clinical Neuropsychology

BACKGROUND: With the rapid aging of the global population, the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia is anticipated to surge worldwide. MCI serves as an intermediary stage between normal aging and dementia, necessitating more sensitive and effective screening tools for early identification and intervention. The BrainFx SCREEN is a novel digital tool designed to assess cognitive impairment. This study evaluated its efficacy as a screening tool for MCI in primary care settings, particularly in the context of an aging population and the growing integration of digital health solutions...

Objective : Board certification (BC) in clinical neuropsychology via the American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology (ABCN) is a rigorous process demonstrating clinical competence to practice. While myths about BC have been addressed, barriers to BC have yet to be studied. The aim of this study was to identify barriers to BC among neuropsychology trainees and professionals. Method : Data were collected through pre-webinar surveys administered to 1202 participants across four webinars conducted between 2018 and 2021...

BACKGROUND: Being able to differentiate mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients who would eventually convert (MCIc) to Alzheimer's disease (AD) from those who would not (MCInc) is a key challenge for prognosis. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the ability of sulcal morphometry to predict MCI progression to AD, dedicating special attention to an accurate identification of sulci. METHODS: Twenty-five AD patients, thirty-seven MCI and twenty-five healthy controls (HC) underwent a brain-MR protocol (1...

Personality research is of relevance because it provides insights into the psychological strengths and vulnerabilities of a person. Korsakoff's syndrome (KS) is a severe neuropsychiatric disorder following acute thiamine deficiency, usually as a consequence of alcohol-use disorders. Research on personality traits of KS patients is currently limited. The aim of the current exploratory study was therefore to examine the personality traits and problems of KS patients. We assessed self-reported and informant-reported personality traits and problems in institutionalized KS patients ( n  = 30)...

Meta-analyses often present flexibility regarding their inclusion criteria, outcomes of interest, statistical analyses, and assessments of the primary studies. For this reason, it is necessary to transparently report all the information that could impact the results. In this meta-review, we aimed to assess the transparency of meta-analyses that examined the benefits of cognitive training, given the ongoing controversy that exists in this field. Ninety-seven meta-analytic reviews were included, which examined a wide range of populations with different clinical conditions and ages...

OBJECTIVES: To assess the effect of total sleep deprivation (TSD) on spontaneous brain activity in medical staff during routine clinical practice. METHODS: A total of 36 medical staff members underwent resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) scans and neuropsychological tests twice, corresponding to rested wakefulness (RW) after normal sleep and 24 h of acute TSD. The rs-fMRI features, including the mean fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (mfALFF), z-score transformed regional homogeneity (zReHo), and functional connectivity (zFC), were compared between RW and TSD...

OBJECTIVE: Early detection of cognitive impairment in the elderly is crucial for diagnosis and appropriate care. Brief, cost-effective cognitive screening instruments are needed to help identify individuals who require further evaluation. This study presents preliminary data on a new screening technology using automated voice recording analysis software in a Spanish population. METHOD: Data were collected from 174 Spanish-speaking individuals clinically diagnosed as cognitively normal (CN, n  = 87) or impaired (mild cognitive impairment [MCI], n  = 63; all-cause dementia, n  = 24)...

One important role of the TPJ is the contribution to perception of the global gist in hierarchically organized stimuli where individual elements create a global visual percept. However, the link between clinical findings in simultanagnosia and neuroimaging in healthy subjects is missing for real-world global stimuli, like visual scenes. It is well-known that hierarchical, global stimuli activate TPJ regions and that simultanagnosia patients show deficits during the recognition of hierarchical stimuli and real-world visual scenes...

Recent studies have reported that cerebellar lesions can cause cognitive, behavioral, and affective symptoms. This constellation is called the cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome (CCAS). A bedside instrument, the CCAS-Scale, has been developed to screen for this clinical presentation. The aim of this study is to adapt the CCAS-Scale to Hungarian according to international cross-cultural guidelines. In cooperation with the senior author of the original CCAS-Scale, we defined a five-step adaptation protocol (license number 6758-1/2021)...

INTRODUCTION: Neuropsychological deficits in areas of Executive Functioning (EF), theory of mind, and central coherence have been well-documented among children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD); however, there remains a significant gap in knowledge with regards to neuropsychological profile in adults with ASD. This study aims to investigate the intellectual functioning and neuropsychological profiles of a clinical population of adults with ASD. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 40 available autistic individuals referred to an adult developmental disorders clinic at a hospital between 2021 and 2022...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of Cogmed Working Memory Training (Cogmed) in improving working memory (WM) and decision making (DM) in childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI), and any associated increases in functional outcomes such as academic achievement in mathematics, behavior, social skills, and quality of life. METHOD: A randomized controlled trial of the Cogmed (RM version) intervention for children with TBI. A total of 69 children post-TBI were screened for WM impairments, of which 31 eligible participants ( M age : 10...

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the Everyday Memory Questionnaire- Revised (EMQ-R-A) in a sample of Lebanese adults. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in August 2023. A diverse sample of 483 Lebanese adults aged 18 to 60 years from all Lebanese governorates was recruited. Participants completed an Arabic-language questionnaire comprising three sections: socio-demographic characteristics, health-related inquiries, the EMQ-R-A and the Arabic version of the Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ)...

Heart failure can lead to cognitive impairment that is estimated to be present in over a quarter of patients. It is important to intervene at a cognitive level to promote brain plasticity through cognitive training programs. Interventions transformed by technology offer the promise of improved cognitive health for heart failure patients. This review was conducted on studies evaluating the role of cognitive rehabilitation in patients with heart failure. We examined clinical trials involving patients with heart failure...

COVID-19 has a wide range of clinical manifestations. Apart from respiratory symptoms, neurological manifestations and cognitive impairment are commonly seen. Due to lack of a clear consensus on the definition of long COVID a pragmatic approach of assessing change from neurological baseline has become prevalent. We present the case of a high functioning woman in her late 40s who had a mild course of acute illness but developed cognitive difficulties. No organic causes for her cognitive difficulties were found...

People with dementia vary in awareness of difficulties. Evaluating awareness could facilitate personalized care. However, current research measures are unsuitable for practical clinical application. We aimed to develop a brief multidimensional awareness interview for clinical use. Informed by available evidence about awareness of dementia, items suitable for both in-person and remote administration were modified from validated measures or developed for clinical application. The interview was administered via telephone or videoconference to 31 community-dwelling people with mild-to-moderate dementia...

This review is based on a conference presented in June 2023. Its main objective is to explain the cognitive differences between humans and non-human primates (NHPs) focusing on characteristics of their brains. It is based on the opinion of a clinical neurologist and does not intend to go beyond an overview of this complex topic. As language is the main characteristic differentiating humans from NHPs, this review is targeted at their brain networks related to language. NHPs have rudimentary forms of language, including primitive lexical/semantic signs...

The second part of this review is an attempt to explain why only Homo sapiens developed language. It should be remarked that this review is based on the opinion of a clinical neurologist and does not intend to go beyond an overview of this complex topic. The progressive development of language was probably due to the expansion of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and its networks. PFC is the largest area of the human cerebral cortex and is much more expanded in humans than in other primates. To achieve language, several other functions should have been attained, including abstraction, reasoning, expanded working memory, and executive functions...

Behavioural disturbances are often observed, but (to our knowledge) not systematically assessed, in children who are in post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Therefore, we aimed to develop a prototype scale that measures the full range of behavioural disturbances exhibited by school-aged children in PTA. Quantitative and qualitative feedback was collected via online surveys. First, experts (n = 7) evaluated the relevance and developmental appropriateness of 37 behavioural items, extracted from the scoping literature review...

Objective: The Visual Short-Term Memory Binding (VSTMB) Test is a useful tool in the assessment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Research has suggested that short-term memory binding is insensitive to the sociocultural characteristics of the assessed individuals. Such earlier studies addressed this influence by considering years of education. The current study aims to determine the influence of sociocultural factors via a measure of Socioeconomic Status (SES) which provides a more holistic approach to these common confounders...

Objective: Digital provision of cognitive tests like the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) has the potential to significantly increase access to important assessments. However, limited empirical evidence exists for the equivalence of telehealth and face-to-face administration. Presently test publishers recommend not administering subtests with stimulus materials that require manipulation via telehealth. Therefore, this study evaluated the equivalence of a telehealth administration procedure of the WAIS-IV with face-to-face administration...