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Biomedical subjects

G J Larrabee

Publications and source records attributed to G J Larrabee.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Assessment of memory complaint in age-associated memory impairment: the MAC-Q.

Few brief self-report memory questionnaires are available, and non has been well validated. We designed a brief questionnaire, the MAC-Q, to assess age-related memory decline. Validity and reliability of the MAC-Q were assessed in 232 subjects meeting diagnostic criteria for age-associated memory impairment (AAMI). Concurrent validity of the MAC-Q was supported by a significant correlation (r = .41, p < .001) with a lengthy, well-validated memory questionnaire. Multiple regression analysis indicated that memory test scores were significant predictors of MAC-Q scores. MAC-Q scores were not predicted by Hamilton Depression Scale scores, suggesting that memory complaint in AAMI is not related to affective status. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the MAC-Q were satisfactory. Our data support the validity and reliability of the MAC-Q, a new brief memory questionnaire. The MAC-Q is of particular relevance to the assessment of AAMI, but should also prove useful in any clinical or research setting requiring a brief index of memory complaint.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Changes in facial recognition memory across the adult life span.

We found significant and similar associations of facial recognition memory performance with age using two different methodologies: signal detection (SD) and delayed nonmatching-to-sample (DNM). These data demonstrate that previously reported associations between age and facial recognition memory performance were not specific to method of assessment, and that significant declines are seen as early as 50 years of age.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Factors attenuating the validity of the Geriatric Depression Scale in a dementia population.

OBJECTIVE: The validity of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) in cognitively impaired patients has been questioned. We investigated possible factors (memory loss, dementia severity, unawareness of illness) attenuating the validity of the GDS in patients with dementia. PATIENTS: Eighty-three patients who met research diagnostic criteria for "probable Alzheimer's disease." Subjects with major depressive disorder were excluded. Dementia severity ranged from mild to moderate. SETTING: Outpatient clinics, including institutional settings and private research settings. MEASUREMENTS: Depression--GDS; Hamilton Depression Scale. Memory--Wechsler Memory Scale; Benton Visual Retention Test. Dementia severity--Mini-Mental State Examination. Self-awareness of cognitive deficits--Difference score between a self-report memory questionnaire and an informant-rated memory questionnaire. RESULTS: Multiple regression analysis revealed that Hamilton scores were the major predictor of GDS scores. Memory scores and self-awareness scores were also significant predictors. Dementia severity scores were not a significant predictor. CONCLUSIONS: The GDS is a valid measure of mild-to-moderate depressive symptoms in Alzheimer patients with mild-to-moderate dementia. However, Alzheimer patients who disavow cognitive deficits also tend to disavow depressive symptoms, and the GDS should be used with caution in such patients. Finally, the argument that memory impairment precludes accurate self-report of recent mood is negated by our finding that many patients accurately reported depressive symptoms and that worse memory was associated with more self-reported depressive symptoms.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Diagnosis, assessment and treatment of age-associated memory impairment.

We have reviewed diagnostic criteria and assessment procedures for AAMI, as well as pharmacologic and behavioral treatments for this condition. This research gives reason to hope that an important behavioral deficit associated with aging may be modified through drug and behavioral treatment.

Aging↗
PubMed1991

The association of memory complaint with computer-simulated everyday memory performance.

The relationship of memory self-report to self-rated depression and to actual performance on computer-simulated everyday memory tasks was investigated in 125 normal adults. Canonical correlation analyses demonstrated that self-rated memory performance and objective computer-simulated everyday memory performance shared from 27.9% to 29.4% of common variance. These data provide initial concurrent validity for a new memory self-report scale, the MAC-S. Results are discussed in relation to psychometric factors important in the design and validation of self-report memory scales.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Treatment of age-associated memory impairment with guanfacine.

Alpha2 adrenergic agonists have been shown to improve memory test performance in amnesic humans and aged nonhuman primates. In a group of drugs in this class that were tested for their effects on age-related memory impairments in aged monkeys, guanfacine was the most effective for improving mnemonic function at doses that were without significant side effects. These data prompted studies of guanfacine for its effect on learning and memory in persons with age-associated memory impairment (AAMI), the results of which are now reported. The data suggest that guanfacine may have modest mood-improving effects but had no significant effects on learning and memory in the subjects tested.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

A self-rating scale for evaluating memory in everyday life.

A memory self-rating scale is described that includes 21 ability-to-remember items, 24 items assessing frequency of occurrence of memory failures, and 4 global rating items assessing overall comparison to others, comparison to the best one's memory has ever been, speed of recall, and concern or worry over memory function. Factor analysis yielded 5 orthogonal Ability to Remember and 5 orthogonal Frequency of Occurrence factors. The factor structure was not affected by age or sex, and level of complaint on the factor scores was not strongly associated with age.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

The Misplaced Objects Test: a measure of everyday visual memory.

The Misplaced Objects Test is a computerized test of object location recall. The test is structurally similar to tasks used in the evaluation of age and drug effects in preclinical animal research. Delayed recall of 20 common objects which the subject has placed using a touch sensitive screen in a computer-simulated 12-room house is evaluated with three measures. Scores include the number of objects found on the first attempt (Found 1), the number of objects found on the second attempt (Found 2), and the total number of objects found on both attempts (Found T). Performance was evaluated in relation to age, gender, education, and affective status, as well as in relation to several traditional neuropsychological measures. Misplaced Objects Test performance was most strongly associated with age and Wechsler Memory Scale Paired Associate Learning. Additional significant relationships were found with gender, education, and the WAIS Digit Symbol subtest. Potential future applications of the test were discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Visual recognition memory in normal adults and patients with unilateral vascular lesions.

Visual recognition memory was examined in 310 normal adults (age range 18-91) and 60 patients with unilateral vascular lesions (30 right, 30 left) using the Continuous Visual Memory Test (CVMT). Significant age-related differences were found for both acquisition and delayed phases of the CVMT, with older subjects performing lower on all variables. Data from clinical groups revealed that both patients with left-hemisphere (LCVA) and right-hemisphere (RCVA) lesions performed below age-matched controls. However, RCVA patients performed significantly worse than LCVA patients. Data generally supported the double-dissociation hypothesis, with a majority of RCVA patients exhibiting impaired visual memory but preserved verbal memory, and vice versa for LCVA patients. Results also suggested that the CVMT Delayed task was less susceptible to potentially confounding effects of visual-spatial and verbal ability than was the acquisition phase.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Diagnosis and assessment of age-associated memory impairment.

Age-associated memory impairment (AAMI) is a diagnostic term applied to healthy persons greater than 50 years of age who have experienced a gradual decline in memory that lies within the boundaries of normality. Although the behavioral deficits associated with AAMI are modest in comparison to those associated with dementing disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, they are quite troublesome to many middle-aged and elderly adults engaged in intellectually demanding activities. In this article, diagnostic criteria for AAMI will be provided, new psychometric instruments for assessing the behavioral deficits seen in AAMI will be described, and results of large multinational studies with these instruments will be presented. Finally, behavioral and pharmacologic strategies for treating AAMI will be discussed.

Aging↗
PubMed1987

Further cautions in interpretation of comparisons between the WAIS-R and the Wechsler Memory Scale.

Prifitera and Barley (1985) recently found that mean WAIS-R Full Scale IQ (FIQ) scores were significantly lower than mean Wechsler Memory Scale Memory Quotient (MQ) scores, calling for caution in interpreting differences between these measures. These findings are discussed in terms of the original standardization of the MQ, and cross-generational changes in measured intelligence. The more important issue, not addressed by Prifitera and Barley, is the clinical utility of making FIQ-MQ comparisons. This practice is criticized, and an alternative, memory component model is presented.

Alcohol Amnestic Disorder↗
PubMed1987

Monoclonal paraproteinemia with subacute encephalopathy, seizures, and scleromyxedema.

For 3 months, a 37-year-old man developed memory loss and personality changes, followed by fever, seizures, bilateral upper motor neuron signs, and increased CSF protein with skin induration that was compatible with scleromyxedema. An IgG-type paraproteinemia was identified. He improved with plasmapheresis, but died in acute respiratory and renal failure. Autopsy revealed right temporal demyelination and meningeal inflammation.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Memory self-ratings and objective test performance in a normal elderly sample.

Self-rated decline in memory relative to estimated abilities at age 60 was investigated in a group of 88 normal elderly subjects age 60 to 90. Self-ratings of storage, retrieval, attention/concentration, remote memory, and depression formed a factor which was orthogonal to objective measures of memory function. Self-rated remote memory was also associated with objective measures of recent/remote memory, and self-rated depression was additionally related to objective measures of attention/concentration.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Age-related differences in recognition memory for pictures.

This study provided a normative data base for the Continuous Recognition Memory Test and also investigated age-related differences in recognition memory for pictures in a sample of 299 normal subjects (age range 10-89). Data analysis revealed that older subjects consistently set a lower response criterion (Cx), resulting in a significantly higher number of within-class false alarms. Older subjects also displayed significantly lower sensitivity (d'). Changes in sensitivity were attributed to both an increase in false alarms and a concurrent decrease in hits in subjects over 65. Analysis of the likelihood ratio (beta) revealed no significant change across age groups.

Adolescent↗