Search Results (29)

Background/Objectives: We examined the effects of cardiovascular exercise on verbal fluency using a between-groups design. Methods: Within our experimental (i.e., exercise) group, participants performed phonemic and semantic verbal fluency tasks (VFTs) before, during, and after a vigorous 30 min bout of cycling. Participants within our control group also completed these VFTs before, during, and after a non-physical activity. We compared the VFT performance of the experimental (exercise) and control (no-exercise) groups of participants in terms of the characteristics of the words that they produced within the VFTs. In addition, we examined these aspects of VFT performance for each participant group across time within the experiment session. Conclusions: From these comparisons, we see that exercise influenced VFT performance. Most notably, participants engaged in exercise changed their VFT performance over time, while control group participants did not. Exercising participants produced more words over the course of their exercise session that contained fewer letters over time and were lower in frequency during and after exercise as compared to before exercise. Additionally, topic switches in the VFTs increased after exercise as compared to before exercise. Participants in the control group did not change their VFT performance over time according to any of these measures. These findings indicate that exercise impacted participants’ lexical access and that these VFT performance changes were not due to practice effects. Full article

Reading fluency depends on the typographic design. Letters can have different shapes that evoke different feelings in the reader and influence reading fluency. Previous studies that explored the link between typeface shape and taste and its impact on reading and readers’ attitudes mainly focused on shorter texts or individual words. In contrast, our study investigated how the taste (sweetness) attributed to the typeface is related to reading fluency and the pleasantness of the typeface during reading longer texts, and whether these relationships are the same in children and adult readers. We found that readers of both age groups perceived rounded letters as sweeter than angular letters. The perceived sweetness correlated positively with the pleasantness of the typeface and reading fluency. Younger readers showed a higher general rating of sweetness and a stronger relationship between the perceived sweetness and the pleasantness of the typeface than older, more experienced readers. This suggests that the sweeter and more pleasant the typeface is perceived to be, the faster it can be read. When fast processing of longer texts is required, we recommend the use of rounded typefaces with more organic shapes, including serif typefaces with some characteristics of old-style typefaces, rather than using angular, sans serif typefaces. Full article

This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of vortioxetine for improving depressive symptoms, cognitive performance, daily and global functioning in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) in real-world clinical practice. We retrospectively identified 46 AD patients who had received treatment for 12 months with vortioxetine. Drug effects were evaluated at baseline, 4, 8, and 12 months. The primary endpoint was change from baseline in the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and in the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD) to month 12. Cognitive and daily and global functioning changes were also evaluated. Significant baseline-to-endpoint improvement in depressive symptom severity was observed (p < 0.0001). At month 12, the least-square mean (standard error) change score from baseline was −10.48 (±0.42) on the HDRS and −9.04 (±0.62) on the CSDD. Significant improvements in cognitive performance were observed for the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, the Symbol Digit Modalities Test, the Letter Fluency Test, the Category Fluency Test, and the Trail Making Test-A. Patients also experienced significant improvements in daily and global functioning. Vortioxetine was safe and well tolerated. Patients with AD and MDD receiving vortioxetine showed meaningful improvements in depressive symptoms, cognitive performance, and daily and global functioning over the 12-month treatment period. Full article

Identifying phenotypes at high risk of suicidal behaviour is a relevant objective of clinical and translational research and can facilitate the identification of possible candidate biomarkers. We probed the potential association and eventual stability of neuropsychological profiles and serum BDNF concentrations with lifetime suicide ideation and attempts (LSI and LSA, respectively) in individuals with schizophrenia (SCZ) and schizoaffective disorder (SCA) in a 2-year follow-up study. A secondary analysis was conducted on a convenience sample of previously recruited subjects from a single outpatient clinic. Retrospectively assessed LSI and LSA were recorded by analysing the available longitudinal clinical health records. LSI + LSA subjects consistently exhibited lower PANSS-defined negative symptoms and better performance in the BACS-letter fluency subtask. There was no significant association between BDNF levels and either LSI or LSA. We found a relatively stable pattern of lower negative symptoms over two years among patients with LSI and LSA. No significant difference in serum BDNF concentrations was detected. The translational viability of using neuropsychological profiles as a possible avenue for the identification of populations at risk for suicide behaviours rather than the categorical diagnosis represents a promising option but requires further confirmation. Full article

Phonological processing skills, such as phonological awareness, are known predictors of reading acquisition in alphabetic languages with varying degrees of orthographic complexity. However, the role of multi-letter-sound knowledge, an important foundation for early reading development, in supporting reading fluency development remains to be determined. This study examined whether two core foundational skills, phonemic awareness and grapheme sounding, have a predictive role in reading fluency development in an intermediate-depth orthography. The participants were 62 children learning to read in European Portuguese, and they were longitudinally assessed on phonemic awareness, complex grapheme sounding, and reading fluency (decoding, word, and text) from Grade 2 to Grade 3. The results showed that grapheme sounding predicted reading fluency development controlled for nonverbal intelligence and vocabulary, short-term verbal memory, and phonemic awareness. Grapheme sounding plays a prominent role in predicting reading fluency outcomes, whereas phonemic awareness (both accuracy and time per correct item) did not contribute to any of the three types of reading fluency. The fact that grapheme-sounding predicted reading fluency is likely due to complex grapheme-phoneme correspondences being required to achieve proficient reading. These findings provide insights into the cognitive processes underlying reading development in intermediate-depth orthographies and have implications for early literacy instruction. Full article

Verbal fluency is one of the most severely impaired components of cognitive function in schizophrenia and is also impaired in at-risk mental states (ARMSs) for psychosis. The aim of this study was to explore the markers of disease progression in subjects with ARMSs by comparing the association between the white matter integrity of the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) and verbal fluency in subjects with ARMSs and healthy control (HC) subjects. The correlations of the fractional anisotropy (FA) values on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and the laterality index (LI) values of SLF branches I, II, and III with the verbal fluency performance were analyzed in right-handed subjects with ARMSs (ARMS group; n = 18) and HC subjects (HC group; n = 34) aged 18 to 40 years old. In the HC group compared with the ARMS group, the LI values suggested right lateralization of the SLF II and III. Letter fluency was significantly correlated with the LI of the SLF III in both the ARMS and HC groups. The regression coefficient (β) of this correlation was calculated using the least squares method and yielded a positive number (73.857) in the ARMS group and a negative number (−125.304) in the HC group. The association of the rightward asymmetry of the SLF III with the verbal fluency performance observed in the HC group appeared to be lost in the ARMS group, and this could serve as one of the markers of the pathological progression to psychosis in patients with schizophrenia. Full article

Anemia causes hypo-oxygenation in the brain, which could lead to cognitive disorders. We examined dietary iron intake as well as anemia markers (i.e., hemoglobin, hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume) and diabetes coexistence in relation to neuropsychological function and quality of life. In this study, 6117 community-dwelling adults aged 55–75 years (men) and 60–75 years (women) with overweight/obesity and metabolic syndrome were involved. We performed the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Trail Making Test parts A and B (TMT-A/B), Semantic Verbal Fluency of animals (VFT-a), Phonological Verbal Fluency of letter P (VFT-p), Digit Span Test (DST), the Clock Drawing Test (CDT), and the Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF36-HRQL test). Dietary iron intake did not influence neuropsychological function or quality of life. However, anemia and lower levels of anemia markers were associated with worse scores in all neurophysiological and SF36-HRQL tests overall, but were especially clear in the MMSE, TMT-B (cognitive flexibility), and the physical component of the SF36-HRQL test. The relationships between anemia and diminished performance in the TMT-A/B and VFT tasks were notably pronounced and statistically significant solely among participants with diabetes. In brief, anemia and reduced levels of anemia markers were linked to inferior cognitive function, worse scores in different domains of executive function, as well as a poorer physical, but not mental, component of quality of life. It was also suggested that the coexistence of diabetes in anemic patients may exacerbate this negative impact on cognition. Nevertheless, dietary iron intake showed no correlation with any of the outcomes. To make conclusive recommendations for clinical practice, our findings need to be thoroughly tested through methodologically rigorous studies that minimize the risk of reverse causality. Full article

We investigated the relationship between the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and executive function during a drawing task. Thirty-three participants using pen tablets provided the data for this task. PFC activity was recorded using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) during a simple zig-zag task and a complex periodic line (PL) pattern task. For each task, there was a trace condition and a prediction condition. The Executive Function Questionnaire (EFQ) was used to examine the association between brain-function measurements and executive function during the task. PFC activity was analyzed in the right, middle, and left regions. Oxygenated hemoglobin values measured with fNIRS were converted to z-values and analyzed as a measure of brain activity. Drawing fluency was measured using the line length. In the PL pattern task, the line length was significantly shorter under the prediction condition than under the trace condition. Activity in the right PFC under the prediction condition was significantly higher than that under the trace condition in the PL pattern task, and the score of the EFQ planning subscale was associated with activity in the right PFC. Activity in the right PFC is important for fluent drawing, suggesting that it is also important during drawing activities involving symbols such as letters. Full article

In Switzerland, psychomotor therapy (PMT) is a standard treatment for children with graphomotor impairments, but scientific evidence of its effectiveness is rare. To investigate the effectiveness of PMT, we conducted a randomised field trial (RFT). The sample consisted of 121 first and second graders with graphomotor impairments, some of whom met the criteria of developmental coordination disorder, while the remaining suffered from developmental dysgraphia. The treatments lasted over 5 months. Handwriting fluency and consistency were measured five times on a digitising tablet. All participating children completed a self-concept interview, and a standardised fine motor performance test twice. Psychomotor therapy significantly improved the fine motor skills of the therapy group compared to those of the waiting group. However, there was no evidence that the treated children improved more than the waiting children in terms of their graphomotor skills such as frequency, automaticity, and consistency of forming letters. Finally, the children of the therapy group showed partial improvements in their handwriting self-concept, while those of the waiting group children remained stable. This short-term RFT demonstrated the effectiveness of PMT in terms of fine motor skills and some aspects of the handwriting self-concept but showed no effects on handwriting fluency and consistency. Full article

Objective: to determine the relationship between stress, resilience, and cognitive performance in older people without dementia. Method: multiple linear regressions were performed using measures of cognitive performance as dependent variables, and measures of stress and resilience as predictors in a sample of 63 Spanish elderly people. Results: participants reported low levels of stress during their lifetime. In addition to socio-demographic variables, greater stress was related to better delayed recall and worse letter–number sequencing and block design. Higher capillary cortisol was associated with lower flexibility on the Stroop task. Regarding protective factors, we found that greater psychological resilience was related to higher scores on the Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination-III, letter–number sequencing, and verbal fluency. Conclusion: in older people with low stress, apart from age, gender, and education, psychological resilience is a significant predictor of global cognitive status, working memory, and fluency. Likewise, stress is related to verbal memory functioning, working memory, and visuoconstructive abilities. Capillary cortisol level predicts cognitive flexibility. These findings may help to identify risk and protective factors for cognitive decline in older people. Training-based programs to reduce stress and increase psychological resilience may play an important role in preventing cognitive decline. Full article

The clusterin (CLU) rs11136000 CC genotype is a probable risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). CLU, also known as the apolipoprotein J gene, shares certain properties with the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene with a well-established relationship with AD. This study aimed to determine whether the electrophysiological patterns of brain activation during the letter fluency task (LFT) depend on CLU genotypes in adults without dementia. Previous studies have shown that LFT performance involves activation of the frontal cortex. We examined EEG alpha1 and alpha2 band desynchronization in the frontal regions during the LFT in 94 nondemented individuals stratified by CLU (rs11136000) genotype. Starting at 30 years of age, CLU CC carriers exhibited more pronounced task-related alpha2 desynchronization than CLU CT&TT carriers in the absence of any differences in LFT performance. In CLU CC carriers, alpha2 desynchronization was significantly correlated with age. Increased task-related activation in individuals at genetic risk for AD may reflect greater “effort” to perform the task and/or neuronal hyperexcitability. The results show that the CLU genotype is associated with neuronal hyperactivation in the frontal cortex during cognitive tasks performances in nondemented individuals, suggesting systematic vulnerability of LFT related cognitive networks in people carrying unfavorable CLU alleles. Full article

Background and Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate the prognostic value of the qualitative components of verbal fluency (clustering, switching, intrusions, and perseverations) on the development of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. Materials and Methods: Participants were drawn from the multidisciplinary, population-based, prospective HELIAD (Hellenic Longitudinal Investigation of Aging and Diet) cohort. Two participant sets were separately analysed: those with normal cognition and MCI at baseline. Verbal fluency was assessed via one category and one letter fluency task. Separate Cox proportional hazards regressions adjusted for important sociodemographic parameters were performed for each qualitative semantic and phonemic verbal fluency component. Results: There were 955 cognitively normal (CN), older (72.9 years ±4.9), predominantly female (~60%) individuals with available follow-up assessments after a mean of 3.09 years (±0.83). Among them, 34 developed dementia at follow-up (29 of whom progressed to Alzheimer’s dementia (AD)), 160 developed MCI, and 761 remained CN. Each additional perseveration on the semantic condition increased the risk of developing all-cause dementia and AD by 52% and 55%, respectively. Of note, participants with two or more perseverations on the semantic task presented a much more prominent risk for incident dementia compared to those with one or no perseverations. Among the remaining qualitative indices, none were associated with the hazard of developing all-cause dementia, AD, and MCI at follow-up. Conclusions: Perseverations on the semantic fluency condition were related to an increased risk of incident all-cause dementia or AD in older, CN individuals. Full article

Verbal fluency impairment is common in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), but the effect of drugs on verbal fluency in PD patients has not been comprehensively evaluated. We conducted a network meta-analysis based on four online databases to compare the effect of drugs on verbal fluency in PD patients. This study was performed and reported according to PRISMA-NMA guidelines. In total, 6 out of 3707 articles (three RCTS and three cross-sectional studies) covering eight drug regimens were included (five for letter fluency, five for semantic fluency). In terms of letter fluency, the ranking of the overall efficacy of included drug regimens was: levodopa, levodopa combined with pramipexole, rotigotine, cabergoline, pramipexole, pergolide, but no drug regimen presented a significant advantage over the others. In terms of semantic fluency, the ranking of the overall efficacy of included drug regimens was: rotigotine, levodopa, cabergoline, pergolide, pramipexole, among which, levodopa alone (SMD = 0.93, 95%CI: 0.28–1.59) and rotigotine alone (SMD = 1.18, 95%CI: 0.28–2.09) were statistically superior to pramipexole, while no significant difference was identified between all the other drug regimens. Levodopa and rotigotine seem to be more appropriate choices for PD patients with verbal fluency impairment. Further study is needed to illustrate the efficacy of drugs on verbal fluency in PD patients. Full article

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is an early stage of cognitive decline or memory loss, commonly found among the elderly. A phonemic verbal fluency (PVF) task is a standard cognitive test that participants are asked to produce words starting with given letters, such as “F” in English and “ก” /k/ in Thai. With state-of-the-art machine learning techniques, features extracted from the PVF data have been widely used to detect MCI. The PVF features, including acoustic features, semantic features, and word grouping, have been studied in many languages but not Thai. However, applying the same PVF feature extraction methods used in English to Thai yields unpleasant results due to different language characteristics. This study performs analytical feature extraction on Thai PVF data to classify MCI patients. In particular, we propose novel approaches to extract features based on phonemic clustering (ability to cluster words by phonemes) and switching (ability to shift between clusters) for the Thai PVF data. The comparison results of the three classifiers revealed that the support vector machine performed the best with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.733 (N = 100). Furthermore, our implemented guidelines extracted efficient features, which support the machine learning models regarding MCI detection on Thai PVF data. Full article

Background: The revascularization of carotid arteries minimizes the risk of future cerebral stroke and usually improves cognitive functions. The aim of this study was to assess changes in cognitive function and verify the hypothesis assuming an improvement of selected cognitive functions—psychomotor speed, visuospatial episodic memory, executive function and verbal fluency—in patients after carotid artery stenting during a 12-month follow-up. Methods: 47 persons subject to CAS, including 13 symptomatic persons, were examined before and 12 months after a procedure with a psychological test battery (digit symbol test—DS, Rey–Osterrieth complex figure test—ROCF, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test—WCST, letter verbal fluency—LVF). Sociodemographic data and clinical parameters were acquired from an author questionnaire. Results: The one-year follow-up, after the performed CAS procedure, demonstrated a significant improvement of psychomotor speed, visuospatial episodic memory, and executive function. No changes in the area of verbal fluency or decline in any of cognitive functions under analysis were observed. Conclusions: Carotid artery stenting improves cognitive functioning, both in the area of basic and more complex cognitive functions in persons with carotid atherosclerosis. Full article