Biomedical subjects

A Haltiner

Publications and source records attributed to A Haltiner.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1995

Relationship of age at onset, chronologic age, and adequacy of preoperative performance to verbal memory change after anterior temporal lobectomy.

We examined the relationship of age of onset of epilepsy, chronological age at time of operation, and adequacy of preoperative memory performance to pre- to postoperative verbal memory decline. Patients who underwent left (n = 50) or right (n = 51) anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL) were administered tests of verbal episodic (list learning, paragraph recall) and semantic memory (visual naming, vocabulary), both preoperatively and 6 months postoperatively. As a group, left ATL patients showed the classic selective decrease on measures of episodic but not semantic memory. However, examination of episodic memory outcome showed considerable individual variability. Stepwise regression analyses indicated that both later age at onset and older chronologic age were significant and selective predictors of episodic memory decrease for left ATL patients. Adequacy of preoperative memory performance was a nonspecific predictor, associated with decrease in postoperative memory performance for both left and right ATL patients and for multiple types of memory indices. The clinical and theoretical implications are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Reports by patients and their families of memory change after left anterior temporal lobectomy: relationship to degree of hippocampal sclerosis.

Memory decline represents the primary neuropsychological morbidity of anterior temporal lobectomy. Recent investigations using laboratory tests of memory have reported an association between the neuropathological status of the resected left mesial temporal region and memory outcome, with adverse memory outcome associated with a lack of significant left hippocampal pathology. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the relationship between the reports by the patients and their families of observed postoperative changes in day-to-day memory function and the degree of hippocampal sclerosis in resected left mesial temporal lobes. Twenty patients and a close family member (parent or spouse) of each of the patients completed standardized questionnaires assessing pre- to postoperative changes in verbal and spatial memory; these were related to the neuropathological findings. The results indicated that patients without left hippocampal sclerosis reported significantly worse memory outcome than those with hippocampal sclerosis. The ratings provided by the relatives of the patients yielded a comparable effect, and objective memory tests supported the reports by the patients and their families. The neuropsychological findings associated with left hippocampal pathology are of clinical significance and should be considered in surgical evaluation and in the counseling process.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

Development and validation of a Multiple Ability Self-Report Questionnaire.

We present results from three studies on the development and validation of the Multiple Ability Self-Report Questionnaire (MASQ), a self-report measure comprising items from five cognitive domains; language, visuo-perceptual, verbal memory, visual memory, and attention. In Study 1, we determined the content relevance of the questionnaire items. In Study 2, we assessed the basic psychometric properties (i.e., internal consistency and test-retest reliability) of the MASQ in 118 individuals without neurologic or psychiatric disorder, aged 25 to 88 years. In Study 3 we provide validity data for the MASQ by comparing the ratings of normals to people with unilateral temporal-lobe epilepsy, and examining the relationship of self-report to objective test performance. The potential use of the MASQ to study the neurologic and psychological correlates of accuracy and unawareness in self-appraisal across different cognitive domains and various clinical groups is discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

Personality and self-report of cognitive functioning.

We examined the relationship of trait personality dimensions (negative affectivity and positive affectivity) on self-report of cognitive functioning. Ninety-six subjects who were screened to be without evidence of psychiatric or neurologic disorder, and who had previously completed the Tellegen Differential Personality Questionnaire (mean interval = 2 years) were sent a self-report questionnaire of cognitive functioning (MASQ). As predicted, negative affectivity (NA) was more strongly related to self-appraisal of cognitive functioning than was positive affectivity (PA); subjects with higher NA scores acknowledged more cognitive difficulties. Negative affectivity was also a stronger predictor of cognitive self-report than was self-report of current sad mood state. The implications of these findings for the examination of self-appraisal and accuracy of self-report are discussed.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1993

Verbal recognition memory performance in unilateral temporal lobe epilepsy.

Recognition memory performance of 91 left and right unilateral temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) patients was examined prior to and post anterior temporal lobectomy. The left TLE group showed more impaired response discrimination ability than the right TLE group; however, their false positive rate varied as a function of distractor type. Prior to temporal lobe resection, false positives were higher for semantically related distractors (novel or from an interference list) than for semantically unrelated items from an interference list, phonemic distractors, or unrelated errors. Following temporal lobe resection, only novel semantically related distractors in the left TLE group showed a significant increase in false positives, and they were also significantly higher than all other error types. The results of this study suggest that the left TLE patients have impaired individual item recollection in the context of intact information about basic semantic attributes.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Adequacy of language function and verbal memory performance in unilateral temporal lobe epilepsy.

We examined adequacy of language functions, their influence on verbal learning and memory performance, and the relative effects of language function and laterality of seizure focus on the memory performance of 99 left-hemisphere dominant patients with invasively verified epilepsy of left (N = 47) or right (N = 52) temporal lobe origin. Patients with left temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) scored significantly lower than the right TLE group on several aphasia battery subtests (Visual Naming, Sentence Repetition, Token Test, Reading Comprehension, Aural Comprehension). Adequacy of language function (nominal speech) was significantly related to verbal learning and memory performance for both left and right TLE groups. Finally, comparison of the predictive significance of laterality of TLE and adequacy of language function indicated that language functions (Visual Naming and Aural Comprehension), but not laterality of TLE, were significant predictors for verbal learning and memory performance. It is concluded that: 1) adequacy of basic language functions is particularly compromised in left TLE, 2) there is a significant relationship between adequacy of language function and several aspects of verbal learning and memory ability in both left and right temporal lobe groups, and 3) clinical assessment and theoretical models of memory need to consider these relationships.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1991

Mood state in unilateral temporal lobe epilepsy.

The purpose of this investigation was to reexamine the relationship between self-reported depression and laterality of temporal lobe epilepsy and to determine the contribution of associated frontal lobe dysfunction in predisposing patients to depression. Sixty-four patients with complex partial seizures of left (n = 26) or right (n = 38) temporal lobe origin were administered several self-report measures of mood state (Beck Depression Inventory, Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale, Beck Anxiety Inventory), and a test of frontal lobe function [Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST)]. There were no overall differences between the left and right temporal lobe groups on the measures of depression and anxiety. However, the left temporal lobe group exhibited a significant relationship between the degree of associated frontal lobe dysfunction (as indicated by increased perseverative responding on the WCST) and dysphoric mood state. For the right temporal lobe group there was a nonsignificant inverse relationship between mood state and indices of frontal lobe dysfunction. These results (1) are consistent with the broader psychiatric literature, which has implicated a relationship between depression and left frontal lobe dysfunction, (2) suggest that previous conflicting reports of depression/left temporal lobe epilepsy relationships are due in part to variations in the intactness of frontal lobe function, and (3) suggest that the presence of associated frontal lobe dysfunction may be a consideration in understanding interictal psychopathology in epilepsy.

Adult↗