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Vogel A, Bruus AE, Waldemar G. Self-Concept in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Mild Dementia due to Alzheimer's Disease Is Affected on Tests of Self-Generated Statements. Scand J Psychol 2024. [PMID: 39396930 DOI: 10.1111/sjop.13076] [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: 07/09/2024] [Revised: 09/18/2024] [Accepted: 09/30/2024] [Indexed: 10/15/2024]
Abstract
Several studies show that Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurocognitive disorders have a negative impact on the self and identity formation. Most studies have included persons with mild to moderate dementia, but how AD patients in the earliest phases retrieve information about themselves has only been studied scarcely. The aim of this study was to investigate if persons with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and mild AD would generate fewer self-related statements than healthy controls. From a memory clinic, we included 17 aMCI patients, 17 patients with mild dementia (AD; MMSE ≥ 24), and 30 healthy controls. Three Events Test and Twenty Statements Test (TST) were applied to all participants. The persons with mild dementia gave significantly fewer statements compared to the controls (p < 0.001) and the aMCI patients (p < 0.01) on TST. Fewer statements were also produced by the aMCI patients compared to the control participants (p < 0.05). Persons from both patient groups produced significantly fewer contextual details compared to the controls on the Three Events Tests. There were significant associations to lexical fluency for both the TST and Three Events Test, but only a limited amount of variance was explained, and the results cannot be explained solely by a fluency effect. The results from this study are in accordance with findings from previous studies demonstrating that mild AD leads to a decline in both autobiographical memories and a diminished sense of self. Further, this study shows that changes in self-concept may occur even in the earliest clinical stages of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asmus Vogel
- Danish Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Anna Elise Bruus
- Danish Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Gunhild Waldemar
- Danish Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Artemenko C, Giannouli V, Nuerk HC. Age-related effects in magnitude and place-value processing. Sci Rep 2024; 14:13645. [PMID: 38871811 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-63298-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: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 05/27/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024] Open
Abstract
While general cognitive skills decline during aging, numerical skills seem to be mainly preserved. Such skills are essential for an independent life up to old age, e.g., when dealing with money or time. Operating with numbers usually requires number magnitude and place-value processing. The question is whether these processes are negatively affected by aging due to the general cognitive decline or positively affected due to lifelong experience with numbers. Therefore, we investigated age-related changes in the distance and compatibility effects in single-digit, two-digit, and four-digit number comparison. On the one hand, older adults took longer for number processing and showed a smaller distance effect, indicating altered number magnitude representations. On the other hand, older adults were better in place-value processing as indicated by a smaller compatibility effect than in younger adults. We conclude that aging differentially affects basic numerical skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Artemenko
- Department of Psychology, University of Tuebingen, Schleichstr. 4, 72076, Tuebingen, Germany.
- LEAD Graduate School and Research Network, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany.
| | - Vaitsa Giannouli
- Department of Psychology, University of Western Macedonia, Florina, Greece
| | - Hans-Christoph Nuerk
- Department of Psychology, University of Tuebingen, Schleichstr. 4, 72076, Tuebingen, Germany
- LEAD Graduate School and Research Network, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
- German Centre for Mental Health (DZPG), Tuebingen, Germany
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Trišins M, Zdanovskis N, Platkājis A, Šneidere K, Kostiks A, Karelis G, Stepens A. Brodmann Areas, V1 Atlas and Cognitive Impairment: Assessing Cortical Thickness for Cognitive Impairment Diagnostics. MEDICINA (KAUNAS, LITHUANIA) 2024; 60:587. [PMID: 38674233 PMCID: PMC11052167 DOI: 10.3390/medicina60040587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2024] [Revised: 03/26/2024] [Accepted: 03/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Magnetic resonance imaging is vital for diagnosing cognitive decline. Brodmann areas (BA), distinct regions of the cerebral cortex categorized by cytoarchitectural variances, provide insights into cognitive function. This study aims to compare cortical thickness measurements across brain areas identified by BA mapping. We assessed these measurements among patients with and without cognitive impairment, and across groups categorized by cognitive performance levels using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we included 64 patients who were divided in two ways: in two groups with (CI) or without (NCI) impaired cognitive function and in three groups with normal (NC), moderate (MPG) and low (LPG) cognitive performance according to MoCA scores. Scans with a 3T MRI scanner were carried out, and cortical thickness data was acquired using Freesurfer 7.2.0 software. Results: By analyzing differences between the NCI and CI groups cortical thickness of BA3a in left hemisphere (U = 241.000, p = 0.016), BA4a in right hemisphere (U = 269.000, p = 0.048) and BA28 in left hemisphere (U = 584.000, p = 0.005) showed significant differences. In the LPG, MPG and NC cortical thickness in BA3a in left hemisphere (H (2) = 6.268, p = 0.044), in V2 in right hemisphere (H (2) = 6.339, p = 0.042), in BA28 in left hemisphere (H (2) = 23.195, p < 0.001) and in BA28 in right hemisphere (H (2) = 10.015, p = 0.007) showed significant differences. Conclusions: Our study found that cortical thickness in specific Brodmann Areas-BA3a and BA28 in the left hemisphere, and BA4a in the right-differ significantly between NCI and CI groups. Significant differences were also observed in BA3a (left), V2 (right), and BA28 (both hemispheres) across LPG, MPG, NC groups. Despite a small sample size, these findings suggest cortical thickness measurements can serve as effective biomarkers for cognitive impairment diagnosis, warranting further validation with a larger cohort.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maksims Trišins
- Department of Radiology, Riga Stradins University, LV-1007 Riga, Latvia; (M.T.)
| | - Nauris Zdanovskis
- Department of Radiology, Riga Stradins University, LV-1007 Riga, Latvia; (M.T.)
- Department of Radiology, Riga East University Hospital, LV-1038 Riga, Latvia
- Military Medicine Research and Study Centre, Riga Stradins University, LV-1007 Riga, Latvia
| | - Ardis Platkājis
- Department of Radiology, Riga Stradins University, LV-1007 Riga, Latvia; (M.T.)
- Department of Radiology, Riga East University Hospital, LV-1038 Riga, Latvia
| | - Kristīne Šneidere
- Military Medicine Research and Study Centre, Riga Stradins University, LV-1007 Riga, Latvia
- Department of Health Psychology and Pedagogy, Riga Stradins University, LV-1007 Riga, Latvia
| | - Andrejs Kostiks
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Riga East University Hospital, LV-1038 Riga, Latvia (G.K.)
| | - Guntis Karelis
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Riga East University Hospital, LV-1038 Riga, Latvia (G.K.)
- Department of Infectology, Riga Stradins University, LV-1007 Riga, Latvia
| | - Ainārs Stepens
- Military Medicine Research and Study Centre, Riga Stradins University, LV-1007 Riga, Latvia
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Zanchi P, Ledoux JB, Fornari E, Denervaud S. Me, Myself, and I: Neural Activity for Self versus Other across Development. CHILDREN (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 10:1914. [PMID: 38136116 PMCID: PMC10742061 DOI: 10.3390/children10121914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2023] [Revised: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023]
Abstract
Although adults and children differ in self-vs.-other perception, a developmental perspective on this discriminative ability at the brain level is missing. This study examined neural activation for self-vs.-other in a sample of 39 participants spanning four different age groups, from 4-year-olds to adults. Self-related stimuli elicited higher neural activity within two brain regions related to self-referential thinking, empathy, and social cognition processes. Second, stimuli related to 'others' (i.e., unknown peer) elicited activation within nine additional brain regions. These regions are associated with multisensory processing, somatosensory skills, language, complex visual stimuli, self-awareness, empathy, theory of mind, and social recognition. Overall, activation maps were gradually increasing with age. However, patterns of activity were non-linear within the medial cingulate cortex for 'self' stimuli and within the left middle temporal gyrus for 'other' stimuli in 7-10-year-old participants. In both cases, there were no self-vs.-other differences. It suggests a critical period where the perception of self and others are similarly processed. Furthermore, 11-19-year-old participants showed no differences between others and self within the left inferior orbital gyrus, suggesting less distinction between self and others in social learning. Understanding the neural bases of self-vs.-other discrimination during development can offer valuable insights into how social contexts can influence learning processes during development, such as when to introduce peer-to-peer teaching or group learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Zanchi
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Lausanne University Hospital, University of Lausanne, 1005 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Jean-Baptiste Ledoux
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Lausanne University Hospital, University of Lausanne, 1005 Lausanne, Switzerland
- CIBM Center for Biomedical Imaging, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Eleonora Fornari
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Lausanne University Hospital, University of Lausanne, 1005 Lausanne, Switzerland
- CIBM Center for Biomedical Imaging, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Solange Denervaud
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Lausanne University Hospital, University of Lausanne, 1005 Lausanne, Switzerland
- CIBM Center for Biomedical Imaging, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- MRI Animal Imaging and Technology, Polytechnical School of Lausanne, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
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