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PubMed1996

Ultrasonographic assessment of carotid wall characteristics and cognitive functions in a community sample of 59- to 71-year-olds. The EVA Study Group.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: This study was aimed at analyzing cross-sectional relationships between cognitive performance and ultrasonographic assessment of carotid wall characteristics. METHODS: A cohort of 1279 subjects (men, 41%) aged 59 to 71 years was recruited from the electoral rolls of the city of Nantes (western France). Cognitive performances were evaluated with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and seven neuropsychological tests assessing attention, psychomotor rapidity, verbal abilities, memory, and visuospatial perception. For each test, subjects were classified into three performance levels with a quartile distribution: 25% highest, 25% lowest, and 50% middle. The intima-media thickness of common carotid arteries and the presence of plaques in the carotid arteries were assessed with B-mode ultrasound examination. RESULTS: Only 28% of men and 17% of women had carotid plaques inducing moderate stenosis of the lumen ( < 40%). After adjustment for possible confounders, odds ratios for poor cognitive performance associated with plaques were above 1 for all cognitive tests in men. This association was statistically significant for the MMSE and another test assessing attention skills. There was a slight association between increase of the common carotid intima-media thickness and poor cognitive scores in men with plaques. In women, no association was found between cognitive functions and presence of plaques or intima-media thickness. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicated a moderate association between atherosclerosis of the carotid arteries and poor cognitive functioning in men aged 59 to 71 years. In view of these moderate cross-sectional results, further studies are required to better assess the relationship between carotid atherosclerosis and cognitive impairment.

Aged↗

PubMed2002

Improvement of cognitive function by mental and/or individualized aerobic training in healthy elderly subjects.

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of aerobic and mental training on cognitive function and to determine if the association of the two techniques shows better results. Thirty-two healthy elderly subjects (60 - 76 years) were assigned to one of four groups: aerobic training, mental training, combined aerobic and mental training and a control group. All subjects took two cognitive tests and an incremental exercise test before and after the training period. The intensity of exercise was individualized at the heart rate corresponding to the ventilatory threshold of each subject. After two months, the control group showed no alteration in physiological and cognitive variables. After the training period, the results showed a significant improvement in VO(2)max (F = 4.45, DF = 1, p < 0.05) of 12 % and 11 % in aerobic training and combined aerobic and mental training groups, respectively. Logical memory (F = 4.31, DF = 1, p < 0.05), as well as paired associates learning scores (F = 5.47, DF = 1, p < 0.05) and memory quotient (F = 6.52, DF = 1, p < 0.01) were significantly improved in the three trained groups. The mean difference in memory quotient between pre and post training was significantly higher in the combined aerobic and mental training group compared to aerobic training or mental training groups (F = 11.60, DF = 3, p < 0.001). We conclude that the specific aerobic training and mental training used in this study could induce the same degree of improvement in cognitive function and that combined training seemed to lead to greater effects than either technique alone.

Aged↗

PubMed1999

Cognitive functions after pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus: changes during silent period precede appearance of spontaneous recurrent seizures.

PURPOSE: To study the possible relation between spontaneous recurrent seizures (SRS) and the derangement of cognitive memory. METHODS: Status epilepticus (SE) was induced in adult Long-Evans rats by pilocarpine (320 mg/kg, i.p.) and interrupted after 2 h by clonazepam (CZPs mg/kg, i.p.). In addition to the animals that were given pilocarpine and CZP (group P), two groups received ketamine (100 mg/kg, i.p.): the first group 15 minutes after SE onset (group K15), and the second immediately after the CZP (group K120). Control groups were formed from animals not treated with pilocarpine as well as animals that received pilocarpine but did not develop motor seizures. Spatial cognitive memory was tested in the Morris water maze. RESULTS: Testing was impossible for more than 6 days after SE in group P. Ketamine shortened this period for the two groups that received it. During the silent period, deteriorated cognitive memory progressively improved, but the performance of group P started to worsen before the appearance of SRS. Group K120 only expressed a tendency toward declining performance, whereas group K15 never developed SRS, and the behavior of these animals did not differ from that of the controls after the postseizure period was over. Histologically, massive hippocampal cell loss was seen in group P. Ketamine protected hippocampal cells in a time-dependent manner; group K15 did not exhibit any obvious necrosis in the hippocampus. CONCLUSIONS: There is no close relation between cognitive functions and the appearance of SRS, because ketamine, administered 120 min after the beginning of SE, prevented the derangment of cognitive functions but not the appearance of SRSs.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

Temperature during cardiopulmonary bypass for coronary artery operations does not influence postoperative cognitive function: a prospective, randomized trial.

OBJECTIVE: The objective was to examine the effect of temperature (28 degrees vs 36 degrees C) during cardiopulmonary bypass on postoperative cognitive functions in a prospective, double-blind, and randomized manner. METHODS: Sixty-two patients scheduled for coronary operations were randomized to warm or cold cardiopulmonary bypass. Preoperative and postoperative (7 days) neuropsychologic evaluations were performed by an observer unaware of cardiopulmonary bypass temperature. RESULTS: Fifty-four patients completed the study (cold bypass, n = 24; warm bypass, n = 30). Significant (p < 0.01) postoperative deterioration for tests of psychomotor coordination and verbal memory was noted in both warm and cold groups, but no differences were observed between groups. CONCLUSION: Temperature during cardiopulmonary bypass for coronary operations does not influence postoperative cognitive function.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor improves long-term potentiation and cognitive functions after transient forebrain ischemia in the rat.

We investigated the effect of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) on hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) and cognitive functions after global cerebral ischemia in the rat. After four-vessel occlusion, BDNF was administered via an osmotic minipump continuously over 14 days intracerebroventricularly. Electrophysiological experiments were performed 14 days after cerebral ischemia. Test stimuli and tetanization were delivered to the Schaffer collaterals of the hippocampus and field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (fEPSP) were recorded in the CA1 region. Cognitive impairment was analyzed repeatedly with a passive avoidance test, a hole-board test, and with an activity center on the same animal. In sham-operated animals, LTP was consistantly induced after delivering a tetanus (increase of initial slope of fEPSP to 173 +/- 12% of baseline; n = 6). After transient forebrain ischemia LTP could not be induced (117 +/- 4% of baseline; n = 7). In ischemic animals treated with BDNF, LTP could be induced (168 +/- 28% of baseline; n = 8). Transient forebrain ischemia resulted in a significant decrease in spatial discrimination performance but not of associative memory. The ratios for working memory (WM) and reference memory (RM) 15 days after ischemia were lower in the ischemic rats (n = 10) than in the sham-operated control animals (n = 10; WM: 22 +/- 6 vs 72 +/- 7; RM: 30 +/- 7 vs 72 +/- 5). Postischemic intracerebroventricular BDNF infusion increased both WM (63 +/- 4; n = 10) and RM (58 +/- 5; n = 10). The spontaneous locomotor activity did not differ significantly in the three groups. These data indicate a protective effect of BDNF for synaptic transmission and cognitive functions after transient forebrain ischemia.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[The loss of close person and the cognitive functions of persons with Alzheimer type dementia].

AIM: The aim of the present investigations was qualification of influence of loss of near and dear persons on cognitive functions in persons with Alzheimer's disease. METHOD: The initial population consisted of all the people who in the period from 1/02 to 30/10/2000 were treated at one of the following psychiatric treatment institutions: psychiatric ward of the hospital, psychiatric regional outpatient clinic, psychiatric department. The qualifying criteria were:--patient's consent to the examinations;--possibility of obtaining an objective interview;--no psychic diseases in the interview;--recognition of dementia syndrome on the basis of DSM IV criteria. 59 persons have been qualified for the examinations. After qualifying the patient basic examination was being conducted and consisted of the following elements:--Mini Mental Scale Examination (MMSE);--Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale: AMDP scale--inventory 3--anamnesis was applied to obtain history data. RESULTS: The investigations showed a possible relationship between stress factors and degree of cognitive function.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1995

Effects of antidepressants on cognitive functions: a review.

The widespread use of antidepressants since the late 1950s and especially the ambulatory treatment of the majority of depressive patients raises the issue of the state of knowledge of the effects of these drugs on cognitive function. This review aims at synthesizing information about differential effects of antidepressants on cognitive function to facilitate good prescription. The first part of this review tries to summarize the main tasks used to explore global reactivity, attention, memory and psychomotor performances. The second part of this work presents the differential cognitive effects of antidepressants with a discrimination between substances which have a sedative impact, antidepressants with no cognitive effect, and drugs which seem to have a positive cognitive action. The differenciation is established for single and repeated administration, for healthy volunteers and depressed subjects. For each substance, the dose, the tasks selected and cognitive effect are discussed and the question of the real benefit of this cognitive impact is raised. The specificity of cognitive effects of antidepressants related to age and to the combination with alcohol are also tackled. Then the discussion raises the difficulty and the biases encountered to perform neuropsychological studies and particularly evaluation of cognitive effects of antidepressants. Finally the conclusion of this review gives some advice to select and prescribe antidepressants according to their cognitive effects.

Antidepressive Agents↗

PubMed1995

Functional MR imaging of perceptual and cognitive functions.

Functional MR imaging using the blood oxygen level dependent technique as an endogenous contrast agent localizes eloquent cortex when stimulated by a variety of motor or sensory tasks. To date, visual, motor, speech, and cerebellar studies have been conducted, revealing significant information regarding cortical localization and control of various functions. The technique is also an important management tool for localizing eloquent cortex contiguous to a tumor or arteriovenous malformation, so that injury can be avoided if ablation of the lesion is contemplated.

Cerebellum↗

PubMed2005

Apolipoprotein E, cardiovascular disease and cognitive function in aging women.

The apolipoprotein E (APOE) e4 allele increases risk of Alzheimer disease and cardiovascular diseases. We examined APOE genotypes alone or combined with cardiovascular conditions in relation to cognitive function in 4227 Nurses' Health Study participants, 70-80 years old. From 1995 to 2001, and again 2 years later, participants received telephone cognitive assessments of general cognition, category fluency, verbal memory and working memory. In biennial questionnaires since 1976, participants have provided extensive health information including cardiovascular conditions. Compared with women with the e3/3 genotype, e4 carriers performed worse at baseline across all tests (mean global composite score was lower by 0.10 points (95% confidence interval=-0.15, -0.05)) and declined more (mean change in global score was -0.07 points (95% CI=-0.12, -0.03)), with a strong allele dose-response trend (P-trend=0.0003). Among participants 75+ years, e2 carriers performed best. Women with an e4 allele and cardiovascular conditions such as transient ischemic attack or untreated hypertension had the worst cognition. Thus, APOE genotypes strongly influenced cognitive function and decline; prevention of cardiovascular disease may limit these effects.

Aged↗

PubMed1981

The relationship between the Rorschach whole response and level of cognitive functioning.

Investigated the relationship between children's level of cognitive development and their production of whole responses (W) on the Rorschach, Both quantitative and qualitative variations in W were examined, and level of cognitive functioning was assessed by Piagetian techniques. The findings indicate that there is a significant and positive relationship between children's stage of cognitive development within the Piagetian framework and the number and complexity of whole responses they produce on the Rorschach. The strength of this relationship appears to be significantly influenced by the stimulus complexity of the inkblots, and the findings suggest that production of highly articulated W on the more complex broken blots requires the abstracting and synthesizing abilities associated with formal operational thought.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

Association between cognitive functioning and employment status of persons with bipolar disorder.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to identify variables associated with employment status among persons with bipolar disorder, including cognitive functioning, severity of symptoms, demographic variables, and variables related to course of illness. METHODS: The authors assessed the current employment status of 117 persons with bipolar disorder. Study participants' cognitive functioning was evaluated with the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status, the information and letter-number sequencing subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale III, and part A of the Trail Making Test. Symptoms were rated by using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, the Hamilton Depression Scale, and the Young Mania Rating Scale. A stepwise multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to predict employment status. RESULTS: Fifty-one percent of the study participants had no current work activity, 21 percent worked part-time or as volunteers, and 27 percent had full-time competitive employment. Current employment status was significantly associated with cognitive performance, especially immediate verbal memory, total symptom severity, history of psychiatric hospitalization, and maternal education. No association was found between employment status and history of psychotic symptoms, number of years of education, or age at onset of illness. CONCLUSIONS: Vocational programs for persons with bipolar disorder would benefit from inclusion of a formal cognitive assessment to better assess work potential and to study the predictors of work-related outcomes.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Prospective assessment of estrogen replacement therapy and cognitive functioning: atherosclerosis risk in communities study.

Studies of humans have not confirmed the suggestion from animal studies that estrogen replacement therapy may have an inverse relation with cognitive function decline. Because many of these studies have been marred by design or methodological problems, such as a small sample size, failure to control for confounding variables, or the use of a cross-sectional design, the present study was conducted in a large cohort of middle-aged postmenopausal women participating in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study. The study population consisted of 2,859 women aged 48-67 years, whose cognitive function was tested at the second (1990-1992) and fourth (1996-1998) visits of the ARIC Study using three instruments: the Delayed Word Recall Test, Digit Symbol Subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised, and Word Fluency Test. After multiple adjustment, no consistent patterns of cognitive changes between the two cohort visits could be detected according to current use or duration of use of estrogen replacement therapy. Thus, the results of the present study do not support the hypothesis that estrogen replacement therapy may slow age-related cognitive decline, at least as it applies to relatively young postmenopausal women.

Aged↗

PubMed2001

Cognitive functions in workers exposed to toluene: evaluation at least 48 hours after removal from exposure.

OBJECTIVES: Long-term exposure to toluene may result in subtle impairment of cognitive functions. However, it is not clear whether this impairment is due to the presence of the solvent in the body or if it persists after its elimination from blood. The aim of this study is to compare cognitive functions between toluene-exposed workers (at least 48 h after removal from exposure) and non-exposed workers. METHODS: Seventy-two workers exposed for at least 5 years to toluene (9 to 467 ppm) completed a questionnaire and psychometric tests. The results were compared with those of 61 non-exposed workers. An alveolar air sample was taken just before the tests to ensure the absence of toluene. RESULTS: Results of the vocabulary test were slightly better in exposed (correct words: 21 +/- 0.6) than in non-exposed workers (19 +/- 0.8) (P < 0.05). No differences were found for simple reaction time, digit symbol, digit span, continuous tracking test, color word and switching attention test. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study do not support the notion of the persistence of cognitive effects of toluene after elimination of the solvent from blood.

Cognition↗

PubMed1997

Effects of group exercise on cognitive functioning and mood in older women.

A randomised controlled trial was conducted to determine whether a 12-month program of group exercise had beneficial effects on physiological and cognitive functioning and mood in 187 older community-dwelling women. The exercisers (n = 94) and controls (n = 93) were well matched in terms of the test measures and a number of health and life-style assessments. The mean number of classes attended by the 71 exercise subjects who completed the program was 59.0 (range 26 to 82). At the end of the trial, the exercisers showed significant improvements in reaction time, strength, memory span and measures of wellbeing when compared with the controls. There was also an indication that anxiety had been reduced in the exercisers. Within the exercise group, improvements in memory span were associated with concomitant improvements in both reaction time and muscle strength. Also, within this group, initial mood measures were significantly inversely associated with improvements at retest, which suggests that the program may have normalised mood states in subjects who had high initial depression, anxiety and stress levels, rather than inducing improvements in all subjects. These findings suggest that group exercise has beneficial effects on physiological and cognitive functioning and wellbeing in older people.

Affect↗

PubMed1998

Influence of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids on infant cognitive function.

Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) are important for normal visual and cortical development. In a previous study of the effects of LCPUFA on cognitive function of term infants at the age of 3 mon, we indicated that infants with evidence of reduced growth parameters at birth and impaired attention control as manifested by a late peak fixation during infant habituation assessment may benefit from LCPUFA supplementation. The aim of this prospective study was to determine whether LCPUFA supplementation and late peak fixation are related to means-end problem-solving ability in these same infants at the age of 9 mon. Term infants (58) were randomized to one of two formulas containing either LCPUFA or no LCPUFA and completed 4 mon of feeding with their formula. Cognitive function was assessed at 3 mon of age by measures of infant habituation. Infants (20 LCPUFA and 20 no-LCPUFA) completed the problem-solving assessment at 9 mon. The no-LCPUFA group had lower scores on both measures of intention and number of solutions, but neither of these differences was significant. Analysis of covariance for the effects of group and peak fixation, covaried with gestation and birth weight, showed that the number of solutions was significantly reduced in the late peak-fixation infants receiving no LCPUFA (P<0.02). Intention scores tended to be reduced in this group (P<0.06). The late peak-fixation infants who received LCPUFA had solution and intention scores similar to early peak-fixation infants receiving LCPUFA or no LCPUFA. These findings suggest that in term infants who have reduced growth parameters at birth and who show evidence of impaired attention control, information processing and problem-solving ability in infancy may be enhanced by LCPUFA supplementation.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Acute severe isovolemic anemia impairs cognitive function and memory in humans.

BACKGROUND: Erythrocytes are transfused to prevent or treat inadequate oxygen delivery resulting from insufficient hemoglobin concentration. Previous studies failed to find evidence of inadequate systemic oxygen delivery at a hemoglobin concentration of 5 g/dl. However, in those studies, sensitive, specific measures of critical organ function were not used. This study tested the hypothesis that acute severe decreases of hemoglobin concentration alters human cognitive function. METHODS: Nine healthy volunteers, age 29 +/- 5 yr (mean +/- SD), were tested with verbal memory and standard, computerized neuropsychologic tests before and after acute isovolemic reduction of their hemoglobin to 7, 6, and 5 g/dl and again after transfusion of their autologous erythrocytes to return their hemoglobin concentration to 7 g/dl. To control for duration of the experiment, each volunteer also completed the same tests on a separate day, without alteration of hemoglobin, at times of the day approximately equivalent to those on the experimental day. RESULTS: No test showed any change in reaction time or error rate at hemoglobin concentration of 7 g/dl compared with the data at the baseline hemoglobin concentration of 14 g/dl. Reaction time, but not error rate, for horizontal addition and digit-symbol substitution test (DSST) increased at hemoglobin 6 g/dl (mean horizontal addition, 19%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4-34%; mean DSST, 10%; 95% CI, 4-17%) and further at 5 g/dl (mean horizontal addition, 43%; 95% CI, 6-79%; mean DSST, 18%; 95% CI, 4-31%). Immediate and delayed memory was degraded at hemoglobin 5 g/dl but not at 6 g/dl. Return of hemoglobin to 7 g/dl returned all tests to baseline, except for the DSST, which significantly improved, and returned to baseline the following morning after transfusion of all autologous erythrocytes. CONCLUSION: Acute reduction of hemoglobin concentration to 7 g/dl does not produce detectable changes in human cognitive function. Further reduction of hemoglobin level to 6 and 5 g/dl produces subtle, reversible increases in reaction time and impaired immediate and delayed memory. These are the first prospective data to demonstrate subtle degraded human function with acute anemia of hemoglobin concentrations of 6 and 5 g/dl. This reversibility of these decrements with erythrocyte transfusion suggests that our model can be used to test the efficacy of erythrocytes, oxygen therapeutics, or other treatments for acute anemia.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Cognitive functioning, neurologic status and brain imaging in classical galactosemia.

A historical group of 45 children (4-18 years) and adults (18-39 years) with classical galactosemia had deficits of cognitive function that were variable and not related to the age at diagnosis or to severity of illness at presentation. There was a trend for patients to score highest on visual processing tasks. The standardized tests of speech and memory skills fell within the same range as the Broad Cognitive Ability score, indicating that the speech and language deficits may be part of a more global set of cognitive impairments. Scores on the Beery Visual Motor Integration and Block Design Tests fell in approximately the same range as other cognitive abilities. In addition, there was a high incidence of abnormality detected on MRI and 12 patients had neurologic symptoms that included ataxia, tremor and dysmetria. These abnormalities did not correlate with the age at diagnosis, severity of illness at presentation or scores on cognitive testing. The pathophysiology of neurologic and neuropsychologic impairments remains unknown. Since these appear to be unrelated to the duration of galactose exposure, other factors impacting on outcome need to be understood so that strategies can be developed to improve what appears to be a global impairment of cognitive function.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

The role of polyhalogenated aromatic hydrocarbons on thyroid hormone disruption and cognitive function: a review.

Thyroid hormones (TH) are essential to normal brain development, influencing behavior and cognitive function in both adult and children. It is suggested that conditions found in TH abnormalities such as hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism and generalized resistance to thyroid hormone (GRTH) share symptomatic behavioral impulses found in cases of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other cognitive disorders. Disrupters of TH are various and prevalent in the environment. This paper reviews the mechanisms of TH disruption caused by the general class of polyhalogenated aromatic hydrocarbons (PHAH)'s acting as thyroid disrupters (TD). PHAHs influence the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis, as mimicry agents affecting synthesis and secretion of TH. Exposure to PHAH induces liver microsomal enzymes UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) resulting in accelerated clearance of TH. PHAHs can compromise function of transport and receptor binding proteins such as transthyretin and aryl hydrocarbon receptors (Ahr). Glucose metabolism and catecholamine synthesis are disrupted in the brain by the presence of PHAH. Further, PHAH can alter brain growth and development by perturbing cytoskeletal formation, thereby affecting neuronal migration, elongation and branching. The complex relationships between PHAH and cognitive function are examined in regard to the disruption of T4 regulation in the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid axis, blood, brain, neurons, liver and pre and postnatal development.

Animals↗