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At least 865 records · Page 48Linked to original sources
PubMed2006

Recency effects in HIV-associated dementia are characterized by deficient encoding.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the nature and cognitive mechanisms of serial position learning effects in HIV-associated dementia (HAD). Participants were 16 persons with HAD, 50 non-demented persons with HIV-infection, and 50 demographically comparable HIV-seronegative participants. HAD participants, relative to both comparison groups, exhibited reduced middle region (p<0.01) and elevated recency region (p<0.05) recall on the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised, but no primacy region effect (p>0.10). On recognition testing, the HAD group was impaired in discriminating targets from distractors (p<0.01) in all three serial position regions; however, they were not impaired on measures of retrieval (p>0.10) within these same regions. In sum, HAD participants relied disproportionately on recency regions of the list, indicating a passive recall style of echoing only the words within their auditory attention span. Interestingly, HAD participants did not evidence significant improvement on measures of recognition, a finding that suggests that the serial position effects are most consistent with a primary encoding deficit.

AIDS Dementia Complex↗
PubMed2000

Memory and organizational strategies in chronic and acute schizophrenic patients.

The memory profile of acute and chronic schizophrenic patients was examined according to the information processing model, with which encoding, retention and retrieval processes of these patients were compared. The effects of an external organizational strategy on their verbal learning and memory were also examined. Twenty chronic and 20 acute schizophrenic patients were tested with a list learning task consisting of a random (i.e., words presented randomly) and a blocked (i.e., words presented in clusters) word-list. The schizophrenic patients, as compared with age- and education-matched normal control subjects, demonstrated impaired learning, and the duration of their illness was not a significant factor in the severity of their learning impairment. However, the acute and chronic schizophrenic patients seem able to retain most of the newly acquired materials, regardless of the presentation format, after 30 min. In addition, the learning and subjective organizational strategy of the chronic patients, but not that of the acute patients, improved significantly by the blocked presentation. However, semantic organization could facilitate both the chronic and acute schizophrenic patients to retain more newly learned items.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2005

Effects of using same- versus alternate-form memory tests during short-interval repeated assessments in multiple sclerosis.

Repeated neuropsychological testing gives rise to practice effects in that patients become familiar with test material as well as test-taking procedures. Using alternate forms prevents the learning of specific test stimuli, potentially mitigating practice effects. However, changing forms could diminish test-retest reliability coefficients. Our objective was to examine test-retest effects in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients randomly assigned to same- (SF) or alternate-form (AF) conditions. Thirty-four MS patients underwent neuropsychological evaluation. The battery included the California Verbal Learning Test II (CVLT-II) and the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised (BVMT-R), memory tests recommended by a recently convened consensus panel. Patients were randomly assigned to SF or AF groups and then tested at baseline and follow-up examination 1 week later. Analysis of variance tests (ANOVAs) revealed significant group x time interactions, with SF patients showing greater gain than AF patients. SF practice effects were often large, compromising test validity. Reliability coefficients were either equivalent or higher in the AF group, a finding attributed to ceiling effects and reduced variance in the SF group at retest. The generalizability of the findings may be limited to short test-retest intervals and the MS population. Nevertheless, I conclude that the use of CVLT-II and BVMT-R alternate forms likely helps preserve test validity without compromising test-retest reliability.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Learning and memory in combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder.

OBJECTIVE: The authors investigated a broad range of memory functions for stimuli unrelated to trauma to determine whether symptoms such as intrusive memories might reflect an underlying cognitive deficit unrelated to the psychological content of the traumatic memory in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). METHOD: The authors measured the intellectual functioning of 20 male combat veterans with PTSD and 12 normal comparison subjects using the WAIS and evaluated them for performance on memory using the California Verbal Learning Test. RESULTS: Veterans with PTSD showed normal abilities in the functions of initial attention, immediate memory, cumulative learning, and active interference from previous learning. However, these veterans showed a circumscribed cognitive deficit, manifested by the presence of substantial retroactive interference and revealed by a significant decrement in retention following exposure to an intervening word list. CONCLUSIONS: The data suggest that patients with PTSD may have fairly specific deficits in the monitoring and regulation of memory information.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Functional neuroimaging predicts individual memory outcome after amygdalohippocampectomy.

We examined memory-related activity within to-be-resected medial temporal lobe (MTL) structures in 12 epilepsy patients with PET before amygdalohippocampectomy and studied the reallocation of memory functions to the contralateral MTL before and after surgery. Learning tasks were designed to activate predominantly the right or left MTL. Those patients who significantly activated to-be-resected ipsilateral MTL structures during the ipsilateral learning task (i.e. the left MTL during verbal learning or the right MTL during nonverbal learning) experienced a postoperative memory decline. Preoperative activation in the contralateral MTL during the ipsilateral learning task positively correlated with the postoperative outcome for ipsilateral memory. There was no significant postoperative reallocation of ipsilateral memory functions to the contralateral MTL.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1967

Magnesium pemolone: lack of facilitation in human learning, memory, and performance tests.

Either a placebo or 25 or 37.5 milligrams of magnesium pemoline was administered on a doubleblind basis to three intelligencematched groups of normal, adult males. Learning and 24-hour retention tests included verbal learning, motor learning, and classical conditioning. Short-term memory tests were administered through both the visual and auditory modalities. Arm-hand steadiness and visual reaction time performance tests were included. The only measures revealing significant group differences showed the performance of subjects given pemoline was inferior to that of subjects given a placebo.

Central Nervous System Stimulants↗
PubMed2001

Impairments of memory and learning in older adults exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls via consumption of Great Lakes fish.

An association between in utero polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) exposure and impaired childhood intellectual functioning has been reported, but the potential impact of PCB exposure during adulthood on intellectual functioning has received little attention. We assessed the impact of PCBs and other fish-borne contaminants on intellectual functioning in older adults. The subjects were 49- to 86-year-old Michigan residents recruited from an existing cohort. Fish eaters ate > 24 lb of sport-caught Lake Michigan fish per year and non-fish eaters ate < 6 lb of Lake Michigan fish per year. A battery of cognitive tests including tests of memory and learning, executive function, and visual-spatial function was administered to 180 subjects (101 fish eaters and 79 non-fish eaters). Blood samples were analyzed for PCBs and 10 other contaminants. We evaluated cognitive outcomes using multiple regression. PCBs and dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethene (DDE) were markedly elevated in fish eaters. After controlling for potential confounders PCB, but not DDE, exposure was associated with lower scores on several measures of memory and learning. These included the Weschler Memory Scale verbal delayed recall (p = 0.001), the semantic cluster ratio (p = 0.006), and list A, trial 1 (p = 0.037), from the California Verbal Learning Test. In contrast, executive and visual-spatial function were not impaired by exposure to either PCBs or DDE. In conclusion, PCB exposure during adulthood was associated with impairments in memory and learning, whereas executive and visual-spatial function were unaffected. These results are consistent with previous research showing an association between in utero PCB exposure and impairments of memory during infancy and childhood.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Anoxic encephalopathy. Clinical description, prognosis and neuroimaging].

OBJECTIVES: To describe the clinical profile (neuropsychological, psychopathological, functional and neuroimaging), as well as the evolution of patients with anoxic encephalopathy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Nine patients with anoxic encephalopathy attending our Service were included in the study. All patients were assessed with a broad range of neuropsychological tests, checklists of psychopathological symptoms, and several functional scales. A CT/MRI or a positron emission tomography (PET) were performed in five patients. Five patients were admitted to a multidisciplinary rehabilitation program. RESULTS: All patients showed problems in orientation, executive functions, verbal learning an immediate and long-term verbal memory, in association with diffuse cognitive changes in other functions. Psychopathologically, all patients showed apathy-indifference, and eight subjects showed anosognosia. All subjects have an important dependence in daily activities. CT/MRI were normal or showed subcortical changes whereas the PET showed a predominantly cortical hypometabolism with specific patterns. There were no significant improvements after rehabilitation in treated patients. CONCLUSION: In the absence of a unique clinical profile, our patients with anoxic encephalopathy showed similarities in their symptoms (diffuse cognitive deficits with predominance of amnesic and executive impairments; presence of apathy and anosognosia; complete functional dependence; and poor response to the rehabilitation). Functional neuroimaging could be a useful tool for a better understanding of these encephalopathies.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Psychopathological characteristics of the consequences of obstructive sleep apnea prior to and 3 months after therapy].

The aim of the research was to discover the level of change observed in cognitive functions and personality variables in patients ill with obstructive sleep apnea prior to and after CPAP treatment. Data was collected from 20 male patients ill with a severe form of obstructive sleep apnea whose physiological symptoms were correlated with the results of cognitive functions and personality variables. It was concluded that obstructive sleep apnea patients have lowered; attention, concentration, speed of learning verbal and visual stimuli and speed of learning visual-motor tasks. An increased level of depression was noted together with increased anxiety and psychological tension. In half of the group irregular EEG recordings and a pathological result on the Benton Test suggests organic damage to the CNS. These changes were negatively correlated with amounts of REM and 3 + 4 NREM sleep, but were positively correlated with the level of sleep hypoxemia. The results suggest that after 3 months of CPAP treatment affect improved significantly. The observed tendency for cognitive functions to improved was not statistically significant.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Neuropsychological findings in Rolandic epilepsy and Landau-Kleffner syndrome.

In an attempt to correlate neuropsychological deficits and various neurophysiological aspects of focal epileptic activity in benign childhood epilepsy, we have reviewed the findings of a longitudinal group study of benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BCECTS) and several case studies of continuous spike-waves during slow sleep syndrome (CSWS). We first distinguish the temporary neuropsychological impairments often observed in the natural history of BCECTS from the more long-lasting and more specific neuropsychological deficits associated with CSWS, of which the Landau-Kleffner syndrome (LKS) is the most studied clinical form. A series of metabolic findings from (18)FDG-PET studies in BCECTS and CSWS children have shown that specific cognitive impairment is related to increased glucose uptake in cortical areas restricted to the associative cortex coincident with the focus of spike-wave discharges. From recent functional neuroimaging data of three patients recovered from LKS, we address the issue of the pathophysiology of cognitive impairment persisting after complete recovery of epilepsy. Finally, we discuss the reliability of the study of mismatch negativity to address the issue of the early effect of interictal discharges in typical and atypical BCECTS on the auditory cortex and the development of speech processing essential to verbal learning.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Correlates of insight in first episode psychosis.

Impaired insight is common in schizophrenia and may be related to poor treatment adherence. Few studies have examined the clinical and neurocognitive correlates of insight in early schizophrenia. Early course schizophrenia, schizoaffective, and schizophreniform disorder patients (n=535) were studied. The Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS) was used to assess psychopathology, and a broad range of neuropsychological functions was assessed. Using hierarchical stepwise multiple regression analyses, we examined the association of clinical, neurocognitive, and premorbid measures with the level of insight. Impaired insight was associated with overall symptomatology, including positive, negative, and general psychopathology and with deficits in cognitive functioning. In descending order of robustness, the significant variables were PANSS general psychopathology (p<0.0001), Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (p<0.0004), Clinical Global Impression (p<0.005), PANSS positive (p<0.007), and premorbid adjustment-general subscale (p=0.02). Among the PANSS general psychopathology items, unusual thought content was most robustly associated with impaired insight (p<0.00000). Insight impairment is very common in early schizophrenia, and appears to be associated with a broad range of psychopathology and deficits in multiple cognitive domains. These observations suggest that deficits in insight may be related to a generalized dysfunction of neural networks involved in memory, learning, and executive functions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Controlled neuropsychological investigation of patients with neurotic excoriations.

On the basis of preliminary empirical findings and the pertinent neuropsychological literature the following hypothese are put forward: (1) Because of a certain amount of abreaction (scratching), patients with neurotic excoriations will obtain higher scores in tests of verbal learning and long-term memory than "common' neurotics but probably lower scores in such tests than a group of "normal' subjects. (2) Visual long-term memory is relatively impaired both in patients with neurotic excoriations and in "common' neurotics compared to a "normal' group. (3) Performances IQ for both patient groups mentioned will be relatively low compared to verbal IQ. - The first and second of these suppositions were confirmed but not the third.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Transient memory impairment after acute dose of 75mg 3.4-Methylene-dioxymethamphetamine.

A range of studies has indicated that users of 3.4-Methylene-dioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, 'Ecstasy') display cognitive deficits, particularly memory impairment, as compared to non-drug using controls. Yet it is difficult to determine whether these deficits are caused by MDMA or some other confounding factor, such as polydrug use. The present study was designed to establish the direct relation between MDMA and memory impairment under placebo-controlled conditions. Eighteen recreational MDMA users participated in a double blind, placebo controlled, 3-way crossover design. They were treated with placebo, MDMA 75mg and methylphenidate 20mg. Memory tests were conducted between 1.5-2h (intoxication phase) and between 25.5-26h (withdrawal phase) post dosing. Results showed that a single dose of MDMA caused impairment of immediate and delayed recall on a verbal learning task during the intoxication phase. However, there was no residual memory impairment during the withdrawal phase. Subjects reported more fatigue and less vigour, but no symptoms of depression during the withdrawal phase of MDMA treatment. Methylphenidate did not affect memory or mood at any time of testing. A single dose of MDMA produces transient memory impairment.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

A case of Kleine-Levin syndrome examined with SPECT and neuropsychological testing.

A case of Kleine-Levin syndrome with typical periodic hypersomnia and bulimia was diagnosed. On examination with single photo emission tomography (SPECT) (CERETEC) during a relapse period and 2 weeks later there was marked cortical hypoperfusion of the frontal and temporal lobes, especially on the left side as well as in the right parietal lobe. Neuropsychological testing performed 1 week after a relapse showed a reduction in encoding to memory function of verbal learning indicating neocortical damage of the left fronto-temporal region. A follow-up 2 months later after the patient had spontaneously recovered showed only a slight left fronto-temporal disturbance. CT and MRI of the brain were normal although the MRI showed a large and asymmetric mamillary body. Neuropsychological testing 6 years after recovery showed pronounced reduction in short-time verbal and visual memory. Seven years after recovery SPECT demonstrated a normalized frontal perfusion but still a slight hypoperfusion in the left temporal lobe. Our results correlate to autopsy findings in two cases described previously.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Michaelis-Menten kinetics of stiripentol in normal humans.

Michaelis-Menten kinetic parameters for stiripentol, and anticonvulsant, were assessed in six normal volunteers. Stiripentol was administered orally three times a day in dosage increments of 600, 1,200, and 1,800 mg/day for consecutive periods of 3, 4, and 7 days, respectively. Stiripentol steady-state levels at the three dosing rates increased more than proportionally with dose. The mean +/- SD oral clearance of stiripentol at 600 mg/day (1,090 +/- 624 L/day) was significantly greater (p less than 0.01) than at 1,200 (506 +/- 219 L/day) or 1,800 (405 +/- 151 L/day) mg/day. Average steady-state concentrations predicted from individually determined Vm and Km parameters were in good agreement with experimentally observed levels, indicating that the kinetics of stiripentol are of the Michaelis-Menten type. The mean Vm, Km, and Vm/Km ratio were 2,299 +/- 490 mg/day, 2.20 +/- 1.28 mg/L, and 1,241 +/- 837 L/day, respectively. Neuropsychological tests carried out before and after 14 days of stiripentol treatment showed a significant decline in verbal learning ability (p = 0.038) and a significant improvement in a test of memory and attention (p less than 0.01).

Adult↗
PubMed1998

[Selective use of the Eight-Word subtest in psychogeriatrics].

Performance on the Amsterdam Dementia Screening Test (ADS) and the Expanded Mental Control Test (EMCT) was examined in a consecutive sample of 204 attendants of a psychogeriatric day care department. The ADS has six subtests: picture recognition, orientation, drawing alternating sequences, category fluency, copying geometric figures, and free recall with immediate yes-no recognition of eight words. As was determined by logistic regression analysis, attentional control (EMCT), category fluency and picture recognition scores were significant predictors of verbal free recall. Recognition memory for pictures and a short orientation questionnaire (month, year, place) predicted word recognition performance. In 97% of the subjects with poor scores on EMCT and category fluency, an equally poor free recall performance was found. In those cases the incremental diagnostic value of the free recall test is doubtful. Since word recall and word recognition were conceptually related to working memory and episodic memory respectively, the two components of the verbal learning test allow detection of differential impairments of these memory systems.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

Risk to verbal memory following anterior temporal lobectomy in patients with severe left-sided hippocampal sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Previous investigations indicate low risk for memory loss following anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL) in patients with severe hippocampal sclerosis (HS) compared with patients with mild HS. However, these conclusions have been established primarily with group-level analyses. OBJECTIVE: To investigate individual base rate risk for verbal memory loss following ATL in patients who have pathologically verified mild, moderate, or severe HS. PATIENTS AND METHODS: One hundred fifteen patients with unilateral temporal lobe epilepsy (68 with left-sided and 47 with right-sided epilepsy) were included. Acquisition, retrieval, and recognition components of verbal memory, as measured by the California Verbal Learning Test, were assessed before and after ATL. Postoperatively, the degree of neuronal loss and reactive gliosis of the hippocampus was assessed via a 3-tiered rating system establishing mild, moderate, and severe pathologic features. Patients with preoperative magnetic resonance imaging-based evidence of lesions outside the mesial temporal area (side of surgical resection) were excluded. RESULTS: Neither seizure laterality nor severity of HS was associated with preoperative verbal memory performance. Postoperatively, the left-sided ATL group demonstrated significant decline across the acquisition (P<.01), retrival (P<.001), and recognition (P<.001) verbal memory components compared with the right-sided ATL group. Patients who underwent left-sided ATL and had mild HS displayed the largest magnitude and percentage proportion of postoperative decline across all verbal memory components. However, 28 (48%) of the 58 patients who underwent left-sided ATL and who had moderate and severe HS displayed statistically reliable declines on retrieval aspects of verbal memory. Most patients undergoing right-sided ATL, regardless of the extent of hippocampal pathologic features, displayed no postoperative memory change. CONCLUSIONS: Substantial individual heterogeneity of memory outcome exists across groups of patients undergoing ATL, with various degrees of pathologically verified HS. Patients undergoing left-sided ATL who have mild HS seem at greatest risk for broad-spectrum verbal memory decline. However, when examining outcome on a patient-by-patient basis, many patients undergoing left-sided ATL who have moderate to severe HS were also vulnerable to verbal memory loss. This risk seems selective to a retrieval-based aspect of verbal memory.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Processes of verbal memory failure in Alzheimer-type dementia.

Multiple aspects of verbal learning and memory performance in mild as compared to moderate Alzheimer-type dementia (ATD) were studied with the Buschke selective reminding paradigm. Results show that (1) both groups of ATD subjects depend less on long-term memory (LTM) and more on short-term memory (STM) relative to elderly control subjects, (2) mild ATD subjects show less LTM encoding than moderate ATD subjects, (3) moderate ATD subjects retrieve a smaller portion of the items presumed to be encoded into LTM than do mild ATD subjects, and (4) high-imagery words increase LTM encoding and retrieval as compared to low-imagery words for moderate ATD subjects only. These results are explained by the inability of ATD subjects to attend to more than one component of the list-learning task, in conjunction with differences in the deployment of attention between mild and moderate ATD subjects.

Alzheimer Disease↗