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24 Associations Between Positive Psychological Factors and Neurocognitive Functioning in Older Adults
- Jacqueline E Maye, Colin A Depp, Ellen E Lee, Ho-Cheol Kim, Dilip V Jeste, Elizabeth W Twamley
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- Journal:
- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society / Volume 29 / Issue s1 / November 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 21 December 2023, p. 337
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Objective:
Psychological wellness and strong cognitive skills are both important to successful aging. Although there are well-established relationships between psychiatric illness (e.g., depression, anxiety, PTSD) and cognitive dysfunction, few studies have focused on the relationships between positive psychological factors and neurocognitive function in older adults. Our goal was to explore associations between these two sets of measures in older adults.
Participants and Methods:Participants (n=111) were part of a longitudinal study of biopsychosocial functioning in independently living older adult residents of a Continuing Care Senior Housing Community. Participants were administered a cognitive screening test (Montreal Cognitive Assessment; MoCA), a comprehensive neuropsychological battery, and a set of published self-report scales measuring positive emotional and psychological function. Neuropsychological scores were appropriately normed, and composite scores were calculated for the following domains: language (Boston Naming Test, Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System [D-KEFS] Verbal Fluency), attention/working memory (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV [WAIS-IV] Digit Span, DKEFS Visual Scanning), learning and delayed recall (Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised, Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised), processing speed (WAIS-IV Coding, D-KEFS Trails Number and Letter Sequencing, D-KEFS Color-Word Interference Test Color and Word Naming), and executive function (D-KEFS Color-Word Inhibition and Inhibition/Switching, DKEFS Letter/Number Switching). Self-Report scales included the Perceived Stress Scale, Center for Epidemiological Studies in Depression Scale, Emotional Support Scale, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, Coping Humor and Self-Efficacy Scales, Personal Mastery Scale, Meaning in Life Scale, Self-Rated Successful Aging, Satisfaction with Life, Cognitive Failures Questionnaire, and Lifetime Orientation Test-Revised. Due to the large number of psychological functioning measures, dimension reduction was undertaken via principal component analysis, resulting in a two-factor solution. Bivariate Pearson correlations were then computed between the two factor scores and each neurocognitive variable.
Results:Factor 1 consisted of variables reflecting Positive Subjective Functioning. A higher score on Factor 1 (indicating higher self-rating of successful aging, fewer perceived cognitive failures, fewer reported depressive symptoms, less perceived stress/anxiety, more perceived emotional support, more satisfaction with life, more meaningfulness in life, and more search for meaning in life) was associated with better attention/working memory (r=0.226, p=0.049) and executive function (r=0.242, p=0.035). Factor 2 consisted of variables that reflected Positive Coping Skills. A higher score on Factor 2 (indicating more happiness, higher optimism, greater resilience, higher sense of personal mastery, more use of humor as a coping strategy, and greater coping self-efficacy) was associated with better performance on tests of language (r=0.325, p=0.004), learning (r=0.313, p=0.006) and delayed recall (r=0.241, p=0.035) of visual and verbal information, and better MoCA performance (r=0.440, p<0.001). Neither factor was associated with processing speed.
Conclusions:Higher levels of subjective functioning and positive outlook/coping skills were associated with better neuropsychological performance. Given that late life is a time of risk for cognitive decline, future research should consider the influence of positive psychological functioning on neurocognitive outcomes and vice versa, as these relationships may have neurobiological and therapeutic implications for overall function in later life.
2 Neuropsychological Predictors of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Depressive Symptom Improvement in Compensatory Cognitive Training for Veterans with a History of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
- Amber V Keller, Jillian M.R. Clark, Jacqueline E Maye, Amy J Jak, Maya E O’Neil, Rhonda M Williams, Aaron P Turner, Kathleen F Pagulayan, Elizabeth W Twamley
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- Journal:
- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society / Volume 29 / Issue s1 / November 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 21 December 2023, pp. 515-517
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Objective:
Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are a notable triad in Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn (OEF/OIF/OND) Veterans. With the comorbidity of depression and PTSD in Veterans with mTBI histories, and their role in exacerbating cognitive and emotional dysfunction, interventions addressing cognitive and psychiatric functioning are critical. Compensatory Cognitive Training (CCT) is associated with improvements in areas such as prospective memory, attention, and executive functioning and has also yielded small-to-medium treatment effects on PTSD and depressive symptom severity. Identifying predictors of psychiatric symptom change following CCT would further inform the interventional approach. We sought to examine neuropsychological predictors of PTSD and depressive symptom improvement in Veterans with a history of mTBI who received CCT.
Participants and Methods:37 OEF/OIF/OND Veterans with mTBI history and cognitive complaints received 10-weekly 120-minute CCT group sessions as part of a clinical trial. Participants completed a baseline neuropsychological assessment including tests of premorbid functioning, attention/working memory, processing speed, verbal learning/memory, and executive functioning, and completed psychiatric symptom measures (PTSD Checklist-Military Version; Beck Depression Inventory-II) at baseline, post-treatment, and 5-week follow-up. Paired samples t-tests were used to examine statistically significant change in PTSD (total and symptom cluster scores) and depressive symptom scores over time. Pearson correlations were calculated between neuropsychological scores and PTSD and depressive symptom change scores at post-treatment and follow-up. Neuropsychological measures identified as significantly correlated with psychiatric symptom change scores (p^.05) were entered as independent variables in separate multiple linear regression analyses to predict symptom change at post-treatment and follow-up.
Results:Over 50% of CCT participants had clinically meaningful improvement in depressive symptoms (>17.5% score reduction) and over 20% had clinically meaningful improvement in PTSD symptoms (>10-point improvement) at post-treatment and follow-up. Examination of PTSD symptom cluster scores (re-experiencing, avoidance/numbing, and arousal) revealed a statistically significant improvement in avoidance/numbing at follow-up. Bivariate correlations indicated that worse baseline performance on D-KEFS Category Fluency was moderately associated with PTSD symptom improvement at post-treatment. Worse performance on both D-KEFS Category Fluency and Category Switching Accuracy was associated with improvement in depressive symptoms at post-treatment and follow-up. Worse performance on D-KEFS Trail Making Test Switching was associated with improvement in depressive symptoms at follow-up. Subsequent regression analyses revealed worse processing speed and worse aspects of executive functioning at baseline significantly predicted depressive symptom improvement at post-treatment and follow-up.
Conclusions:Worse baseline performances on tests of processing speed and aspects of executive functioning were significantly associated with improvements in PTSD and depressive symptoms during the trial. Our results suggest that cognitive training may bolster skills that are helpful for PTSD and depressive symptom reduction and that those with worse baseline functioning may benefit more from treatment because they have more room to improve. Although CCT is not a primary treatment for PTSD or depressive symptoms, our results support consideration of including CCT in hybrid treatment approaches. Further research should examine these relationships in larger samples.
68 Subjective Cognitive Functioning Following Non-Severe COVID-19 Acute Infections: A Meta-Analysis
- Tara A Austin, Jacqueline Maye, Cooper Hodges, Sarah Parr, Emily Darowski, Amber Keller, Rachel Bergsmans, Crystal Lantrip, Elizabeth W. Twamley
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- Journal:
- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society / Volume 29 / Issue s1 / November 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 21 December 2023, pp. 63-64
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Objective:
Emerging evidence suggests that individuals recovering from COVID-19 perceive changes to their cognitive function and psychological health that persist for weeks to months following acute infection. Although there is a strong relationship between initial COVID-19 infection severity and development of prolonged symptoms, there is only a modest relationship between initial COVID-19 severity and self-reported severity of prolonged symptoms. While much of the research has focused on more severe COVID-19 cases, over 90% of COVID-19 infections are classified as mild or moderate. Previous work has found evidence that non-severe COVID-19 infection is associated with cognitive deficits with small-to-medium effect sizes, though patients who were not hospitalized generally performed better on cognitive measures than did those who were hospitalized for COVID-19 infection. As such, it is important to also quantify subjective cognitive functioning in non-severe (mild or moderate) COVID-19 cases. Our meta-analysis examines self-reported cognition in samples that also measured objective neuropsychological performance in individuals with non-severe COVID-19 infections in the post-acute (>28 days) period.
Participants and Methods:This study’s design was preregistered with PROSPERO (CRD42021293124) and used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) checklist for reporting guidelines. Inclusion criteria were established prior to article searching and required peer-reviewed studies to have (1) used adult participants with a probable or documented diagnosis of non-severe (asymptomatic, mild, or moderate) COVID-19 who were in the post-acute stage (>28 days after initial infection); (2) used objective neuropsychological testing to document cognitive functioning; and (3) include a self-report measure of subjective cognition. At least two independent reviewers conducted all aspects of the screening, reviews, and extraction process. Twelve studies with three types of study design met full criteria and were included (total n=2,744).
Results:Healthy comparison group comparison: Compared with healthy comparison participants, the post-COVID-19 group reported moderately worse subjective cognition (d=0.546 [95% CI (0.054, 1.038)], p=0.030). Severity comparison: When comparing hospitalized and not hospitalized groups, patients who were hospitalized reported modestly worse subjective cognition (d=-0.241, [95% CI (-0.703, 0.221)], p=0.30), though the difference was not statistically significant. Normative data comparison: When all non-severe groups (mild and moderate; k=12) were compared to the normative comparison groups, there was a large, statistically significant effect (d=-1.06, [95% CI (-1.58, -0.53)], p=0.001) for self-report of worse subjective cognitive functioning.
Conclusions:There was evidence of subjective report of worse cognitive functioning following non-severe COVID-19 infection. Future work should explore relationships between objective neuropsychological functioning and subjective cognitive difficulties following COVID-19.
67 Examination of Neuropsychological Functioning and Current Suicidal Ideation and Suicide Attempt History in Individuals with Severe Mental Illness
- Amber V. Keller, Emma M. Parrish, Samantha A. Chalker, Elizabeth W. Twamley, Amy E. Pinkham, Philip D. Harvey, Colin A. Depp
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- Journal:
- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society / Volume 29 / Issue s1 / November 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 21 December 2023, pp. 851-852
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Objective:
Suicide risk among individuals with psychosis is elevated compared to the general population (e.g., higher rates of suicide attempts [SA] and completions, more severe lethality of means). Importantly, suicidal ideation (SI) seems to be more predictive of near-term and lifetime SAs in people with psychosis than in the general population. Yet, many randomized controlled trials in psychosis have excluded individuals with suicidality. Additionally, research suggests better cognitive and functional abilities are associated with greater suicide risk in psychotic disorders, which is dissimilar to the general population, but studies examining the link between cognition and suicidality are scarce. Because neuropsychological abilities can affect how individuals are able to attend to their environment, solve problems, and inhibit behaviors, further work is needed to consider how they may contribute to suicide risk in people with psychotic disorders. We sought to examine associations between neuropsychological performance and current SI and SA history in a large sample of individuals with psychosis.
Participants and Methods:176 participants with diagnoses of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder with psychotic features completed clinical interviews, a neuropsychological assessment (MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery subtests), and psychiatric symptom measures (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale [PANSS]; Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale [MADRS]. First, participants were divided into groups based on their current endorsement of SI in the past month on the Colombia Suicide Severity Rating scale (C-SSRS): those with current SI (SI+; n=86) and without current SI (SI-; n=90). We also examined lifetime history of SA (n=114) vs. absence of lifetime SA (n=62). Separate t-tests, chi-square tests, and logistic regressions were used to examine associations between neuropsychological performance and the two dichotomous outcome variables (current SI; history of SA).
Results:The SI groups did not differ on diagnosis, demographics (e.g., age, gender, race, ethnicity, years of education, premorbid functioning), or on positive and negative symptoms. The SI+ group reported more severe depressive symptoms (t(169)= -5.90, p<.001) and had significantly worse performance on working memory tests than the SI- group (t(173)=2.28, p=.024). Logistic regression revealed that working memory performance uniquely predicted current SI+ group membership above and beyond depressive symptoms (B= -.040; OR= .96; 95% CI [.93, .99]; p= .034). The SA groups did not significantly differ on demographic variables or on positive/negative symptoms, but those with a history of SA had more severe depressive symptoms (t(169)= -2.80, p=.006) and worse performance on tests of working memory (t(173)=2.16, p=.033) and processing speed (t(166)=2.28, p=.024) than did those without a history of SA. Logistic regression demonstrated that after controlling for depressive symptom severity, working memory and processing speed did not predict unique variance in SA history (p=.25).
Conclusions:Worse working memory performance was associated with SI in the past month in individuals with psychotic disorders. Although our finding is consistent with literature in other psychiatric populations, it conflicts with existing psychosis literature. Thus, a more nuanced examination of how cognition relates to SI/SA in psychosis is warranted to identify and/or develop optimal interventions.
5 Meta-Analysis of Cognitive Functioning Following Non-Severe COVID-19 Infection
- Tara A Austin, Cooper Hodges, Emily Darowski, Michael L Thomas, Rachel Bergsmans, Sarah Parr, Crystal Lantrip, Elizabeth W. Twamley
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- Journal:
- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society / Volume 29 / Issue s1 / November 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 21 December 2023, pp. 879-880
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Objective:
To effectively diagnose and treat cognitive post-COVID-19 symptoms, it is important to understand objective cognitive difficulties across the range of acute COVID-19 severity. The aim of this meta-analysis is to describe objective neuropsychological test performance in individuals with non-severe (mild/moderate) COVID-19 cases in the post-acute stage of infection (>28 days after initial infection).
Participants and Methods:This meta-analysis was pre-registered with Prospero (CRD42021293124) and utilized the PRISMA reporting guidelines, with screening conducted by at least two independent reviewers for all aspects of the screening and data extraction process. Inclusion criteria were established before the article search and were as follows: (1) Studies using adult participants with a probable or formal and documented diagnosis of COVID-19 in the post-acute stage of infection; (2) Studies comparing cognitive functioning using objective neuropsychological tests in one or more COVID-19 groups and a comparison group, or one group designs using tests with normative data; (3) Asymptomatic, mild, or moderate cases of COVID-19. Twenty-seven articles (n=18,202) with three types of study designs and three articles with additional longitudinal data met our full criteria.
Results:Individuals with non-severe initial COVID-19 infection demonstrated worse cognitive performance compared to healthy comparison participants (d=-0.412 [95% CI, -0.718, -0.176)], p=0.001). We used metaregression to examine the relationship between both average age of the sample and time since initial COVID-19 infection (as covariates in two independent models) and effect size in studies with comparison groups. There was no significant effect for age (b=-0.027 [95% CI (0.091, 0.038)], p=0.42). There was a significant effect for time since diagnosis, with a small improvement in cognitive performance for every day following initial acute COVID-19 infection (b=0.011 [95% CI (0.0039, 0.0174)], p=0.002). However, those with mild (non-hospitalized) initial COVID-19 infections performed better than did those who were hospitalized for initial COVID-19 infections (d=0.253 [95% CI (0.372, 0.134)], p<0.001). For studies that used normative data comparisons, there was a small, non-significant effect compared to normative data (d=-0.165 [95% CI (-0.333, 0.003)], p=0.055).
Conclusions:Individuals who have recovered from non-severe cases of COVID-19 may be at risk for cognitive decline or impairment and may benefit from cognitive health interventions.
Rates of Cognitive and Functional Impairments in Older Adults Residing in a Continuing Care Senior Housing Community
- Ryan Van Patten, Zanjbeel Mahmood, Tanya T. Nguyen, Jacqueline E. Maye, Ho-Cheol Kim, Dilip V. Jeste, Elizabeth W. Twamley
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- Journal:
- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society / Volume 28 / Issue 1 / January 2022
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 22 March 2021, pp. 62-73
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Objective:
The current cross-sectional study examined cognition and performance-based functional abilities in a continuing care senior housing community (CCSHC) that is comparable to other CCSHCs in the US with respect to residents’ demographic characteristics.
Method:Participants were 110 older adult residents of the independent living unit. We assessed sociodemographics, mental health, neurocognitive functioning, and functional capacity.
Results:Compared to normative samples, participants performed at or above expectations in terms of premorbid functioning, attention span and working memory, processing speed, timed set-shifting, inhibitory control, and confrontation naming. They performed below expectation in verbal fluency and verbal and visual learning and memory, with impairment rates [31.4% (>1 SD below the mean) and 18.49% (>1.5 SD below the mean)] well above the general population (16% and 7%, respectively). Within the cognitive test battery, two tests of delayed memory were most predictive of a global deficit score. Most cognitive test scores correlated with performance-based functional capacity.
Conclusions:Overall, results suggest that a subset of older adults in the independent living sector of CCSHCs are cognitively and functionally impaired and are at risk for future dementia. Results also argue for the inclusion of memory tests in abbreviated screening batteries in this population. We suggest that CCSHCs implement regular cognitive screening procedures to identify and triage those older adults who could benefit from interventions and, potentially, a transition to a higher level of care.
REM Sleep Behavior Disorder in Parkinson’s Disease: Effects on Cognitive, Psychiatric, and Functional outcomes
- Zanjbeel Mahmood, Ryan Van Patten, Marina Z. Nakhla, Elizabeth W. Twamley, J. Vincent Filoteo, Dawn M. Schiehser
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- Journal:
- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society / Volume 26 / Issue 9 / October 2020
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 07 May 2020, pp. 894-905
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Objective:
Rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) affects 33–46% of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and may be a risk factor for neuropsychological and functional deficits. However, the role of RBD on neuropsychological functioning in PD has yet to be fully determined. We, therefore, examined differences in neurocognitive performance, functional capacity, and psychiatric symptoms among nondemented PD patients with probable RBD (PD/pRBD+) and without (PD/pRBD−), and healthy comparison participants (HC).
Methods:Totally, 172 participants (58 PD/pRBD+; 65 PD/pRBD−; 49 HC) completed an RBD sleep questionnaire, psychiatric/clinical questionnaires, performance-based and self-reported functional capacity measures, and underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological battery assessing attention/working memory, language, visuospatial function, verbal and visual learning and memory, and executive function.
Results:Controlling for psychiatric symptom severity, the PD/pRBD+ group had poorer executive functioning and learning performance than the PD/pRBD− group and poorer neuropsychological functioning across all individual cognitive domains than the HCs. In contrast, PD/pRBD− patients had significantly lower scores than HCs only in the language domain. Moreover, PD/pRBD+ patients demonstrated significantly poorer medication management skills compared to HCs. Both PD groups reported greater depressive and anxiety severity compared to HCs; PD/pRBD+ group also endorsed greater severity of apathy compared to HCs.
Conclusions:The presence of pRBD is associated with poorer neuropsychological functioning in PD such that PD patients with pRBD have poorer cognitive, functional, and emotional outcomes compared to HC participants and/or PD patients without pRBD. Our findings underscore the importance of RBD assessment for improved detection and treatment of neuropsychological deficits (e.g., targeted cognitive interventions).
Implementation and evaluation of a community-based treatment for late-life hoarding
- James O. E. Pittman, Eliza J. Davidson, Mary E. Dozier, Brian H. Blanco, Kylie A. Baer, Elizabeth W. Twamley, Tina L. Mayes, David H. Sommerfeld, Tiffany Lagare, Catherine R. Ayers
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- Journal:
- International Psychogeriatrics / Volume 33 / Issue 9 / September 2021
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 05 March 2020, pp. 977-986
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Objectives:
The objective of this paper was to examine the implementation and effectiveness of a community-based intervention for hoarding disorder (HD) using Cognitive Rehabilitation and Exposure/Sorting Therapy (CREST).
Design:This was a mixed-method, pre-post quasi-experimental study informed by the Practical, Robust Implementation and Sustainability Model for implementation science.
Setting:Program activities took place in San Diego County, mainly within clients’ homes or community, with some activities in-office.
Participants:Participants were aged 60 years or older, met eligibility for Medi-Cal or were uninsured, and met criteria for HD.
Intervention:A manualized, mobile protocol that incorporated CREST was utilized.
Measurements:The Clutter Image Rating and Hoarding Rating Scale were used as effectiveness outcomes. An investigator-created staff questionnaire was used to evaluate implementation.
Results:Thirty-seven clients were reached and enrolled in treatment and 15 completed treatment during the initial 2 years of the program. There were significant changes in hoarding severity and clutter volume. Based on the initial 2 years of the program, funding was provided for expansion to cover additional San Diego County regions and hire more staff clinicians in year three.
Conclusion:Preliminary data suggest that the CREST intervention can be successfully implemented in a community setting with positive results for older adults with HD.
Psychological Symptoms and Rates of Performance Validity Improve Following Trauma-Focused Treatment in Veterans with PTSD and History of Mild-to-Moderate TBI
- Sarah M. Jurick, Laura D. Crocker, Victoria C. Merritt, Samantha N. Hoffman, Amber V. Keller, Graham M. L. Eglit, Kelsey R. Thomas, Sonya B. Norman, Dawn M. Schiehser, Carie S. Rodgers, Elizabeth W. Twamley, Amy J. Jak
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- Journal:
- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society / Volume 26 / Issue 1 / January 2020
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 29 October 2019, pp. 108-118
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Objective:
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) history have high rates of performance validity test (PVT) failure. The study aimed to determine whether those with scores in the invalid versus valid range on PVTs show similar benefit from psychotherapy and if psychotherapy improves PVT performance.
Method:Veterans (N = 100) with PTSD, mild-to-moderate TBI history, and cognitive complaints underwent neuropsychological testing at baseline, post-treatment, and 3-month post-treatment. Veterans were randomly assigned to cognitive processing therapy (CPT) or a novel hybrid intervention integrating CPT with TBI psychoeducation and cognitive rehabilitation strategies from Cognitive Symptom Management and Rehabilitation Therapy (CogSMART). Performance below standard cutoffs on any PVT trial across three different PVT measures was considered invalid (PVT-Fail), whereas performance above cutoffs on all measures was considered valid (PVT-Pass).
Results:Although both PVT groups exhibited clinically significant improvement in PTSD symptoms, the PVT-Pass group demonstrated greater symptom reduction than the PVT-Fail group. Measures of post-concussive and depressive symptoms improved to a similar degree across groups. Treatment condition did not moderate these results. Rate of valid test performance increased from baseline to follow-up across conditions, with a stronger effect in the SMART-CPT compared to CPT condition.
Conclusion:Both PVT groups experienced improved psychological symptoms following treatment. Veterans who failed PVTs at baseline demonstrated better test engagement following treatment, resulting in higher rates of valid PVTs at follow-up. Veterans with invalid PVTs should be enrolled in trauma-focused treatment and may benefit from neuropsychological assessment after, rather than before, treatment.
Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Burden Moderates the Relationship Between Cognitive Functioning and Suicidality in Iraq/Afghanistan-Era Veterans
- Laura D. Crocker, Amber V. Keller, Sarah M. Jurick, Jessica Bomyea, Chelsea C. Hays, Elizabeth W. Twamley, Amy J. Jak
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- Journal:
- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society / Volume 25 / Issue 1 / January 2019
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 16 November 2018, pp. 79-89
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Objectives: Suicidal ideation (SI) is highly prevalent in Iraq/Afghanistan-era veterans with a history of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), and multiple mTBIs impart even greater risk for poorer neuropsychological functioning and suicidality. However, little is known about the cognitive mechanisms that may confer increased risk of suicidality in this population. Thus, we examined relationships between neuropsychological functioning and suicidality and specifically whether lifetime mTBI burden would moderate relationships between cognitive functioning and suicidal ideation. Methods: Iraq/Afghanistan-era Veterans with a history of mTBI seeking outpatient services (N = 282) completed a clinical neuropsychological assessment and psychiatric and postconcussive symptom questionnaires. Results: Individuals who endorsed SI reported more severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and postconcussive symptoms and exhibited significantly worse memory performance compared to those who denied SI. Furthermore, mTBI burden interacted with both attention/processing speed and memory, such that poorer performance in these domains was associated with greater likelihood of SI in individuals with a history of three or more mTBIs. The pattern of results remained consistent when controlling for PTSD, depression, and postconcussive symptoms. Conclusions: Slowed processing speed and/or memory difficulties may make it challenging to access and use past experiences to solve current problems and imagine future outcomes, leading to increases in hopelessness and SI in veterans with three or more mTBIs. Results have the potential to better inform treatment decisions for veterans with history of multiple mTBIs. (JINS, 2019, 25, 79–89)
Factor Structure of Neurocognition and Functional Capacity in Schizophrenia: A Multidimensional Examination of Temporal Stability
- Philip D. Harvey, Tenko Raykov, Elizabeth W. Twamley, Lea Vella, Robert K. Heaton, Thomas L. Patterson
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- Journal:
- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society / Volume 19 / Issue 6 / July 2013
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 21 February 2013, pp. 656-663
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Although neurocognition is commonly described in terms of different functional domains, some factor analytic studies have suggested a simpler dimensional structure for neuropsychological (NP) tests in patients with schizophrenia. Standardized tasks of everyday functioning, or tests of “functional capacity” (FC), are viewed differently from traditional NP tests, and are hence used as a co-primary measure in treatment studies. However, FC and NP tests have been found to be highly correlated. In fact, a recent study of ours suggested that performances on these different types of tasks constituted a single latent trait in a cross-sectional analysis. The current study examined the longitudinal factor structure of a combined set of NP and FC tests. Patients with schizophrenia (n = 195) were examined at two assessment occasions separated by periods ranging from 6 weeks to 6 months. Participants were assessed with the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) and two performance-based assessments of FC. A single latent trait was extracted using full information maximum likelihood procedures, and its temporal stability was examined in terms of: stability of the latent trait scores, the inter-correlations of the three indicators of the latent trait, and the stability of loadings for the FC and NP items underlying the latent trait at the two measurement occasions. All indices of temporal stability were confirmed, with stability not related to follow-up duration. Variation in clinical symptoms and treatments across the measurement occasions was negligible. These findings raise the question of whether cognitive abilities measured by NP tests and FC instruments are tapping a single ability construct, which might have shared causal influences as well. (JINS, 2013, 19, 1–8)
Evaluation of Specific Executive Functioning Skills and the Processes Underlying Executive Control in Schizophrenia
- Gauri N. Savla, Elizabeth W. Twamley, Wesley K. Thompson, Dean C. Delis, Dilip V. Jeste, Barton W. Palmer
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- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society / Volume 17 / Issue 1 / January 2011
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 10 November 2010, pp. 14-23
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Schizophrenia is associated with executive dysfunction. Yet, the degree to which executive functions are impaired differentially, or above and beyond underlying basic cognitive processes is less clear. Participants included 145 matched pairs of individuals with schizophrenia (SCs) and normal comparison subjects (NCs). Executive functions were assessed with 10 tasks of the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS), in terms of “achievement scores” reflecting overall performance on the task. Five of these tasks (all measuring executive control) were further examined in terms of their basic component (e.g., processing speed) scores and contrast scores (reflecting residual higher order skills adjusted for basic component skills). Group differences were examined via multivariate analysis of variance. SCs had worse performance than NCs on all achievement scores, but the greatest SC-NC difference was that for the Trails Switching task. SCs also had worse performance than NCs on all basic component skills. Of the executive control tasks, only Trails Switching continued to be impaired after accounting for impairments in underlying basic component skills. Much of the impairment in executive functions in schizophrenia may reflect the underlying component skills rather than higher-order functions. However, the results from one task suggest that there might be additional impairment in some aspects of executive control. (JINS, 2010, 17, 000–000)
Cognitive impairment and functioning in PTSD related to intimate partner violence
- ELIZABETH W. TWAMLEY, CAROLYN B. ALLARD, STEVEN R. THORP, SONYA B. NORMAN, SHADHA HAMI CISSELL, KELLY HUGHES BERARDI, ERIN M. GRIMES, MURRAY B. STEIN
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- Journal:
- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society / Volume 15 / Issue 6 / November 2009
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 01 November 2009, pp. 879-887
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Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been associated with neuropsychological impairments across multiple domains, but consensus regarding the cognitive profile of PTSD has not been reached. In this study of women with PTSD related to intimate partner violence (n = 55) and healthy, demographically similar comparison participants (NCs; n = 20), we attempted to control for many potential confounds in PTSD samples. All participants were assessed with a comprehensive neuropsychological battery emphasizing executive functioning, including inhibition, switching, and abstraction. NCs outperformed PTSD participants on most neuropsychological measures, but the differences were significant only on speeded tasks (with and without executive functioning components). The PTSD group’s mean performance was within the average range on all neuropsychological tests. Within the PTSD group, more severe PTSD symptoms were associated with slower processing speed, and more severe dissociative symptoms were associated with poorer reasoning performance. These results suggest that women with PTSD related to intimate partner violence demonstrate slower than normal processing speed, which is associated with the severity of psychiatric symptoms. We speculate that the cognitive slowing seen in PTSD may be attributable to reduced attention due to a need to allocate resources to cope with psychological distress or unpleasant internal experiences. (JINS, 2009, 15, 879–887.)
Neuropsychological and neuroimaging changes in preclinical Alzheimer's disease
- ELIZABETH W. TWAMLEY, SUSAN A. LEGENDRE ROPACKI, MARK W. BONDI
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- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society / Volume 12 / Issue 5 / September 2006
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 08 September 2006, pp. 707-735
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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common, devastating form of dementia. With the advent of promising symptomatic treatment, the importance of recognizing AD at its very earliest stages has increased. We review the extant neuropsychological and neuroimaging literature on preclinical AD, focusing on longitudinal studies of initially nondemented individuals and cross-sectional investigations comparing at-risk with normal individuals. We systematically reviewed 91 studies of neuropsychological functioning, structural neuroimaging, or functional neuroimaging in preclinical AD. The neuropsychological studies indicated that preclinical AD might be characterized by subtle deficits in a broad range of neuropsychological domains, particularly in attention, learning and memory, executive functioning, processing speed, and language. Recent findings from neuroimaging research suggest that volume loss and cerebral blood flow or metabolic changes, particularly in the temporal lobe, may be detected before the onset of dementia. There exist several markers of a preclinical period of AD, in which specific cognitive and biochemical changes precede the clinical manifestations. The preclinical indicators of AD reflect early compromise of generalized brain integrity and temporal lobe functioning in particular. (JINS, 2006, 12, 707–735.)