Mes: junio 2015

Background. A «dysexecutive » group of patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) has been previously identified, and these patients have been found to present higher frequency of psychiatric symptoms and more pronounced functional impact. This study aimed at evaluating the frequency of neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with early AD who present with impaired executive functioning. Methods. Thirty patients with early AD diagnosis were divided into a spared (SEF) and an impaired (IEF) executive functioning group according to their performance scores on neuropsychological tests. Their closest relatives or caregivers completed the Cambridge behavioral inventory (CBI), which assesses behavioral symptoms grouped into 13 categories. Results. A significant difference was exclusively found between SEF and IEF in terms of the frequency of stereotypies and repetitive motor behavior (U = 60.5, P = .024). Conclusions. The presence of stereotypies could be associated with a dysexecutive profile in AD patients. These results shed light on the role of frontal circuitry in the expression of motor symptoms in AD and prompt for further research that will contribute to the differential diagnosis both of different subtypes of AD and other types of dementia.

Background. A «dysexecutive » group of patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) has been previously identified, and these patients have been found to present higher frequency of psychiatric symptoms and more pronounced functional impact. This study aimed at evaluating the frequency of neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with early AD who present with impaired executive functioning. Methods. Thirty patients with early AD diagnosis were divided into a spared (SEF) and an impaired (IEF) executive functioning group according to their performance scores on neuropsychological tests. Their closest relatives or caregivers completed the Cambridge behavioral inventory (CBI), which assesses behavioral symptoms grouped into 13 categories. Results. A significant difference was exclusively found between SEF and IEF in terms of the frequency of stereotypies and repetitive motor behavior (U = 60.5, P = .024). Conclusions. The presence of stereotypies could be associated with a dysexecutive profile in AD patients. These results shed light on the role of frontal circuitry in the expression of motor symptoms in AD and prompt for further research that will contribute to the differential diagnosis both of different subtypes of AD and other types of dementia.

Background While fluid intelligence has proved to be central to executive functioning, logical reasoning and other frontal functions, the role of this ability in psychosocial adaptation has not been well characterized. Methodology/Principal Findings A random-probabilistic sample of 2370 secondary school students completed measures of fluid intelligence (Raven’s Progressive Matrices, RPM) and several measures of psychological adaptation: bullying (Delaware Bullying Questionnaire), domestic abuse of adolescents (Conflict Tactic Scale), drug intake (ONUDD), self-esteem (Rosenberg’s Self Esteem Scale) and the Perceived Mental Health Scale (Spanish adaptation). Lower fluid intelligence scores were associated with physical violence, both in the role of victim and victimizer. Drug intake, especially cannabis, cocaine and inhalants and lower self-esteem were also associated with lower fluid intelligence. Finally, scores on the perceived mental health assessment were better when fluid intelligence scores were higher. Conclusions/Significance Our results show evidence of a strong association between psychosocial adaptation and fluid intelligence, suggesting that the latter is not only central to executive functioning but also forms part of a more general capacity for adaptation to social contexts.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Differences in definitions of socioeconomic status and between study designs hinder their comparability across countries. We aimed to analyze the correlation between 3 widely used macrosocioeconomic status indicators and clinical outcomes. METHODS: We selected population-based studies reporting incident stroke risk and/or 30-day case-fatality according to prespecified criteria. We used 3 macrosocioeconomic status indicators that are consistently defined by international agencies: per capita gross domestic product adjusted for purchasing power parity, total health expenditures per capita at purchasing power parity, and unemployment rate. We examined the correlation of each macrosocioeconomic status indicator with incident risk of stroke, 30-day case-fatality, proportion of hemorrhagic strokes, and age at stroke onset. RESULTS: Twenty-three articles comprising 30 population-based studies fulfilled the eligibility criteria. Age-adjusted incident risk of stroke using the standardized World Health Organization World population was associated to lower per capita gross domestic product adjusted for purchasing power parity (ρ=-0.661, P=0.027, R(2)=0.32) and total health expenditures per capita at purchasing power parity (ρ=-0.623, P=0.040, R(2)=0.26). Thirty-day case-fatality rates and proportion of hemorrhagic strokes were also related to lower per capita gross domestic product adjusted for purchasing power parity and total health expenditures per capita at purchasing power parity. Moreover, stroke occurred at a younger age in populations with low per capita gross domestic product adjusted for purchasing power parity and total health expenditures per capita at purchasing power parity. There was no correlation between unemployment rates and outcome measures. CONCLUSIONS: Lower per capita gross domestic product adjusted for purchasing power parity and total health expenditures per capita at purchasing power parity were associated with higher incident risk of stroke, higher case-fatality, a greater proportion of hemorrhagic strokes, and lower age at stroke onset. As a result, these macrosocioeconomic status indicators may be used as proxy measures of quality of primary prevention and acute care and considered as important factors for developing strategies aimed at improving worldwide stroke care.

An undisputable characteristic of cognitive science is its enormous diversity of theories. Not surprisingly, these often belong to different paradigms that focus on different processes and levels of analysis. A related problem is that researchers of cognition frequently seem to ascribe to incompatible approaches to research, creating a Tower of Babel of cognitive knowledge. This text presents a pragmatic model of meta-theoretical analysis, a theory conceived of to examine other theories, which allows cognitive theories to be described, integrated and compared. After a brief introduction to meta-theoretical analysis in cognitive science, the dynamic and structural components of a theory are described. The analysis of conceptual mappings between components and explanation strategies is also described, as well as the processes of intra-theory generalization and inter-theory comparison. The various components of the meta-theoretical model are presented with examples of different cognitive theories, mainly focusing on two current approaches to research: The dynamical approach to cognition and the computer metaphor of mind. Finally, two potential counter arguments to the model are presented and discussed.

Although it has been shown that adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have impaired social cognition, no previous study has reported the brain correlates of face valence processing. This study looked for behavioral, neuropsychological, and electrophysiological markers of emotion processing for faces (N170) in adult ADHD compared to controls matched by age, gender, educational level, and handedness. We designed an event-related potential (ERP) study based on a dual valence task (DVT), in which faces and words were presented to test the effects of stimulus type (faces, words, or face-word stimuli) and valence (positive versus negative). Individual signatures of cognitive functioning in participants with ADHD and controls were assessed with a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation, including executive functioning (EF) and theory of mind (ToM). Compared to controls, the adult ADHD group showed deficits in N170 emotion modulation for facial stimuli. These N170 impairments were observed in the absence of any deficit in facial structural processing, suggesting a specific ADHD impairment in early facial emotion modulation. The cortical current density mapping of N170 yielded a main neural source of N170 at posterior section of fusiform gyrus (maximum at left hemisphere for words and right hemisphere for faces and simultaneous stimuli). Neural generators of N170 (fusiform gyrus) were reduced in ADHD. In those patients, N170 emotion processing was associated with performance on an emotional inference ToM task, and N170 from simultaneous stimuli was associated with EF, especially working memory. This is the first report to reveal an adult ADHD-specific impairment in the cortical modulation of emotion for faces and an association between N170 cortical measures and ToM and EF.

A role for rostral prefrontal cortex (BA10) has been proposed in multitasking, in particular, the selection and maintenance of higher order internal goals while other sub-goals are being performed. BA10 has also been implicated in the ability to infer someone else’s feelings and thoughts, often referred to as theory of mind. While most of the data to support these views come from functional neuroimaging studies, lesion studies are scant. In the present study, we compared the performance of a group of frontal patients whose lesions involved BA10, a group of frontal patients whose lesions did not affect this area (nonBA10), and a group of healthy controls on tests requiring multitasking and complex theory of mind judgments. Only the group with lesions involving BA10 showed deficits on multitasking and theory of mind tasks when compared with control subjects. NonBA10 patients performed more poorly than controls on an executive function screening tool, particularly on measures of response inhibition and abstract reasoning, suggesting that theory of mind and multitasking deficits following lesions to BA10 cannot be explained by a general worsening of executive function. In addition, we searched for correlations between performance and volume of damage within different subregions of BA10. Significant correlations were found between multitasking performance and volume of damage in right lateral BA10, and between theory of mind and total BA10 lesion volume. These findings stress the potential pivotal role of BA10 in higher order cognitive functions.

A neuroanatomical model of urge-for-action phenomena has been proposed based on the «motivation-for-action” network (e.g., insula and mid-cingulate cortex). Notwithstanding the sound evidence presented regarding the functional and anatomical correlates of this model, the nature of the relationship between urges and conscious awareness remains to be addressed. Moreover, this model does not seem to explain (1) how a conscious access threshold is reached, and (2) the way in which the urges are related to more general contents of consciousness.

Neurodynamics of mind: The arrow illusion of conscious intentionality as downward causation. Autores Barutta J, Gleichgerrcht E, Cornejo C, Ibanez A.  Año 2010 Journal  Barutta J, Gleichgerrcht E, Cornejo C, Ibanez A.  Volumen 44(2): 127-143 Abstract   Otra información    

BACKGROUND: Alcohol use has been previously associated with neurocognitive impairments, especially in decision-making cognition. However, some studies have shown little to no decision-making deficits in relation to different characteristics of people with drinking problems. Relapsing to driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol is an important issue with legal and psychosocial aspects. We evaluated decision-making performance in second-time DUI offenders by using the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). METHOD: Thirty-four male second-time DUI offenders who had been selected for an official psychoeducational rehabilitation program and 31 healthy controls that were matched for age, education, and alcohol use were included. Along with psychiatric assessment, we applied conventional neuropsychological testing comprising cognitive set-shifting, response inhibition, attention, and visuospatial abilities. Also, we used the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) to assess personality patterns. A computerized version of IGT was used. RESULTS: No significant differences were found between the groups in regard to sociodemographics and conventional neuropsychological testing. DUI participants had significantly higher scores only in «self-transcendence » subdomain of TCI. On the fifth block of the IGT, DUI participants had significantly lower net scores than controls (U = 380.0, p < 0.05). Also, DUI participants chose significantly more risky decks compared to controls. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that there may be subtle decision-making deficits in DUI participants, which goes undetected on conventional neuropsychological testing and which is not correlated with TCI subdomains related with impulsivity patterns.