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Batzikosta A, Moraitou D, Steiropoulos P, Papantoniou G, Kougioumtzis GA, Katsouri IG, Sofologi M, Tsolaki M. Examining Specific Theory-of-Mind Aspects in Amnestic and Non-Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: Their Relationships with Sleep Duration and Cognitive Planning. Brain Sci 2025; 15:57. [PMID: 39851425 PMCID: PMC11763451 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci15010057] [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: 12/16/2024] [Revised: 01/05/2025] [Accepted: 01/08/2025] [Indexed: 01/26/2025] Open
Abstract
Background/Objectives: The study examined the relationships between specific Theory-of-Mind (ToM) dimensions, cognitive planning, and sleep duration in aging adults. Methods: The sample included 179 participants, comprising 46 cognitively healthy individuals, 75 diagnosed with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI), and 58 with non-amnestic (naMCI). The mean age of the participants was 70.23 years (SD = 4.74), with a mean educational attainment of 12.35 years (SD = 3.22) and gender distribution of 53 men and 126 women. ToM assessment included tasks measuring the understanding and interpretation of non-literal speech, proverbs and metaphors, as well as an emotion-recognition test. For cognitive planning, a Tower Test was utilized. Sleep duration was measured using actigraphy. Results: We identified significant differences in various ToM tasks' performance between the groups, particularly in non-literal speech tasks and third-order ToM stories. The HC group consistently outperformed both MCI groups in these tasks, with aMCI showing higher performance than naMCI. Mediation analysis applied to examine potential direct and indirect effects of sleep duration on ToM tasks indicated that total sleep time had significant indirect effects through cognitive planning-mainly as rule violation total score-on specific ToM aspects. Hence, besides the effects of MCI pathologies and especially of naMCI, sleep duration seems also to be associated with ToM performance in aging via specific executive functioning decrements. Conclusions: The findings underscore the social implications of ToM deficits due to MCI and/or sleep duration decrease, particularly in naMCI older adults, as they can seriously impair their social interactions. Targeted interventions could improve emotional understanding, communication, and overall quality of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Areti Batzikosta
- Laboratory of Psychology, Department of Cognition, Brain and Behavior, School of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh), 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece;
- Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Center of Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation (CIRI-AUTH), Balcan Center, Buildings A & B, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece; (G.P.); (M.T.)
| | - Despina Moraitou
- Laboratory of Psychology, Department of Cognition, Brain and Behavior, School of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh), 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece;
- Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Center of Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation (CIRI-AUTH), Balcan Center, Buildings A & B, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece; (G.P.); (M.T.)
| | - Paschalis Steiropoulos
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Medical School, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece;
| | - Georgia Papantoniou
- Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Center of Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation (CIRI-AUTH), Balcan Center, Buildings A & B, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece; (G.P.); (M.T.)
- Laboratory of Psychology, Department of Early Childhood Education, School of Education, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece;
- Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, University Research Centre of Ioannina (URCI), 45110 Ioannina, Greece
| | - Georgios A. Kougioumtzis
- Department of Turkish Studies and Modern Asian Studies, Faculty of Economic and Political Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15772 Athens, Greece;
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Neapolis University Pafos, Pafos 8042, Cyprus
| | - Ioanna-Giannoula Katsouri
- Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health and Caring Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, Greece;
| | - Maria Sofologi
- Laboratory of Psychology, Department of Early Childhood Education, School of Education, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece;
- Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, University Research Centre of Ioannina (URCI), 45110 Ioannina, Greece
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Neapolis University Pafos, Pafos 8042, Cyprus
| | - Magda Tsolaki
- Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Center of Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation (CIRI-AUTH), Balcan Center, Buildings A & B, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece; (G.P.); (M.T.)
- Greek Association of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders (GAADRD), Petrou Sindika 13 Street, 54643 Thessaloniki, Greece
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Mulet-Perreault H, Landry M, Laforce RJ, Macoir J, Hudon C. Mini-SEA: Validity and Normative Data for the French-Quebec Population Aged 50 Years and Above. Arch Clin Neuropsychol 2024:acae051. [PMID: 38916196 DOI: 10.1093/arclin/acae051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2023] [Revised: 05/09/2024] [Accepted: 06/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/26/2024] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The mini Social cognition & Emotional Assessment (mini-SEA) is a social cognition battery which assesses theory of mind and emotion recognition. Currently, no psychometrically validated measure of social cognition with adapted normative data exists for the middle-aged and elderly French-Quebec population. This project aims to determine the known-group discriminant validity of a cultural and linguistic adaptation of the mini-SEA between cognitively healthy people, those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or living with Alzheimer's Disease (AD). This study also aims to examine the stability of mini-SEA's performance over a 3-4-month time period, as well as to produce normative data for French-Quebec people aged 50 years. Normative data are derived for the full and an abbreviated version of the Faux Pas subtest. METHOD The sample included 211 French-speaking participants from Quebec (Canada) aged 50 to 89 years. Mini-SEA's performance between a sub-sample of cognitively healthy people (n = 20), those with MCI (n = 20) or with AD (n = 20) was compared. A sub-sample of cognitively healthy people (n = 30) performed the task twice to estimate test-retest reliability. Socio-demographic variables' effects on scores were examined to produce normative data in the form of regression equations or percentile ranks. RESULTS Significant differences emerged between cognitively healthy people and those with MCI or AD. Moreover, scores were relatively stable over a period of 3 to 4 months. Finally, for the normative data, age, gender, and education were associated with performance on the mini-SEA or its subtests. CONCLUSIONS This study improves and standardizes social cognition's assessment among French-Quebec individuals, which will help characterize their cognitive profile.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah Mulet-Perreault
- École de psychologie, Faculté des sciences sociales, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
- Centre de recherche CERVO, Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de la Capitale-Nationale, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Mariane Landry
- École de psychologie, Faculté des sciences sociales, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
- Centre de recherche CERVO, Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de la Capitale-Nationale, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Robert Jr Laforce
- Clinique Interdisciplinaire de Mémoire, CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
- Département de médecine, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Joël Macoir
- Centre de recherche CERVO, Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de la Capitale-Nationale, Québec, QC, Canada
- École des sciences de la réadaptation, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Carol Hudon
- École de psychologie, Faculté des sciences sociales, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
- Centre de recherche CERVO, Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de la Capitale-Nationale, Québec, QC, Canada
- Centre de recherche VITAM, Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de la Capitale-Nationale, Québec, QC, Canada
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Tsentidou G, Moraitou D, Tsolaki M, Masoura E, Papaliagkas V. Trajectories of Cognitive Impairment in Adults Bearing Vascular Risk Factors, with or without Diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment: Findings from a Longitudinal Study Assessing Executive Functions, Memory, and Social Cognition. Diagnostics (Basel) 2022; 12:diagnostics12123017. [PMID: 36553024 PMCID: PMC9777412 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics12123017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2022] [Revised: 11/21/2022] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
With the aging of the population, a key concern of both societies and health services is to keep the population cognitively healthy until the maximum age limit. It is a well-known fact that vascular aging has a negative effect on the cognitive skills of adults, putting them at greater risk of developing dementia. The present longitudinal study aimed to evaluate the main dimensions of cognition in two pathological groups with different health profiles: a group of adults with vascular risk factors (VRF) (n = 35) and a group of adults with vascular risk factors and mild cognitive impairment (VRF + MCI) (n = 35). The two groups were matched in age, education, and gender. They were assessed with extensive neuropsychological testing at three different times with a distance of about 8 months between them; the assessment regarded executive functions, memory capacity, and Theory of Mind abilities. The analyses carried out were (a) mixed-measures ANOVA, (b) repeated measures ANOVA, and (c) ANOVA. The findings showed that global cognitive status and short-term memory are the main cognitive abilities that decline in community dwelling people bearing VRF. Hence, this group of adults should be examined at least every 2 years for this decline. As regards people with both VRF and MCI, it seems that the assessment of Theory of Mind abilities can better capture their further impairment. Global cognitive status, task/rule switching function, and long-term memory (delayed verbal recall) were revealed as the abilities that clearly and steadily differentiate VRF people with and without MCI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Glykeria Tsentidou
- Laboratoty of Psychology, Department of Experimental and Cognitive Psychology, School of Psychology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
- Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation (CIRI), AUTh, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +30-6983140302
| | - Despina Moraitou
- Laboratoty of Psychology, Department of Experimental and Cognitive Psychology, School of Psychology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
- Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation (CIRI), AUTh, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
- Greek Association of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders, 546 43 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Magdalini Tsolaki
- Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation (CIRI), AUTh, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
- Greek Association of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders, 546 43 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Elvira Masoura
- Laboratoty of Psychology, Department of Experimental and Cognitive Psychology, School of Psychology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Vasileios Papaliagkas
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Health Sciences, International Hellenic University, 574 00 Sindos, Greece
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