The visual half-field technique has been shown to be a reliable and valid neuropsychological measurement of language lateralisation, typically showing higher accuracy and faster correct responses for ...linguistic stimuli presented in the right visual field (RVF) than left visual field (LVF). The RVF advantage corresponds to the well-known dominance of the left hemisphere (LH) in processing language(s). However, clinical and experimental neuroscientists around the globe use different variations of the visual half-field paradigm, making direct comparisons difficult. The current study used a word/non-word visual half-field paradigm with translingual stimuli. In total, 496 participants from seven European countries were investigated: Belgium (64), England (49), Germany (85), Italy (34), The Netherlands (87), Norway (51), and Switzerland (126), covering six international languages (Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Norwegian). All language groups revealed a significant RVF/LH advantage in accuracy and reaction times that accounted for up to 26.1% of the total variance in performance. We found some variation in the degree of the RVF/LH advantage across language groups, accounting for a maximum of 3.7% of the total variance in performance. The RVF/LH advantage did not differ between subsamples speaking English, French or German as first or second languages or between monolingual and early/late bi/multilinguals. The findings suggest that the translingual lexical decision task (TLDT) is a simple but reliable measurement of language lateralisation that can be applied clinically and experimentally across linguistic and national boundaries.
We analyzed data from the Norwegian Stroke Registry (NSR) to study access to and outcomes of decompressive hemicraniectomy for brain infarction in a nationwide routine clinical setting. We also ...discretionary assessed whether the outcomes were comparable with those achieved in randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and whether the use was in accordance with guidelines.
The NSR is a nationwide (population 5.3 million) clinical quality registry. We included all stroke-cases operated in 2017 through 2019, and retrieved data on baseline characteristics, treatment and functional outcome after three months (dichotomized modified Rankin Scale score; favorable (0-3) or unfavorable (4-6)). Crude treatment rates and the expected proportion of patients transferred from a local hospital to a stroke-center for the operation were estimated, based on the total population's distribution of residency.
The 68 cases were 17 (25%) women and 51 (75%) men with a median National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score on admission of 14.0 (inter-quartile range (IQR) 11.0) and a median time from onset to hemicraniectomy of 34.3 (IQR 40.9) hours. The crude treatment rate varied between regions from 0.29 to 1.40 operations per 100,000 population per year, and the proportion transferred from a local hospital (50%) was lower than expected (68%). A favorable outcome was achieved in 20/52 (38.5%) cases.
The findings indicate gender- and geographic-inequalities in access. Among operated cases, outcomes were comparable with those reported from RCTs, and the use in accordance with recommendations in the current guidelines from the American Stroke Association.
Background and Purpose: Using postrupture morphology to predict rupture risk of an intracranial aneurysm may be inaccurate because of possible morphological changes at or around the time of rupture. ...The present study aims at comparing morphology from angiograms obtained prior to and just after rupture and to evaluate whether postrupture morphology is an adequate surrogate for rupture risk.
Methods: Case series of 29 aneurysms from a nationwide retrospective data collection. Two neuroradiologists who were blinded to pre- versus postrupture images assessed predefined morphological parameters independently and reached consensus regarding all measurements. Prerupture morphology and respective changes after rupture were quantified and linked to risk factors and to the risk of rupture according to the PHASES (population, hypertension, age, size of aneurysm, earlier subarachnoid hemorrhage from another aneurysm, site of aneurysm) and unruptured intracranial aneurysm treatment (UIAT) scores.
Results: All 1-dimensional parameter medians were significantly larger after rupture, except neck diameter. Number of aneurysms with daughter sacs was 9 (31%) before and 17 (59%) after rupture (P=0.005). Aneurysm growth from the images prior to and just after rupture increased with the time elapsed between images. Aneurysms in patients with hypertension were significantly larger at diagnosis. Prerupture morphology did not differ in relation to smoke status. Clinical risk factors were not significantly associated with morphological change.
Conclusions: The changes in aneurysm morphology observed after rupture reflect the compound effect of time with successive growth and formation of irregularities and the impact of rupture per se. Postrupture morphology should not be considered an adequate surrogate for the prerupture morphology in the evaluation of rupture risk.
Highlights • Mind wandering is introduced in a model-based cognitive neuroscience framework. • Neural and behavioral data provide mutual constraint on theories of mind wandering. • We discuss latent ...mixture, hidden Markov and single-trial regression techniques. • We conclude the study of mind wandering will benefit from model-based neuroscience.
Context
Clinical trials have demonstrated the efficacy and safety of the capsaicin 8% patch in patients with peripheral neuropathic pain (PNP); however, few studies have assessed this treatment in a ...clinical practice.
Objective
To determine whether treatment and re‐treatment with the capsaicin 8% patch reduce PNP intensity in clinical practice.
Methods
Three non‐interventional, observational studies were concurrently conducted in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Patients with probable or definite PNP received one or two treatments with the capsaicin 8% patch according to usual clinical practice. All analyses were performed on combined data.
Results
Overall, 382 and 181 patients received treatment and re‐treatment, respectively, with the capsaicin 8% patch. At the group level, a significant reduction in mean level of ‘usual pain’ intensity (Numerical Pain Rating Scale) over the last 24 h’ score was observed from baseline to Weeks 2 through 8 −1.05 (95% confidence interval: −1.27, 0.82); p < 0.001 with 28% and 31% of patients reporting a ≥30% reduction in pain after first treatment and re‐treatment, respectively. Improvements in health‐related quality of life (EQ‐5D‐3L index) and overall health status (Patient Global Impression of Change) were observed early (Week 1) and throughout the treatment periods. Most application site reactions subsided within a week after treatment. Following treatment and re‐treatment, 57% and 71% of patients, respectively, were willing to undergo further treatment with the capsaicin 8% patch.
Conclusion
In Scandinavian clinical practice, capsaicin 8% patch treatment was associated with significant reductions in pain intensity and was well tolerated with over half of patients willing to undergo re‐treatment.
Previous case-control studies have suggested a possible increased risk of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) with physical activity (PA), but this association has never been studied in prospective ...cohort studies. We therefore assessed the association between PA and risk of death from ALS in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. A total of 472,100 individuals were included in the analysis, yielding 219 ALS deaths. At recruitment, information on PA was collected thorough standardised questionnaires. Total PA was expressed by the Cambridge Physical Activity Index (CPAI) and analysed in relation to ALS mortality, using Cox hazard models. Interactions with age, sex, and anthropometric measures were assessed. Total PA was weakly inversely associated with ALS mortality with a borderline statistically significant trend across categories (p = 0.042), with those physically active being 33 % less likely to die from ALS compared to those inactive: HR = 0.67 (95 % CI 0.42-1.06). Anthropometric measures, sex, and age did not modify the association with CPAI. The present study shows a slightly decreased—not increased like in case-control studies—risk of dying from ALS in those with high levels of total PA at enrolment. This association does not appear confounded by age, gender, anthropometry, smoking, and education. Ours was the first prospective cohort study on ALS and physical activity.
More than a dozen studies of the Complex Trial Protocol (CTP) version of the P300-based Concealed Information Test have been published since its introduction (Rosenfeld et al., 2008), and it has been ...fairly consistently proven to provide high accuracy and strong resistance to countermeasures (Rosenfeld et al., 2013). However, no independent authors have verified these findings until now. In the present, first independent study, we corroborate the accuracy and countermeasure-resistance of the CTP, when the probe item (critical presented information, e.g., crime detail; P) vs. all irrelevant items (Iall) comparison is used for classifying participants as guilty or innocent, but we also show that the CTP is severely vulnerable to countermeasures, when the P vs. the irrelevant item with the largest P300 responses (Imax) comparison is used. This latter measure can be defeated by creating “oddball” items among the irrelevant items (through targeting them with covert responses), and thereby making their P300 responses statistically indistinguishable from those of the probe item. Practical implications are discussed.
•Successful replication of the Complex Trial Protocol version of the CIT•P vs. Iall measure accurate and countermeasure-resistant as in previous studies•P vs. Imax measure defeated by countermeasures, accuracy dropped significantly
Background
Effects from cognitive performance on pain tolerance have been documented, however, sample sizes are small and confounders often overlooked. We aimed to establish that performance on ...neuropsychological tests was associated with pain tolerance, controlling for salient confounders.
Methods
This was a cross‐sectional study nested within the Tromsø‐6 survey. Neuropsychological test performance and the cold pressor test were investigated in 4,623 participants. Due to significant interaction with age, participants were divided into three age groups (<60, ≥60 to <70 and ≥70 years). Cox proportional hazard models assessed the relationship between neuropsychological tests and cold pressure pain tolerance, using hand‐withdrawal as event. The fully adjusted models controlled for sex, education, BMI, smoking status, exercise, systolic blood pressure, sleep problems and mental distress.
Results
In the adjusted models, participants aged ≥70 years showed a decreased hazard of hand withdrawal of 18% (HR 0.82, 95% CI (0.73, 0.92) per standard deviation on immediate verbal recall, and a decreased hazard of 23% (HR 0.77, 95% CI (0.65, 0.08) per standard deviation on psychomotor speed. Participants aged ≥60 to <70 years had a significant decreased hazard of 11% (HR 0.89, 95% CI (0.80, 0.98) per standard deviation on immediate word recall. In participants aged <60 years, there was a decreased hazard of 14% (HR 0.86 95% CI: 0.76, 0.98), per standard deviation on psychomotor speed.
Conclusion
Better performance on neuropsychological tests increased pain tolerance on the cold pressor test. These exposure effects were present in all age groups.
Significance
This paper describes substantial associations between cognitive functioning and cold pressor tolerance in 4,623 participants. Reduced psychomotor speed and poor verbal recall gave greater odds for hand‐withdrawal on the cold pressor task. The associations were stronger in older participants, indicating an interaction with age.
Formal thought disorder is a hallmark feature of schizophrenia in which disorganized thoughts manifest as disordered speech. A dysfunctional semantic system and a disruption in executive functioning ...have been proposed as possible mechanisms for formal thought disorder and verbal fluency impairment. Traditional rating scales and neuropsychological test scores might not be sensitive enough to distinguish among types of semantic impairments. This has lead to the proposed used of a natural language processing technique, Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA), which offers improved semantic sensitivity.
In this study, LSA, a computational, vector-based text analysis technique to examine the contribution of vector length, an LSA measure related to word unusualness and cosines between word vectors, an LSA measure of semantic coherence to semantic and phonological fluency, disconnectedness of speech, and adaptive functioning in 165 older inpatients with schizophrenia.
In stepwise regressions word unusualness was significantly associated with semantic fluency and phonological fluency, disconnectedness in speech, and impaired functioning, even after considering the contribution of premorbid cognition, positive and negative symptoms, and demographic variables.
These findings support the utility of LSA in examining the contribution of coherence to thought disorder and the its relationship with daily functioning. Deficits in verbal fluency may be an expression of underlying disorganization in thought processes.
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