or the safest). TP is also needed to avoid obstacles along the way and to put in place effective strategies to support navigation. TP involves several cognitive processes, such as visuo-spatial and topographic memory as well as other executive functions (i.e., general planning, cognitive flexibility, problem solving, and divergent thinking) and it is affected by internal factors (such as gender, cognitive strategies, age). Here, we focused on the effects of visuo-spatial (VSWM) and topographic (TWM) working memory on TP, using the Minefield Task (MFT), a new tool aimed at testing TP. We tested VSWM, TWM, GP, and TP in 44 college students. First, we checked for gender differences in all the tasks proposed and then assessed the relation among VSWM, TWM, GP, and TP. Results showed that even though gender difference could be found on TWM, GP, and TP, significative correlations emerged among TP, VSWM, and GP as well as a tendency to significance for VSWM and GP in the regression analyses. Though more evidence is needed, these results suggest that when a brand-new route is computed, GP and VSWM can be the most relevant processes, whereas topographic memory was less involved, probably because the MFT does not require to recall a route from memory. The implications of these results in clinical settings are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bocchi Alessia
- Department of Human Neuroscience, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Viale dell'Università 30, 00185, Rome, Italy.
| | - Palmiero Massimiliano
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Piccardi Laura
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
- Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging Unit, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179, Rome, RM, Italy
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Connection to nature is predicted by family values, social norms and personal experiences of nature. Glob Ecol Conserv 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
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5
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Nori R, Boccia M, Palmiero M, Piccardi L. The contribution of field independence in virtual spatial updating. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-021-01788-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
AbstractField independence (FI) is the extent to which a person perceives part of a field as discrete from the surrounding field rather than embedded in the field. Several studies proposed that it represents a cognitive style that is a relatively stable individuals’ predisposition towards information processing. This study investigated the effects of Field Independence/Field Dependence (FI/FD) cognitive style on topographic memory in a virtual environment. Seventy-nine college students completed the Embedded Figure Test as a measure of FI/FD cognitive style and learned two paths in the VR-Walking Corsi Test apparatus. After the learning phase, participants had to reproduce the paths from a familiar perspective or unfamiliar perspectives. Data showed that FI cognitive style predicted the ability to reproduce a path from unfamiliar perspectives, suggesting a different impact of the angle degree. Results are discussed considering the facilitation of body axes references and the increasing difficulty due to maintaining online perspectives with higher angle degrees that increase the visuo-spatial working memory cognitive load. These results support the idea that FI predicts human navigation.
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Fernandez‐Baizan C, Arias JL, Mendez M. Egocentric and allocentric spatial memory in young children: A comparison with young adults. INFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/icd.2216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Fernandez‐Baizan
- Neuroscience Institute of Principado de Asturias (INEUROPA) 33003 Oviedo Spain
- Department of Psychology University of Oviedo 33003 Oviedo Spain
| | - Jorge L. Arias
- Neuroscience Institute of Principado de Asturias (INEUROPA) 33003 Oviedo Spain
- Department of Psychology University of Oviedo 33003 Oviedo Spain
| | - Marta Mendez
- Neuroscience Institute of Principado de Asturias (INEUROPA) 33003 Oviedo Spain
- Department of Psychology University of Oviedo 33003 Oviedo Spain
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Abstract
AbstractGender differences are often reported in spatial abilities, most of the times favouring men. Even during wayfinding, which requires planning and decision-making, such as choosing roads to take or shortcuts, men are in general better and faster than women. Although different interpretations have been proposed to explain men’s advantage in navigation, no study has explored the possibility that it could be due to men’s better travel planning ability. This latter has been recently identified as a distinct kind of planning that allows implementing an efficient navigational strategy in accordance with the environmental features. Therefore, the present study was aimed at investigating gender differences in travel planning ability. We compared men and women in performing the Key Search Task that requires to implement a strategy to search for a lost object in a wide imagined space. Results showed that men outperform women in both the overall performance and in some specific indexes of the total score. Men had a better travel planning ability with respect to women, outperforming women in configuring the planned strategy and choosing the best point to enter the imagined field. Therefore, men seem to plan the best navigational strategy and appear more cognitively flexible than women in adapting the strategy at the environmental features. The two genders did not differ in the time spent to solve the task. This finding suggests that differences in travel planning skills can contribute in explaining gender differences in wayfinding and spatial orientation.
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Lopez A, Germani A, Tinella L, Caffò AO, Postma A, Bosco A. The Road More Travelled: The Differential Effects of Spatial Experience in Young and Elderly Participants. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:E709. [PMID: 33467572 PMCID: PMC7830856 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18020709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2020] [Revised: 01/07/2021] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Our spatial mental representations allow us to give refined descriptions of the environment in terms of the relative locations and distances between objects and landmarks. In this study, we investigated the effects of familiarity with the everyday environment, in terms of frequency of exploration and mode of transportation, on categorical and coordinate spatial relations, on young and elderly participants, controlling for socio-demographic factors. Participants were tested with a general anamnesis, a neuropsychological assessment, measures of explorations and the Landmark Positioning on a Map task. The results showed: (a) a modest difference in performance with categorical spatial relations; (b) a larger difference in coordinate spatial relations; (c) a significant moderating effect of age on the relationship between familiarity and spatial relations, with a stronger relation among the elderly than the young. Ceteris paribus, the role of direct experience with exploring their hometown on spatial mental representations appeared to be more important in the elderly than in the young. This advantage appears to make the elderly wiser and likely protects them from the detrimental effects of aging on spatial mental representations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonella Lopez
- Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari, 70121 Bari, Italy; (L.T.); (A.O.C.); (A.B.)
| | - Alessandro Germani
- Department of Philosophy, Social Sciences and Education, University of Perugia, 06123 Perugia, Italy;
| | - Luigi Tinella
- Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari, 70121 Bari, Italy; (L.T.); (A.O.C.); (A.B.)
| | - Alessandro Oronzo Caffò
- Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari, 70121 Bari, Italy; (L.T.); (A.O.C.); (A.B.)
| | - Albert Postma
- Helmholtz Institute, Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands;
| | - Andrea Bosco
- Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari, 70121 Bari, Italy; (L.T.); (A.O.C.); (A.B.)
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Idárraga-Cabrera C, Dueñas JM, Martínez-González MB, Navarro-Blanco R, Denegri-Coria M, Pino M. Cognitive Functioning, Life Satisfaction, and Their Relationship with the Financial Attitudes of Older Individuals Who Participate in an Active Aging Program. Behav Sci (Basel) 2020; 10:E189. [PMID: 33321729 PMCID: PMC7763154 DOI: 10.3390/bs10120189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2020] [Revised: 11/28/2020] [Accepted: 12/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Life expectancy has increased in many countries throughout the world over recent years, leading to new challenges related to aging. A large part of the population is over 60 years old, and therefore studies that focus on financial autonomy and active aging are necessary. In this paper, we analyze the relationship between cognitive functioning and life satisfaction in relation to financial attitudes in a sample of 251 elderly adults (71% women) participating in an active aging program (M = 67.5, SD = 4.5). We used the Mini-Mental State Examination, the Satisfaction with Life scale, and a questionnaire about financial attitudes to gather data. Our results show that cognitive functioning and life satisfaction are related to certain financial attitudes. We also observed differences associated with gender, education level, and financial independence. According to our findings, life satisfaction should be taken into account when the financial attitudes of older adults are evaluated. The importance of support groups for the elderly is highlighted as well as of all those recreation and health programs, since they constitute a means of promoting well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Idárraga-Cabrera
- Department of Social Sciences, University of La Costa, Barranquilla 080002, Colombia; (C.I.-C.); (M.-B.M.-G.)
| | - Jorge-Manuel Dueñas
- Department of Psychology, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 43007 Tarragona, Spain
| | | | - Regina Navarro-Blanco
- Center of Excellence in Economic and Consumer Psychology, University of La Frontera, Calle Francisco Salazar, Temuco 1145, Chile; (R.N.-B.); (M.D.-C.)
| | - Marianela Denegri-Coria
- Center of Excellence in Economic and Consumer Psychology, University of La Frontera, Calle Francisco Salazar, Temuco 1145, Chile; (R.N.-B.); (M.D.-C.)
| | - Mariana Pino
- Faculty of Social Sciences, Autonomous University of the Caribbean, Barranquilla 080002, Colombia;
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Tinella L, Lopez A, Caffò AO, Grattagliano I, Bosco A. Spatial Mental Transformation Skills Discriminate Fitness to Drive in Young and Old Adults. Front Psychol 2020; 11:604762. [PMID: 33343475 PMCID: PMC7745720 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.604762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2020] [Accepted: 11/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Literature on driving research suggests a relationship between cognition and driving performance in older and younger drivers. There is little research on adults and driving, despite them being the largest age cohort behind the wheel. Among the cognitive domains, visuospatial abilities are expected to be highly predictive of driving skills and driving fitness. The relationship between specific spatial mental transformation skills (i.e., object and self-based ones) and driving performance has not yet been examined. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between overall cognitive functioning, self and object-based spatial mental transformation skills, and driving performance in a sample of younger and older adult drivers. Participants were comprised of one hundred younger and 83 older adult Italian drivers. Participants completed a computerized driving test assessing traffic stress resilience, visual and motor reaction time, and the ability to obtain an overview of the traffic scenario (DT, vRT, mRT, and ATAV respectively in the Shufried®-Vienna Test System-DRIVESC). The Mental Rotation Test (MRT) and the Object Perspective Taking Test (OPT) were administered in order to assess object-based and self-based spatial mental transformation skills. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment Test (MoCA) was administered control for global cognitive functioning. The effects of education and gender were also controlled in the analysis. The results of the present study suggested that: (1) The effect of age, favoring younger participants, was found in DT, vRT, mRT, and ATAVT tests. (2) The effect of global cognitive functioning was found in DT and ATAV tests. (3) The effect of the spatial mental transformation tests was found in DT, vRT (MRT only), and ATAVT (OPT only) tests. Taken together, these results suggest the specific contribution of spatial mental transformation skills in the execution of complex behaviors connected to the fitness to drive. Prospectively, the results of the present study relating spatial mental transformation skills and driving processes may be a valuable source of knowledge for researchers dealing with the relationship between cognitive resources and navigation aids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luigi Tinella
- Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Studies of Bari, Bari, Italy
| | - Antonella Lopez
- Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Studies of Bari, Bari, Italy
| | - Alessandro Oronzo Caffò
- Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Studies of Bari, Bari, Italy
| | - Ignazio Grattagliano
- Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Studies of Bari, Bari, Italy
| | - Andrea Bosco
- Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Studies of Bari, Bari, Italy
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Costa RQMD, Pompeu JE, Viveiro LAPD, Brucki SMD. Spatial orientation tasks show moderate to high accuracy for the diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment: a systematic literature review. ARQUIVOS DE NEURO-PSIQUIATRIA 2020; 78:713-723. [DOI: 10.1590/0004-282x20200043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2019] [Accepted: 04/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Abstract Spatial disorientation has been observed in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and is associated with a higher risk of progression to Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, there is no gold standard assessment for spatial orientation and paper-and-pencil tests lack ecological validity. Recently, there has been an increasing number of studies demonstrating the role of spatial disorientation as a cognitive marker of pathological decline, shedding new light on its importance for MCI. This systematic review aimed to investigate the accuracy of spatial orientation tasks for the diagnosis of MCI by comparison with cognitively healthy elderly. The search was conducted in the databases Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE/PubMed), Web of Science, Scopus, Excerpta Medica Database (Embase), Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde (Lilacs) and Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO). Only original studies reporting spatial orientation assessment in MCI patients compared to a healthy control group were included. Studies were excluded if the MCI classification did not follow well described criteria and/or if accuracy results of spatial orientation assessment were not provided. Seven studies met the eligibility criteria, describing a variety of spatial orientation assessments including questionnaires, paper-and-pencil, office-based route learning, and computer-based and virtual reality tasks. Spatial orientation tasks demonstrated moderate to high accuracy in detecting elderly with MCI compared to cognitively healthy elderly, with areas under the curve (AUC) ranging from 0.77 to 0.99. However, important methodological issues were found in the selected studies which should be considered when interpreting results. Although the inclusion of spatial orientation assessments in MCI evaluations seems to have significant value, further studies are needed to clarify their true capacity to distinguish pathological from non-pathological aging.
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Lopez A, Caffò AO, Tinella L, Postma A, Bosco A. Studying Individual Differences in Spatial Cognition Through Differential Item Functioning Analysis. Brain Sci 2020; 10:brainsci10110774. [PMID: 33114284 PMCID: PMC7690914 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10110774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2020] [Revised: 10/21/2020] [Accepted: 10/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: In the field of spatial cognition, the study of individual differences represents a typical research topic. Gender and age have been prominently investigated. A promising statistical technique used to identify the different responses to items in relation to different group memberships is the Differential Item Functioning Analysis (DIF). The aim of the present study was to investigate the DIF of the Landmark positioning on a Map (LPM) task, across age groups (young and elderly) and gender, in a sample of 400 healthy human participants. Methods: LPM is a hometown map completion test based on well-known and familiar landmarks used to assess allocentric mental representations. DIF was assessed on LPM items two times: on categorical (i.e., positions) and coordinate (i.e., distances) scores, separately. Results: When positions and distances were difficult to assess with respect to the intended reference point, the probability to endorse the items seemed to get worse for the elderly compared to the younger participants. Instead other features of landmarks (high pleasantness, restorativeness) seemed to improve the elderly performance. A gender-related improvement of probability to endorse distance estimation of some landmarks, favoring women, emerged, probably associated with their repeated experiences with those landmarks. Overall, the complexity of the task seemed to have a differential impact on young and elderly people while gender-oriented activities and places seemed to have a differential impact on men and women. Conclusions: For the first time DIF was applied to a spatial mental representation task, based on the schematic sketch maps of the participants. The application of DIF to the study of individual differences in spatial cognition should become a systematic routine to early detect differential items, improving knowledge, as well as experimental control, on individual differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonella Lopez
- Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari, 70121 Bari, Italy; (A.O.C.); (L.T.); (A.B.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Alessandro O. Caffò
- Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari, 70121 Bari, Italy; (A.O.C.); (L.T.); (A.B.)
| | - Luigi Tinella
- Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari, 70121 Bari, Italy; (A.O.C.); (L.T.); (A.B.)
| | - Albert Postma
- Helmholtz Institute, Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands;
| | - Andrea Bosco
- Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari, 70121 Bari, Italy; (A.O.C.); (L.T.); (A.B.)
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Lopez A, Caffò AO, Postma A, Bosco A. How to separate coordinate and categorical spatial relation components in integrated spatial representations: A new methodology for analysing sketch maps. Scand J Psychol 2020; 61:607-615. [DOI: 10.1111/sjop.12633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2019] [Accepted: 02/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Antonella Lopez
- Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication University of Study Bari Bari Italy
| | - Alessandro O. Caffò
- Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication University of Study Bari Bari Italy
| | - Albert Postma
- Experimental Psychology Helmholtz Institute Utrecht University Utrecht The Netherlands
| | - Andrea Bosco
- Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication University of Study Bari Bari Italy
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Caffò AO, Lopez A, Spano G, Stasolla F, Serino S, Cipresso P, Riva G, Bosco A. The differential effect of normal and pathological aging on egocentric and allocentric spatial memory in navigational and reaching space. Neurol Sci 2020; 41:1741-1749. [PMID: 32002741 DOI: 10.1007/s10072-020-04261-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2019] [Accepted: 01/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Topographical disorientation (TD) refers to a particular condition which determines the loss of spatial orientation, both in new and familiar environments. TD and spatial memory impairments occur relatively early as effect of cognitive decline in aging, even in prodromal stages of dementia, namely mild cognitive impairment (MCI). AIMS (a) To show that components linked to the recall of familiar spatial knowledge are relatively spared with respect to the learning of unfamiliar ones in normal aging, while they are not in MCI, and (b) to investigate gender differences for their impact on egocentric and allocentric frames of reference. METHOD Forty young participants (YC), 40 healthy elderly participants (HE), 40 elderly participants with subjective memory complaints (SMC), and 40 elderly with probable MCI were administered with egocentric and allocentric familiar tasks, based on the map of their hometown, and with egocentric and allocentric unfamiliar tasks, based on new material to be learned. A series of general linear models were used to analyze data. RESULTS No group differences were found on egocentric task based on familiar information. MCI performed worse than the other groups on allocentric tasks based on familiar information (YC = HE = SMC > MCI). Significant differences emerged between groups on egocentric and allocentric tasks based on unfamiliar spatial information (YC > HE = SMC > MCI). A gender difference was found, favoring men on allocentric unfamiliar task. CONCLUSION Familiarity of spatial memory traces can represent a protective factor for retrospective components of TD in normal aging. Conversely, using newly learned information for assessment may lead to overestimating TD severity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro O Caffò
- Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Studies of Bari, Via Crisanzio, 42, 70122, Bari, BA, Italy.
| | - Antonella Lopez
- Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Studies of Bari, Via Crisanzio, 42, 70122, Bari, BA, Italy
| | - Giuseppina Spano
- Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Studies of Bari, Via Crisanzio, 42, 70122, Bari, BA, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Stasolla
- University "Giustino Fortunato", Viale Raffaele Delcogliano, 12, 82100, Benevento, BN, Italy
| | - Silvia Serino
- MySpace Lab, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University Hospital Lausanne (CHUV), Bâtiment Champ de l'Air, Rue du Bugnon, 21, 1011, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Pietro Cipresso
- Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology Lab, I.R.C.C.S, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Via Pellizza da Volpedo, 41, 20149, Milan, MI, Italy.,Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Gemelli, 1, 20100, Milan, MI, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Riva
- Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology Lab, I.R.C.C.S, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Via Pellizza da Volpedo, 41, 20149, Milan, MI, Italy.,Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Gemelli, 1, 20100, Milan, MI, Italy
| | - Andrea Bosco
- Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Studies of Bari, Via Crisanzio, 42, 70122, Bari, BA, Italy
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