As the conceptual, methodological, and technological advances applied to dementias have evolved the construct of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), one problem encountered has been its classification ...into subtypes. Here, we aim to revise the concept of MCI and its subtypes, addressing the problems of classification not only from the psychometric point of view or by using alternative methods, such as latent class analysis, but also considering the absence of normative data. In addition to the well-known influence of certain factors on cognitive function, such as educational level and cultural traits, recent studies highlight the relevance of other factors that may significantly affect the genesis and evolution of MCI: subjective memory complaints, loneliness, social isolation, etc. The present work will contemplate the most relevant attempts to clarify the issue of MCI categorization and classification, combining our own data with that from recent studies which suggest the role of relevant psychosocial factors in MCI.
Semantic memory is the subsystem of human memory that stores knowledge of concepts or meanings, as opposed to life-specific experiences. How humans organize semantic information remains poorly ...understood. In an effort to better understand this issue, we conducted a verbal fluency experiment on 200 participants with the aim of inferring and representing the conceptual storage structure of the natural category of animals as a network. This was done by formulating a statistical framework for co-occurring concepts that aims to infer significant concept–concept associations and represent them as a graph. The resulting network was analyzed and enriched by means of a missing links recovery criterion based on modularity. Both network models were compared to a thresholded co-occurrence approach. They were evaluated using a random subset of verbal fluency tests and comparing the network outcomes (linked pairs are clustering transitions and disconnected pairs are switching transitions) to the outcomes of two expert human raters. Results show that the network models proposed in this study overcome a thresholded co-occurrence approach, and their outcomes are in high agreement with human evaluations. Finally, the interplay between conceptual structure and retrieval mechanisms is discussed.
Abstract
Objective
This study aimed to generate updated normative data for commonly used tests in neuropsychological assessment applied to older monolingual Spanish-speaking adults: Verbal fluency ...tests, the Trail Making Test (TMT), and the Rey–Osterrieth complex figure test (ROCF).
Method
To obtain normative data, 382 cognitively healthy 60- to 90-year-old Spanish monolingual participants from the Autonomous Community of Madrid (Spain) with 0–22 years education were assessed using an overlapping interval strategy that involved cell and midpoint techniques, and that assessed the influence of age, education, and sex.
Results
Age and education were associated with the scores in the verbal fluency tests, TMT, and ROCF, whereas sex only significantly affected the TMT results. Age-adjusted scaled scores (SSA) based on percentile ranks were also converted into age–education scaled scores (SSAE) using a linear regression model. In addition, tables with the relevant adjustments for sex are provided for TMT-A and TMT-B.
Conclusions
Thus, this study provides updated, uniform normative data for widely used neuropsychological tests on older Spanish adults. The normative procedure followed helps to make consistent comparisons when using these neuropsychological tests, which will improve the interpretation of the data obtained when these tools are employed, reducing the risk of misdiagnosing cognitive impairment in older adults.
The aim of this study was to establish normative data for the Spanish version of the California Verbal Learning Test, the Test de Aprendizaje Verbal España-Complutense (TAVEC). Through different ...subtests, the TAVEC allows verbal learning and episodic memory to be evaluated, an assessment that was carried out on a sample of 382 cognitive healthy Spanish individuals aged 60-90 years old. Unlike the participant's educational level, their age and sex significantly influenced performance in the TAVEC. We provide tables that allow the scaled scores obtained with this test to be adjusted for age and other tables with the relevant adjustments for sex. The normative data obtained in this study will help more precisely interpret the performance of older Spanish adults in the TAVEC, enhancing the utility of this neuropsychological test to evaluate verbal learning and episodic memory in clinical settings and in relation to healthy aging.
Public Significance Statement
The present study provides updated normative data for the Spanish version of the California Verbal Learning Test, the Test de Aprendizaje Verbal España-Complutense (TAVEC) in Spanish older adults. The norms produced here are age and sex adjusted, enhancing the utility of this neuropsychological test to evaluate verbal learning and episodic memory in both clinical and research contexts.
La evaluación neuropsicológica permite valorar el estado cognitivo de las personas con Deterioro Cognitivo Ligero (DCL) mediante tests que se relacionan con las diversas funciones cognitivas. La ...mayoría de los tests se refieren a más de una función cognitiva, y el análisis del rendimiento de los individuos debe tenerlo presente. Analizamos la posible agrupación de los tests de una batería neuropsicológica en diferentes dimensiones cognitivas y su peso en cada dimensión. Participaron 223, 179 y 145 individuos (sanos y DCL) procedentes de un estudio longitudinal sobre el DCL evaluados en una, dos o tres ocasiones, respectivamente. A través de un análisis factorial exploratorio se halló el agrupamiento de los tests en diversos factores. La mejor solución fue la de dos factores: en uno se incluyen los tests de memoria y en otro los de función ejecutiva y praxias, aunque también se analiza la solución de tres factores. Se detectaron dos dimensiones cognitivas claras con una elevada convergencia en las tres evaluaciones, y, como consecuencia, se puede proponer la reducción de la batería, seleccionando aquellos tests con un mayor peso en cada dimensión.
In the field of neuropsychology, it is essential to determine which neuropsychological tests predict Alzheimer's disease (AD) in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and which cut‐off points ...should be used to identify people at greater risk for converting to dementia. The aim of the present study was to analyse the predictive value of the cognitive tests included in a neuropsychological battery for conversion to AD among MCI participants and to analyse the influence of some sociodemographic variables – sex, age, schooling – and others, such as follow‐up time and emotional state. A total of 105 participants were assessed with a neuropsychological battery at baseline and during a 3‐year follow‐up period. For the present study, the data were analysed at baseline. During the follow‐up period, 24 participants (22.85%) converted to dementia (2.79 ± 1.14 years) and 81 (77.14%) remained as MCI. The logistic regression analysis determined that the long delay cued recall and the performance time of the Rey figure test were the best predictive tests of conversion to dementia after an MCI diagnosis. Concerning the sociodemographic factors, sex had the highest predictive power. The results reveal the relevance of the neuropsychological data obtained in the first assessment. Specifically, the data obtained in the episodic verbal memory tests and tests that assess visuospatial and executive components may help to identify people with MCI who may develop AD in an interval not longer than 4 years, with the masculine gender being an added risk factor.
Summary Exposure to elevated glucocorticoid levels has a detrimental impact on cognitive function. In the present study, elderly individuals were classified according to their cognitive status to (i) ...cognitively healthy; (ii) amnestic; (iii) nonamnestic; or (iv) multidomain, with an extensive cognitive profiling. Salivary cortisol samples were taken at awakening, evening and night. We report that, compared to cognitively normal control individuals, subjects with nonamnestic or multidomain mild cognitive impairment profiles show increased salivary cortisol levels, immediately after awakening, but not in the evening or at night. Importantly, individuals with amnestic mild cognitive impairment did not show this increase in salivary cortisol levels. We also found that higher morning cortisol levels were associated with a lower global cognitive state, as well as poorer score in executive function and visuoconstructive praxes, verbal fluency, and a worse free immediate recall of items from a word list. These findings open new avenues to the use of salivary cortisol levels as a possible biomarker for nonamnestic and multidomain mild cognitive impairment in elderly subjects.
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