The Efficacy of a Metacognitive Training Program in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: A 6-Month Follow-Up Clinical Study

This study was conducted in response to the increasing prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia and the significant risk faced by individuals with amnestic mild cognitive impairment with multiple-domain deficits (aMCI-md). Given the promising effects of MTPs, the primary aim of this study was to further explore their impact by assessing the maintenance of their benefits. Thus, 45 participants were randomly allocated in two groups: the Experimental group (n = 22), which received the metacognitive training program (MTP), and the Control group (n = 23) that received the cognitive exercises program (CEP). The training programs-the MTP and the CEP-included 10 individual sessions of a one-hour duration and took place once per week. To test the efficacy of the MTP, cognitive and metacognitive outcomes were compared between two groups-Experimental (EG) and Control (CG)-at four distinct time points: before-after-3 months-6 months after intervention. Based on this study's findings, the positive effects of the MTP were evident over a six-month period. Specifically, already three months post-training, the CG began to show a decline in training-related gains. In contrast, the EG's performance consistently improved, highlighting the superior efficacy of the MTP. Gains attributed to the MTP were detected in cognitive measures: cognitive flexibility and immediate visual recall, as well as in metacognitive measures: metacognitive control, improved metacognitive beliefs of attention, and an increased use of cognitive strategies. In conclusion, the results demonstrated the sustained effects of the MTP in cognitive and metacognitive measures over a period of six months, providing novel insight into the application and efficacy of the MTP in individuals with MCI.

Metacognitive beliefs of efficacy about daily life situations and use of cognitive strategies in amnestic mild cognitive impairment: a cross-sectional study

Metacognition, the ability to monitor and regulate cognitive processes, is essential for individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) to accurately identify their deficits and effectively manage them. However, previous studies primarily focused on memory awareness in MCI, neglecting other domains affected in daily life. This study aimed to investigate how individuals with MCI perceive their abilities to handle various cognitively challenging situations representing real-life scenarios and their use of compensatory strategies. Thus 100 participants were recruited, including 50 with amnestic MCI with multiple deficits (aMCI) and 50 cognitively healthy controls (HC) matched in age and education. Participants completed three metacognitive scales assessing self-perceived efficacy in everyday life scenarios and one scale evaluating use of cognitive strategies. Results indicated that aMCI participants reported significantly lower self-efficacy in memory and divided-shifted attention scenarios compared to HC. Surprisingly, no significant group differences were found in the self-reports about the use of cognitive strategies. This suggests a potential gap in understanding or applying effective strategies for compensating cognitive deficits. These findings emphasize the importance of cognitive training programs targeting metacognitive knowledge enhancement and practical use of cognitive strategies that could enhance the quality of life for individuals with MCI.

Individual Differences on Wellbeing Indices during the COVID-19 Quarantine in Greece: A National Study

The impact of COVID-19 and the associated lockdown measures on people's physical and mental wellbeing, as well as their daily lives and functioning, has been extensively studied. This study takes the approach of investigating the consequences of COVID-19 on a national scale, considering sociodemographic factors. The main objective is to make a contribution to ongoing research by specifically examining how age, gender, and marital status influence the overall impact of COVID-19 and wellbeing indicators during the second lockdown period that was implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Greek population. The study involved a sample of 16,906 individuals of all age groups in Greece who completed an online questionnaire encompassing measurements related to personal wellbeing, the presence and search for meaning in life, positive relationships, as well as symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. Additionally, to gauge the levels of the perceived COVID-19-related impact, a valid and reliable scale was developed. The results reveal that a higher perception of COVID-19 consequences is positively associated with psychological symptoms and the search for meaning in life, while being negatively correlated with personal wellbeing and the sense of meaning in life. In terms of individual differences, the findings indicate that unmarried individuals, young adults, and females tend to report higher levels of psychological symptoms, a greater search for meaning in life, and a heightened perception of COVID-19-related impact. These findings are analyzed in depth, and suggestions for potential directions for future research are put forth.

Ecosystem-level responses to multiple stressors using a time-dynamic food-web model: The case of a re-oligotrophicated coastal embayment (Saronikos Gulf, E Mediterranean)

Multiple stressors may combine in unexpected ways to alter the structure of ecological systems, however, our current ability to evaluate their ecological impact is limited due to the lack of information concerning historic trophic interactions and ecosystem dynamics. Saronikos Gulf is a heavily exploited embayment in the E Mediterranean that has undergone significant ecological alterations during the last 20 years including a shift from long-standing eutrophic to oligotrophic conditions in the mid-2000's. Here we used a historical Ecopath food-web model of Saronikos Gulf (1998-2000) and fitted the time-dynamic module Ecosim to biomass and catch time series for the period 2001-2020. We then projected the model forward in time from 2021 to 2050 under 8 scenarios to simulate ecosystem responses to the individual and combined effect of sea surface temperature increase, primary productivity shifts and fishing effort release. Incorporating trophic interactions, climate warming, fishing and primary production improved model fit, depicting that both fishing and the environment have historically influenced ecosystem dynamics. Retrospective simulations of the model captured historical biomass and catch trends of commercially important stocks and reproduced successfully the marked recovery of marine resources 10 years after re-oligotrophication. In future scenarios increasing temperature had a detrimental impact on most functional groups, increasing and decreasing productivity had a positive and negative effect on all respectively, while fishing reductions principally benefited top predators. Combined stressors produced synergistic or antagonistic effects depending on the direction and magnitude of change of each stressor in isolation while their overall impact seemed to be strongly mediated via food-web interactions. Such holistic approaches advance of our mechanistic understanding of ecosystems enabling us to develop more effective management strategies in the face of a rapidly changing marine environment.

The Gifted Rating Scales - School Form in Greek elementary and middle school learners: a closer insight into their psychometric characteristics

The Gifted Rating Scales - School Form (GRS-S), an evaluation tool for the identification of gifted elementary and middle school children, was the subject of the current study, which focused on its psychometric features (internal consistency reliability and structural validity). Four hundred and eighty-nine teachers (342 women, 139 men, and 8 without gender declaration) used the GRS-S to estimate the dimensions of giftedness in their students for the current study. Particularly, 489 children (253 girls and 236 boys) were evaluated by their teachers. Eight elementary and middle school classes and sixteen 6-month age bands were used to stratify the student population. The scales' outstanding internal consistency and good factorial validity were revealed by statistical analyses (EFA, CFA, and Cronbach's coefficients). According to the current research findings, the GRS-S as a reliable and valid assessment tool for identifying gifted students (by their teachers) within the Greek cultural environment.

Enhancing Subjective Wellbeing in Older Individuals with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Randomized Trial of a Positive Psychology Intervention

OBJECTIVES

This pilot study aims to explore the potential of a positive psychology intervention (PPI) in enhancing the subjective well-being of older individuals with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a precursor to dementia.

DESIGN AND SETTING

A randomized trial was conducted, initially recruiting 51 participants aged 65 and above from the Greek Association of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders in Thessaloniki, Greece. The study employed a control-experimental group setup. To ensure randomization, each participant was assigned a unique number, and a random number generator was used for group allocation.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 41 eligible participants with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) were included in the study after screening.

INTERVENTION

The intervention consisted of a 3-week positive psychology program (PPI) where the PERMA Profiler questionnaire was administered at three intervals: pre-intervention, post-intervention, and one month after completion.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The subjective well-being of participants.

RESULTS

The analysis, conducted mainly through mixed-measures ANOVAs, supported the study's hypotheses, revealing that the 3-week PPI led to increased PERMA model scores and overall well-being, which persisted even after one month. Conversely, non-participants experienced declines in most domains except for Positive Emotion and Meaning, which demonstrated improvement and recovery during follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest the potential of PPI in enhancing the subjective well-being of older adults with amnestic MCI, with implications for addressing dementia-related challenges. Further investigation is warranted to pinpoint PPI effects on MCI and tailor interventions for improved subjective well-being.

Metacognitive Differences in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and Healthy Cognition: A Cross-Sectional Study Employing Online Measures

This study aimed to examine metacognitive abilities in individuals diagnosed with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) by using online metacognitive measures during cognitive tasks. A total of 100 participants were enrolled, all aged 50 or older (mean age = 61.98; SD = 6.27), and with a minimum of six years of education (mean = 14.95; SD = 2.94). The sample included 50 individuals with aMCI (34 females) and 50 healthy controls (HC) (33 females). Both groups underwent metacognitive versions of memory tasks (Doors and People) and executive functions tasks (Wisconsin Card Sorting Test). Metacognition was assessed through confidence ratings given after each answer (referred to as metacognitive monitoring) and the accuracy of the participants' decisions to include or exclude answers from their final scores (known as metacognitive control). The results showed that although individuals with aMCI were aware of their cognitive limitations-evidenced by their lower confidence ratings across all tasks-they still exhibited overconfidence relative to their actual performance. Moreover, they included a greater number of incorrect answers in their final scores compared to the healthy control group. These findings suggest that while individuals with aMCI retain some level of awareness, their self-evaluations appear to lack precision. This observation was consistent across both types of cognitive tasks. The results underscore the need for additional research to better understand metacognition in MCI as well as the interplay between metacognitive monitoring and control.

Metacognitive Strategy Training Improves Decision-Making Abilities in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is associated with deficits in decision-making, which is of utmost importance for daily functioning. Despite evidence of declined decision-making abilities, research on decision-making interventions for MCI is scarce. As metacognition seems to play an important role in decision-making, the present study's aim was to examine whether a metacognitive strategy training can improve MCI patients' decision-making abilities. Older adults-patients of a day care center, diagnosed with amnestic MCI (n = 55) were randomly allocated in two groups, which were matched in gender, age and educational level. Τhe experimental group (n = 27, 18 women, mean age = 70.63, mean years of education = 13.44) received the metacognitive strategy training in parallel with the cognitive and physical training programs of the day care center, and the active control group (n = 28, 21 women, mean age = 70.86, mean years of education = 13.71) received only the cognitive and physical training of the center. The metacognitive strategy training included three online meeting sessions that took place once per week. The basis of the intervention was using analytical thinking, by answering four metacognitive-strategic questions, to make decisions about everyday situations. To examine the efficacy of the training, the ability to make decisions about everyday decision-making situations and the ability to apply decision rules were measured. Both groups participated in a pre-test session and a post-test session, while the experimental group also participated in a follow-up session, one month after the post-test session. The results showed that the experimental group improved its ability to decide, based on analytical thinking, about economic and healthcare-related everyday decision-making situations after they received the metacognitive strategy training. This improvement was maintained one month later. However, the ability to apply decision rules, which requires high cognitive effort, did not improve. In conclusion, it is important that some aspects of the analytical decision-making ability of amnestic MCI patients were improved due to the present metacognitive intervention.

The Effect of Secondary Education Teachers' Metacognitive Knowledge and Professional Development on Their Tacit Knowledge Strategies

The present study investigated the pattern of relations among the tacit knowledge of high school teachers, their professional development, and their metacognitive knowledge concerning their teaching practices. Two hundred and seventy-nine secondary school teachers of both sexes, between the ages of 30 and 59 years, with teaching experience of between 1 and 19 years, participated in the study. Teachers' tacit knowledge was evaluated through the hypothetical scenarios of the Tacit Knowledge Inventory for High School Teachers (TKI-HS), which has been developed for the estimation of teachers' practical strategies. For the evaluation of teachers' metacognitive knowledge and professional development, self-report questionnaires were administered to the participants. Path analysis indicated relationships between teachers' metacognitive knowledge regarding difficulties in classroom management and in the use of modern methods and technologies on the one hand, and the use of certain tacit knowledge strategies on the other. In addition, teachers' professional development, especially their ability to interact in socially heterogeneous groups, was also found to have an effect on their tacit knowledge strategies.

The Effects of Physical Activity in Children and Adolescents with Developmental Coordination Disorder

The purpose of this literature review was to detect and study the effectiveness of therapeutic intervention programs, such as physical activities and sports, on children and adolescents with Developmental Motor Coordination Disorder (DCD) to improve their motor skills. The sample for this study consisted of 48 (100%) papers, specifically, 40 (83.5%) articles, 3 (6.2%) doctoral theses, 2 (4.1%) master's theses and 3 (6.2%) papers from conference proceedings from the year 2014 to 2022. To search the sample, the following terms were used: DCD or dyspraxia, physical activity programs, intervention, physical intervention, physical education, etc. The results for the existence of statistically significant results and internal validity of intervention programs using physical activities and sports in children and adolescents with DCD showed that a large number of intervention programs improved the children's motor skills as well as their daily functionality. In contrast, other interventions failed to improve dynamic and static balance. The negative result could be due either to the short duration of the interventions or to the improper suboptimal design-organization of the methodology of these programs-such as the heterogeneous intervention samples and the use of inappropriate and reliable assessment tools.

The Effect of Cannabidiol 3% on Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Dementia - Six-Month Follow-Up

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the beneficial outcomes of giving cannabidiol (CBD) 3% over a six-month period in the BPSD, the management of which is a crucial issue for everyday clinical praxis and to compare the progress in BPSD of patients who receive Cannabidiol 3% with those who follow usual medical treatment (UMT) in everyday clinical praxis.

METHODS

A total of 20 PwD with severe BPSD were recruited from the database of Alzheimer Hellas with NPI score >30. Ten of them were assigned to UMT, while ten were assigned to a six-month treatment with CBD drops. The follow-up assessment was performed with NPI, both clinically and by structured telephone interview.

RESULTS

The follow-up assessment with NPI showed significant improvement of the BPSD in all our patients who received CBD, and no or limited improvement in the second group, regardless of the underlying neuropathology of dementia.

CONCLUSIONS

We suggest that CBD may be a more effective and safe choice for managing BPSD than the typical intervention. Future large randomized clinical trials are needed to re-assure these findings.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

Healthcare professionals should consider incorporating CBD 3% into their practices to reduce BPSD in PwD. Regular assessments are necessary to ensure long-term effectiveness.

The Gifted Rating Scales-Preschool/Kindergarten Form (GRS-P): A Preliminary Examination of Their Psychometric Properties in Two Greek Samples

The present paper is based on data of two samples concerning the Gifted Rating Scales-Preschool/Kindergarten Form (GRS-P) that aimed to gain insight into the psychometric properties (internal consistency reliability, structural and convergent validity) of the Greek version of the GRS-P. In both studies, teachers estimated their students' giftedness with the GRS-P and executive functions with the Childhood Executive Functioning Inventory (Study 1). In Study 2, kindergarteners were examined in cognitive measurements which included the colored progressive matrices, the children category test, the Athena test, and the mini-mental state examination. Statistical analyses (EFA, CFA, Cronbach's α, and Pearson's r coefficients) revealed the excellent internal consistency of the scales as well as their good factorial and convergent/discriminant validity. In relation to the children's cognitive ability measures, it emphasized the fact that the GRS-P is a reliable and valid tool for teachers to assess their gifted students in a Greek cultural context.

An Investigation of Working Memory Profile and Fluid Intelligence in Children With Neurodevelopmental Difficulties

The present study aims to evaluate the distinct patterns of working memory (WM) capacity of children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), High-functioning children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and children with Down syndrome (DS). More specifically, the current study investigates the complex relationship of fluid intelligence and WM between 39 children with DLD, 20 H igh-functioning children with ASD, and 15 children with DS. All children were evaluated in different measures of Phonological Working Memory, Visual-spatial Working Memory whereas Fluid Intelligence was measured with Raven Progressive Matrices. The result analysis revealed a significant difference among the three groups, both among each function separately and the correlations among them, as well. The results revealed that the DLD groups and High-functioning ASD group exhibited a common picture or an overlap of performances in all Phonological and Visuo-spatial working memory measures, except Backward Digit Recall task. As for the DS group research findings revealed different and unique working memory patterns in comparison to DLD group and High-functioning ASD. Their differences have been studied and further conclusions have been drawn about the different patterns of working memory among the three clinical groups. The implications of these findings are discussed in light of support for learning. The common profile that characterize the two developmental conditions and the distinct pattern of working memory performance in DS group underlies the need for further research in the field.

Food web interactions in a human dominated Mediterranean coastal ecosystem

Mediterranean coastal ecosystems provide various valuable ecosystem goods and services; however, they are vulnerable to ecological degradation due to a dramatic increase in resource use and environmental stress. Disentangling the effects of multiple human interventions on coastal ecosystems requires whole description of food web interactions using quantitative tools. A mass balance Ecopath model has been developed here for Saronikos Gulf, a naturally oligotrophic Mediterranean coastal ecosystem with a long history of human interventions. Our main focus was to describe the structure and functioning of the ecosystem, investigate the trophic interplay among the various compartments of the food web under the impact of mixed multi-gear fisheries, and to quantify resilience related emergent ecosystem properties. To this end, we reviewed a large amount of local and regional biological information which was integrated in 40 functional groups covering all trophic levels, while fishing activities were described with 7 fleets. The model shared characteristics of both productive (e.g., high amount of flows) and oligotrophic systems (e.g., low biomass accumulation) and presented typical features of Mediterranean ecosystem functioning, such as the importance of detritus as an energy source, strong benthic-pelagic coupling and the dominance of the pelagic compartment in terms of total production and consumption. Trophic forcing in the ecosystem of Saronikos Gulf was complex with both top-down and bottom-up drivers being important. Zooplankton was the central nexus between basal resources and higher trophic levels, while top predators such as hake, squids and anglerfish were identified as keystone species presenting a significant overall effect on the food web via direct and indirect trophic interactions. Ecological indicators depicted a moderately complex food-web of a large and immature ecosystem with its strengths in reserve being affected by environmental degradation. Additionally, exploitation indices classified fishing activities in Saronikos Gulf as unsustainable, affecting several target groups, including high trophic level species. However, the morphological and bathymetric complexity of Saronikos Gulf seems to function as a natural ecological reserve for the ecosystem by providing nursery grounds to various species (e.g., hake, small pelagic fishes) and supporting important fish stocks for local fisheries.

Measuring Impulsivity in Greek Adults: Psychometric Properties of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) and Impulsive Behavior Scale (Short Version of UPPS-P)

Introduction: The aim of the present study was to validate the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11th version) scale as well as the short version of the Impulsive Behavior Scale (UPPS-P) in a population of Greek young adults. Secondly, we aimed at validating the BIS-11 in older adults. Methods: 167 (Group 1) university students completed the Greek version of the BIS-11 (BIS-11-G) and the UPPS (UPPS-P-G) scales. Additionally, BIS-11-G was also administered to 167 (Group 2) cognitively intact older adults, to identify whether it could be used to measure impulsivity in an older adult population. Results: Both scales had satisfactory internal reliability and test–retest reliability, as well as convergent validity in the young adult population. In regard to the factor structure, a principal component analysis (PCA) extracted two factors for the BIS-11-G in the young adult population and three factors in older adults, as well as three factors for the short UPPS-P-G in young adults. Conclusions: The BIS-11-G and the UPPS-P-G scales can be used to measure different aspects of impulsivity in the Greek population of different ages in research and clinical practice.

The Pattern of Mu Rhythm Modulation During Emotional Destination Memory: Comparison Between Mild Cognitive Impairment Patients and Healthy Controls

Leading theories of affect development and empirical studies suggest that emotion can enhance memory in older adults. Destination memory which is defined as the ability to remember to whom we told a piece of information is being found to be compromised in aging. In the present study, we sought to assess destination memory using emotional stimuli (Emotional Destination Memory, EDM) in 16 older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 16 healthy controls and shed light onto its potential neurophysiological aspects. We measured Mu suppression in frontal and temporal regions via EEG in real time while participants performed the task of EDM. Results showed no group differences in task performance but significant differences in fronto-temporal activations, specifically in electrodes F7 and F8. Differential Mu rhythm pattern was observed between healthy controls and MCI with the first exhibiting Mu suppression and the last Mu enhancement. Furthermore, Mu enhancement in temporal electrodes within the MCI group was associated with lower scores on EDM. The absence of group differences in the task can be explained by the fact that even if there are underlying structural or functional deficits in the MCI group, these deficits are manifested only at neurophysiological level and not at a behavioral level, which is a common pattern in the process of cognitive decline in its initial phases. The overall findings reveal that, even if there are not any behavioral decrements in MCI patients, they show reduced activations in fronto-temporal regions and this can be attributed to general impairment in emotional destination memory due to possible mirror neuron deficiency.

Analyzing social cognition and understanding of social inferences in patients with multiple sclerosis. A comparative study

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the present study was to investigate the process of understanding social inferences and metaphors and the pragmatic use of language through emotion recognition and social inference tests in patients diagnosed with Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (PPMS) mainly characterized by neurodegeneration. Additionally, we tried to identify a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarker correlated with the degree and rate of cognitive decline in progressive MS patients.

METHOD

For the purpose of the present study 25 patients, aged 20 up to 55 years, with PPMS were evaluated. All patients were admitted in the First Department of Neurology, AHEPA Hospital of Thessaloniki. The control group was 30 healthy individuals which participated in the study voluntarily. The groups were matched for age, gender, years of education and intelligence.

INSTRUMENTS

Social inference was examined with the Awareness of Social Inference Test (TASIT). The TASIT consists of two different parts. The "Tasit Part I: Emotion Evaluation Task (EET - FORM A). The EET is the first part of a broader audiovisual tool designed for the clinical assessment of social perception that is called "The Awareness of Social Inference Test (TASIT)". The second Part of the test TASIT - Social Inference examines the viewer's ability to determine the speaker's meaning and intentions based upon the dialogue, emotional expression, and paralinguistic cues.

RESULTS

The findings indicate that patients with PPMS show decline in emotion recognition and social inference abilities, as compared with the control group. More specifically, PPMS patients have problems to understand the affective state of the others mirroring a specific problem in ToM.

CONCLUSION

The level of Theory of Mind in the form of sarcasm understanding decreases significantly in MS patients compared with healthy group potentially mirroring impairment in ToM in general. The results indicate that MS group is not resilient to understand metaphoric speech. More specifically, their pathology seems to be able to affect complex ToM abilities.

Retrogenetic models of working memory: Preliminary multi-group analysis

AIM

The aim of the present study was the qualitative comparison of working memory capacity of young children and older adults through the investigation of the latent structure stability or change in Working Memory capacity (WM) in childhood and aging, using Multiple Group Confirmatory Factor Analysis (MGCFA).

METHOD

The sample consisted of 62 kindergarten and 56 elementary school students (age range: 4-8 years) and 52 young-old adults and 54 old-old adults (age range: 60-94 years). Adults were asked to complete the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS-15) as screening tests. The children were examined via the Raven Colored Progressive Matrix (CMP) test for the same reason. WM was examined via four measures of Working Memory Test Battery for Children (WMTB-C).

RESULTS

MGCFA applied to the data of the kindergarten students' subsample, elementary school students' subsample, young-old and old-old adults' subsamples as well as of older adults with low (0-9 years of education) educational level. Initially, through MGCFA, four "models" were confirmed, one for each age-related subsample, and they were different from each other. However, when the same method was applied exclusively to young-old and old-old adults with low educational level, the models that emerged were similar to the kindergarten students' model.

CONCLUSION

When we "keep" the educational level equal (low) for all, the hypothesis of retrogenesis is confirmed. Cognitive reserve appears to be protective, keeping differentiated WM's components in every age group other than that of kindergarten students. The results support the "retrogenetic" hypothesis, mainly due to the finding of a delay in WM components' development in the group of kindergarten students, and their dedifferentiation in the low-educated young-old and old-old adults.

Inhibitory Control, Task/Rule Switching, and Cognitive Planning in Vascular Dementia: Are There Any Differences From Vascular Aging?

Recent studies have shown that patients diagnosed with Vascular Dementia (VaD) exhibit deficits in executive functions. According to “vascular hypothesis of cognitive aging,” community-dwelling older adults having risk factors for vascular disease development (RVD) may suffer from cognitive decline of the same type. The aim of the study was to assess the level of specific executive functions (EF) that have been revealed as most affected by vascular abnormalities, in older adults with incipient VaD and RVD. Subsequently specific ways of EF measuring could be suggested for more accurate diagnosis of early stage VaD. The study compared three adult groups (N = 60): (a) patients diagnosed with incipient VaD, according to DSM-5 criteria (n = 20); (b) community-dwelling older adults presenting cardiovascular risk factors (RVD; n = 20); (c) healthy young adult controls (n = 20). Three types of executive functions were examined: inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility as rule/task switching, and planning. The following D-KEFS subtests were administered for their evaluation: The ‘Color-Word Interference Test,’ the ‘Verbal Fluency Test,’ and the ‘Tower Test.’ Mixed-measures ANOVA, MANOVA, and one-way ANOVA as well as Scheffe post hoc test were applied to the data of the scores in each condition of each test. The results showed that VaD patients had significantly lower performance in test conditions requiring switching and planning, compared to RVD group and young controls. The specific deficits of VaD patients, compared to older adults presenting RVD according to multiple-group path analyses were: more uncorrected errors in inhibition, the use of semantic knowledge primarily instead of switching ability to switch between semantic categories, as well as a lower level of movement precision in planning.

Inefficient understanding of non-factive mental verbs with social aspect in adults: comparison to cognitive factive verb processing

INTRODUCTION

Mental verbs denote inner mental states and are an important link between language and Theory of Mind ability conceptualized as mental state understanding. Non-factive mental verbs denote an obligation or intention and constitute a discrete class of mental verbs which are characterized by their social aspect. This study aimed to examine adults' ability to understand non-factive mental verbs with the social aspect as compared to cognitive factive mental verbs which denote a true event.

METHODS

A total of 94 participants, aged 18-95 years, were examined using two tasks measuring non-factive and factive verb processing, respectively, and a working memory test.

RESULTS

The results indicated that non-factive verbs process is at a significantly lower level than those of cognitive factives.

CONCLUSION

The inspection of the way adapted to process the non-factive verbs denoting obligation or intention, as well as the confirmation of a unifactorial structure of the task developed to measure non-factives' processing, showed that adults have a common pattern of non-factive mental verb understanding, which is based on heuristic ways of thinking and is not affected by working memory capacity and age.

Self-report instruments of cognitive failures as screening tools for Subjective Cognitive Impairment in older adults

BACKGROUND

The term "Subjective Cognitive Impairment (SCI)" is the most widely accepted term for cognitive complaints of otherwise apparently healthy older adults. It is presently clear that SCI might be a risk factor for the development of Mild Cognitive Impairment and dementia. As regards SCI measurement and potential diagnosis, several studies showed that SCI is a condition in which people score in the normal range on common tests but believe they experience cognitive decline. Hence, to assess the characteristic of the SCI subtle cognitive decline, self-report measures were developed to estimate "self-experience" of minimal decline in cognition seem the most appropriate tools. In this vein, the present study aimed at examining the capacity of the Greek version of two self-report instruments of the aforementioned type to detect SCI in community dwelling older adults.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The study sample consisted of 295 participants, who were allocated into four age-groups: young adults, middle-aged adults, older adults and older-old adults. The first three groups were gender and education-matched. The participants were examined via two objective tests of the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) which is a neuropsychological battery designed to measure executive functions. In specific, they were tested via the D-KEFS Tower Test (TT) which mainly measures "planning" function, and the D-KEFS Color-Word Interference Test (C-WIT) which primarily measures "inhibition" and "switching" functions. Both tests consist of four conditions. The participants were also asked to answer to: (a) the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ), and (b) the Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ), which were designed to assess subjective estimations of everyday slips of actions and cognitive failures, and episodic memory slips in everyday life, respectively. As concerns the psychometric qualities of the two questionnaires, a single-factor structure of the Greek versions of the CFQ and the PRMQ was verified in a previous study via the application of Confirmatory Factor Analysis.

RESULTS

No age-group effects on CFQ score were found. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were subsequently performed, using objective tests' scores as test variables and CFQ classification based on the 75^th percentile score, as state variable. ROC curves analyses using "C-WIT conditions' 1, 2 time of completion" as test variables and CFQ classification, in older adult age-group, as state variable, showed that a CFQ score ≥47 is indicative of an early stage of objective cognitive impairment in older age. Cronbach's α values, for the Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire ranged from .89 (young adults) to .93 (older adults). No age-group effects on PRMQ score were observed. ROC curves analyses were performed, using objective measures' scores as well as CFQ score as test variables and PRMQ classification based on the 75^th percentile score, as state variable. These analyses using "C-WIT conditions' 3, 4 time of completion" as well as CFQ score as test variables and PRMQ classification, in older adult age-group, as state variable, showed that a PRMQ score ≥43 is indicative of an early stage of objective cognitive impairment as well as of subjective estimations of general cognitive decline in older age.

CONCLUSION

Self-report questionnaires of "everyday" cognitive and memory failures seem to be associated with specific objective tests of cognition in aging. Hence, they are useful tools for detecting early cognitive impairment at least in older adults. Their administration together with objective cognitive tasks of high difficulty could substantially help for SCI screening. Given that there is also evidence that the experience of subtle impairment in cognition is related to increased likelihood of biomarker abnormalities indicative of AD pathology, the assessment of subjective estimations is revealed as a useful primary indicator of early AD effects on cognitive functioning.

The combined effect of sleep and time of day on emotion decoding from dynamic visual cues in older adults

It is well known that night sleep is a decisive factor for the effective functioning of the human body and mind. In addition to the role of sleep, older adults report that they are "morning types" and that their cognitive and emotional abilities seem to be at a higher level in the morning hours. In this vein, this study is aimed at examining the effect of sleep combined with the "time of day" condition on a specific ability that is crucial for interpersonal communication, namely, emotion recognition, in older adults. Specifically, the study compared older adults' performance in decoding emotions from ecologically valid, dynamic visual cues, in two conditions: "early in the morning and after night sleep", and "in the afternoon and after many hours since night sleep". An emotion recognition task was administered twice to 37 community-dwelling older adults. The results showed a statistically significant higher performance in the morning in decoding all emotions presented, compared to the afternoon condition. Pleasant surprise, sadness, and anxiety were revealed as the most difficult emotions to be recognized in the afternoon condition.

Social cognition in adults: the role of cognitive control

AIM

This study aimed at examining the direct and indirect, via cognitive control and emotion recognition, effects of advancing age on adults' social cognition, and especially, on complex forms of it such as indirect speech, faux pas, and social mental verb understanding.

METHOD

The sample comprised a total of 70 adults, aged from 18 to 83 years. Participants were almost equally distributed in each one of three age-groups (young, middle-aged, and older adults), according to their gender and educational level. Three tasks measuring the ability to interpret indirect speech, the ability to understand faux pas, and social mental verb understanding, respectively, were administered as measures of social cognition. Cognitive control, as inhibitory control, task switching, updating-monitoring, and planning, as well as basic emotion decoding from visual cues, were measured by four and one task respectively.

RESULTS

After the confirmation of the factor structure of each one of the dimensions of social cognition, and the examination of the direct effects of age on them, the all-inclusive path model finally confirmed showed that age has a significant negative indirect effect, via cognitive control, on social cognition as ability to interpret indirect speech and faux pas.

CONCLUSION

The decreased performance that cognitively healthy older adults exhibit, as regards specific complex dimensions of social cognition, could be attributed to negative effects of age on cognitive control. However, it is likely that some other complex dimensions of social cognition are not affected by frontal aging.

Comparing the latent structure of Raven's educational coloured progressive matrices among young children and older adults: A preliminary study

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the present study was the comparison of the general cognitive ability (g) between young children and older adults through the investigation of the latent structure qualitative changes in [R] Educational Coloured Progressive Matrices (CPM) from age to age, using Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA) and testing a conventional unidimensional model.

METHOD

The sample consisted of 42 kindergarten and 56 elementary school students (age range: 5-8 years) and 118 new-old adults and 27 old-old adults (age range: 61-88 years). The participants' cognitive abilities were examined in: (a) the Raven's Educational CPM test, and (b) the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).

RESULTS

CFA applied to data of the total sample, elementary school students subsample and new-old adults subsample, indicating that individual variability across [R] CPM measured variables (total scores for each of the three sets) can be modeled by one latent variable (a single underlying factor). The same pattern of [R] CPM latent structure was not verified for the subsamples of kindergarten students and old-old adults, since the variance of a single underlying factor was not found to be statistically significant.

CONCLUSION

The results support the existence of a different factor structure in [R] Educational CPM between first- to second- grade elementary school students and new-old adults, on the one hand, and kindergarten students and old-old adults, on the other. This difference could possibly reflect the underdevelopment of inductive reasoning and executive functioning in the group of kindergarten students and the disorganization of them in the group of old-old adults.

Older adults' decoding of emotions: age-related differences in interpreting dynamic emotional displays and the well-preserved ability to recognize happiness

AIM

Although the ability to recognize emotions through bodily and facial muscular movements is vital to everyday life, numerous studies have found that older adults are less adept at identifying emotions than younger adults. The message gleaned from research has been one of greater decline in abilities to recognize specific negative emotions than positive ones. At the same time, these results raise methodological issues with regard to different modalities in which emotion decoding is measured. The main aim of the present study is to identify the pattern of age differences in the ability to decode basic emotions from naturalistic visual emotional displays.

METHOD

The sample comprised a total of 208 adults from Greece, aged from 18 to 86 years. Participants were examined using the Emotion Evaluation Test, which is the first part of a broader audiovisual tool, The Awareness of Social Inference Test. The Emotion Evaluation Test was designed to examine a person's ability to identify six emotions and discriminate these from neutral expressions, as portrayed dynamically by professional actors.

RESULTS

The findings indicate that decoding of basic emotions occurs along the broad affective dimension of uncertainty, and a basic step in emotion decoding involves recognizing whether information presented is emotional or not. Age was found to negatively affect the ability to decode basic negatively valenced emotions as well as pleasant surprise. Happiness decoding is the only ability that was found well-preserved with advancing age.

CONCLUSION

The main conclusion drawn from the study is that the pattern in which emotion decoding from visual cues is affected by normal ageing depends on the rate of uncertainty, which either is related to decoding difficulties or is inherent to a specific emotion.

Effects of cognitive ability and affect on school mathematics performance and feelings of difficulty

Research on cognitive ability and affect has indicated that both of them may function at various levels of generality (LG). This study aimed to investigate the possible effects of LG on school mathematics performance and related feelings of difficulty. Two hundred forty-three students of seventh, eighth, and ninth grades of both genders participated in the study. They were tested with cognitive ability tasks, affective questionnaires, and two school mathematics batteries. The difficulty of each of the school mathematics task was also rated on a 4-point scale. The two school mathematics batteries and affective questionnaires were re-administered 1 year after the first testing. Rates of difficulty were also taken. Path analysis showed that performance was mainly influenced by cognitive ability factors, whereas feelings of difficulty were influenced by performance, cognitive ability, and affective factors. The long-term relations between cognitive and affective factors are discussed.