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Biomedical subjects

U M Fleischmann

Publications and source records attributed to U M Fleischmann.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1994

Cognition in humans and the borderline to dementia.

From a psychometric point of view, cognitive performance in humans has to be examined as a multidimensional quantitative construct. Models of memory and intelligence may serve to describe the complex interactions of cognitive functioning. Based on memory research and reliable psychometric methods a three-dimensional model including "Primary Memory", "Secondary Memory" and a "Speed factor" is proposed. Using models of performance factors. "Cognitive Speed" is demonstrated as a marker variable of "Fluid Intelligence". It is shown, that "Cognitive Speed" is clearly age-associated and constitutes a key function for other cognitive domains and for activities-of-daily-living. Furthermore "Cognitive Speed" is a crucial cognitive domain to separate normal from pathological aging. As an example to assess "Cognitive Speed", the Zahlen-Verbindungs-Test G (1), a modified trail-making test, is discussed to diagnose beginning and ongoing dementias.

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PubMed1985

Psychometrics in aging and dementia: advances in geropsychological assessments.

Description, explanation and prediction of changes occurring in old age, which are based on intervention, are outlined as a basic goal in gerontological research. Appropriate psychological assessment techniques are necessary to reach this goal. The Nuremberg Gerontopsychological Inventory (NAI) is introduced as a set of psychological measurements which enable reliable, valid and sensitive evaluation of intervention-induced changes in old age. Four independent assessment levels, i.e. standardized performance tests, observer-ratings, self-ratings and a personality rating are the core components of this inventory. All assessment techniques are adapted for elderly subjects. Standard scores are available for the age range 55-90 years. Interrelations between the applied independent assessment levels are reported and taken to link different aspects of intervention-induced changes. Measuring psychological performance thus gains practical significance, e.g. in terms of activities-of-daily-living. From 14 independent studies the drug sensitivity of the applied measurements is shown. Finally, some recommendations for future psychometrical research are given.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1985

[Memory related training in advanced age].

Development, trial and evaluation of a training approach to aging memory are described. The 6-unit small-group programme is based on empirical findings concerning age-related reductions in memory functioning. Initial controlled evaluation of the training effects indicates improvements in various memory functions, suggesting the programme's usefulness in applied gerontopsychology.

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PubMed1983

Psychometrics in the treatment of ischemic cerebrovascular diseases.

The question on which level of evaluation treatment effects have to be based on, proves the relevance of independent psychological measurements. The Nuremberg Gerontopsychological Inventory NAI is introduced as a symptomatic-oriented approach for the assessment of therapeutically induced changes. It contains four distinct ways of treatment evaluations: (1) the level of assessment of cognitive functioning; (2) subject-rated well-being; (3) observer-rated activities-of-daily-living (e.g. by a nurse), and (4) examiner-rated personality traits. For all test procedures, norm scores as well as detailed test characteristics are computed. Interrelations between the independent data levels proved to be essential for a valid estimation of treatment effects.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Psychosocial guidance of nursing home personnel by group therapy. Basic considerations and initial experience].

Support groups for those professional caregivers who work in homes for the aged are seldom. Focussing on occupational stressors in this profession and the burnout research as a conceptual framework, a support group is introduced. To sustain the social competence and the coping skills of the caregivers are the basic aims of this group. Based on role taking and psychodrama as intervention techniques, outcomes from this group are discussed. Recommendations for future groups as a support system for caregivers in homes for the aged are derived.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Principles of multivariate memory diagnosis].

In this study results from experimental research on aging memory serve as a basis for standardized memory assessment techniques. By analyzing the covariations of nine memory tasks a structural memory model is proposed, which is shown to be invariant across ages 60 to 90. Findings concerning the external validity of the outlined memory model are discussed. Factorial invariance of memory performance is a prerequisite for detecting therapy-induced changes: It is only on the basis of psychometric test procedures, which have been shown to transcend the factors of age and performance level, that comparative evaluations of individual therapy effects are possible.

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PubMedDate not supplied

[Free recall and recognition of semantic material--a gerontopsychologic study of a two-phase model of reproduction].

Based on a sample of N = 145 subjects, 57 to 96 years of age, the generation-recognition model of recall (12) was investigated. Using standardized word lists, a differential effect of the word frequency on free recall and recognition is shown. The assumption of separate processes in free recall is thus confirmed. The difference score from recognition and recall is shown to be age-independent and difficult to interpret as retrieval score in the framework of other performance measures.

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PubMedDate not supplied

[Learned helplessness and depression in the aged. A study of the concept of Seligman's depression in the old age home].

Seligman's concept of "learned helplessness" is examined with a sample of rest-home residents. A semi-structured interview is used to assess attributions in the dimensions of internality, stability and generality for past, present, and future life-events. Interrelations of these attributions with depression and age-related self-esteem are investigated. According to Seligman's model elderly subjects with high scores in depression and age-related self-esteem tend to attribute negative life-events as internal, stable and global. Some other assumptions of the model of "learned helplessness" could not be confirmed. Methodological problems are discussed with respect to Seligman's theory of learned helplessness and depression in the elderly.

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PubMedDate not supplied

[The validity of "number repetition" in the aged].

The subtest Digit Span (Wechsler, 1945) is revealed as a frequently applied, standardized test procedure in the assessment of memory in the aged. A lot of studies show high degrees of age-dependence of the Digit Span task. Visually presented digits lead to a more distinct age-decline in reproduction. Practise effects can be observed even in old subjects with pathological symptoms. The hypothesis that the Digit Span score represents a basic intellectual function, which constitutes a prior condition for different other intellectual areas, is rejected. Memory span measured by the Digit Span task represents an independent component of cognitive functioning in old age. The Digit backwards task includes encoding procedures, which are not necessary for the Digit forwards task. A major problem in memory span research is that there are only a few longitudinal studies, which are concerned with this topic and enable conclusions for the underlying processes of a declining capacity of the short-term memory.

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PubMedDate not supplied

[Progress in psychogerontology at German universities].

The development of psychogerontology in Germany is described. First important publications in the 1950s and basic empirical investigations in the 1960s and 1970s were followed by the foundation of psychogerontological educational programs at the Universities of Kassel, Osnabrück-Vechta, Erlangen-Nuremberg and Heidelberg. With the foundation of the Deutsches Zentrum für Alternsforschung DZFA in 1996, German psychogerontology is now supported in a substantial way. In psychogeronotological research the Max-Planck-Institutions in Berlin and Munich play an influential role. Some major psychogerontological research projects and future developments in research are mentioned. Fundamental characteristics of the psychogerontological educational programs at the Universities of Kassel, Osnabrück, Erlangen-Nuremberg and Heidelberg are presented finally.

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