BrainBlog

Executive deficits are related to the inferior frontal junction in early dementia Brain. 2011 Dec 19; Schroeter ML, Vogt B, Frisch S, Becker G, Barthel H, Mueller K, Villringer A, Sabri O Access article here

This is an open-access, free-download article from the PLoS journal: Caselli L, Chelazzi L (2011) Does the Macaque Monkey Provide a Good Model for Studying Human Executive Control? A Comparative Behavioral Study of Task Switching. PLoS ONE 6(6): e21489. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0021489 Article pdf

The Brain Study blog published an interesting posting earlier in the week about this important contemporary issue in neuropsychology: Brain Study posting about Reality Monitoring A good read!

Space Fortress game training and executive control in older adults: A pilot intervention Neuropsychol Dev Cogn B Aging Neuropsychol Cogn . 2011 Oct 12; Stern Y, Blumen HM, Rich LW, Richards A, Herzberg G, Gopher D Abstract ABSTRACT We investigated the feasibility of using the Space Fortress (SF) game, a complex video game originally developed to study complex skill acquisition in young adults, to improve executive control processes in cognitively healthy older adults. The study protocol consisted of 36 one-hour game play sessions over 3 months with cognitive evaluations before and after, and a follow-up evaluation at 6 months. Sixty participants were randomized to one of three conditions: Emphasis Change (EC) - elders were instructed to concentrate on playing the entire game but place particular emphasis on a specific aspect of game play in each particular game; Active Control (AC) - game play with standard instructions; Passive Control (PC) - evaluation sessions without game play. Pri...

Executive functions in Parkinson's disease: Systematic review and meta-analysis Movement Disorders. 2011 Oct 3; Kudlicka A, Clare L, Hindle JV Abstract Impairment of executive function (EF) is commonly reported as a feature of PD. However, the exact pattern of executive impairment remains unclear. Also, there is an ongoing discussion surrounding the definition and conceptualization of EF, which might affect the clarity of research evidence on cognition in PD. The aim of this systematic review was to describe the pattern of executive impairment in early-stage PD emerging from the research literature and to identify critical issues for improving consistency in this field. The PsychInfo, MEDLINE, Science Direct, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library databases were searched using the term "Parkinson's disease" combined with each of 14 cognitive abilities defined as representing aspects of EF. The review was limited to studies that investigated EF as the central variable in early-...

The following paper is available as an open full-download from PLoS. It provides an interesting example of the use of stop-signal tasks in pursuing a better understanding of executive functioning and its neuroanatomical correlates: Full publication Rule-guided executive control of response inhibition: functional topography of the inferior frontal cortex. PLoS One . 2011;6(6):e20840 Cai W, Leung HC Abstract BACKGROUND: The human inferior frontal cortex (IFC) is a large heterogeneous structure with distinct cytoarchitectonic subdivisions and fiber connections. It has been found involved in a wide range of executive control processes from target detection, rule retrieval to response control. Since these processes are often being studied separately, the functional organization of executive control processes within the IFC remains unclear. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We conducted an fMRI study to examine the activities of the subdivisions of IFC during the presentation of a task cue (ru...

An active area of test development and research in contemporary clinical neuropsychology: Social Cognition Impairments in Relation to General Cognitive Deficits, Injury Severity and Prefrontal Lesions in Traumatic Brain Injury Patients. Journal of Neurotrauma . 2011 Sep 20; Authors: Spikman JM, Van der Naalt J, Timmerman ME, Milders MV, Veenstra WS Abstract Impairments in social behavior are frequently found in moderate to severe TBI patients and are associated with an unfavorable outcome with regard to return to work and social reintegration. Neuropsychological tests measuring aspects of social cognition are thought to be sensitive to these problems. However, little is known about the effect of general cognitive problems on these tests, nor about their sensitivity to injury severity and frontal lesions. In the present study 28 chronic TBI patients with a moderate to severe TBI were assessed with tests for social cognition (emotion recognition, Theory of Mind and empathy) and for gener...

Looking for reading material for a longish train trip I am about to take, I decided to hit to bookshelves of my Square's Barnes & Noble to see what popular neuroscience titles might be a good diversion (as well as potential supplementary 'lighter' references, should I re-teach an introductory course to neuroscience sometime over the next year). I chose three. The first is by Elkhonon Goldberg, a revision of an earlier work, which is titled "The New Executive Brain: Frontal Lobes in a Complex World" and is available in paperback by Oxford University Press. I first met the author when I was a graduate student, so I am looking forward to reading up on what he's been up to. The second is about glial cells and is entitled, "The Root of Thought: Unlocking Glia" by Andrew Koob. Five years ago, if someone said there would be a popular offering about glia, I would have thought 'Yeah, right...' Though I do enjoy adding discussion about glia to my...

Settling in in my coffeehouse for a reading of an interesting new publication by Dr. Brian Brooks and his colleagues on the topic of "Minimizing Misdiagnosis: Psychometric Criteria for Possible or Probable Memory Impairment." The authors seek to develop new psychometric criteria for identification of memory problems in older individuals. This has both clinical and research implications; my primary interest at this time is the accuracy of such identification for including or excluding individuals in clinical trials that test potential drug treatments for Alzheimer's and related dementias.

Vogels RL, Oosterman JM, van Harten B, Scheltens P, van der Flier WM, Schroeder-Tanka JM, & Weinstein HC. Profile of Cognitive Impairment in Chronic Heart Failure. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2007 Aug 28; [Epub ahead of print]. Department of Neurology, Sint Lucas-Andreas Hospital , Amsterdam, The Netherlands. OBJECTIVES: To determine the frequency and pattern of cognitive dysfunction in outpatients with chronic congestive heart failure (CHF) and to identify the corresponding demographic and clinical correlates. DESIGN: Case-control study. SETTING: Outpatient clinic in a community hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty-two outpatients with CHF, 53 controls diagnosed with cardiovascular disease uncomplicated by CHF (cardiac controls), and 42 healthy controls were investigated. MEASUREMENTS: Neuropsychological assessment included tests of mental speed, executive function, memory, language, and visuospatial function. Composite z-scores for five cognitive domains and mean z-sco...

From yesterday's Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel : Lost in cancer's fog 'Chemobrain' impairs thinking, memory after chemotherapy; anecdotal brain effects are just starting to get serious study By JOHN FAUBER 01 September 2007 Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel [snip] In two small groups of testicular and breast cancer patients, between 60% and 70% of the patients experienced some cognitive decline that was tied to the onset of their chemotherapy, said Christina Meyers, a professor and chief of neuropsychology at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. "It's subtle," she said. "We are not talking about dementia or anything grossly obvious." Within one year, about half of the patients were back to their pretreatment levels of cognitive ability, Meyers said. [snip] [ ... Read the full article ... ]