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Results for “Cognitive function”

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At least 1,225 records · Page 68Linked to original sources

PubMed2000

Children with congenital diaphragmatic hernia are at risk for lower levels of cognitive functioning and increased emotional and behavioral problems.

The physical, psychological, and social functioning of 11 children aged 8 to 12 years with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH) was assessed with several standardized assessment procedures. Physically, most children functioned well at follow-up with half of the children showing minor physical problems such as bronchial hyperreactivity. The mean IQ of the children was 15 points (1 SD) below the norm of 100. Only 6 children were at expected school level. The children showed more emotional and behavioral problems than in the general population as reported by parents and teachers. The children themselves reported more depressive problems, but not a lower self-esteem than children in the general population. These results were confirmed by the results of interviews with parents and children concerning psychosocial functioning. It is concluded that children with CDH show more cognitive and learning problems and increased rates of emotional and behavioral problems compared to children in the general population. Since no children treated with Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) were involved in this study, the earlier reports that lower cognitive functioning is limited to children with CDH treated with ECMO can not be confirmed by this study. Considering the results of this study, there is a need for further follow-up studies concerning the long-term psychological and social functioning of children with CDH.

Child↗

PubMed2002

Olfactory acuity and cognitive function converge in older adulthood: support for the common cause hypothesis.

Visual and auditory thresholds and cognitive variables have shown converging losses in old age, which might exist because standard cognitive tests rely on these modalities for assessment. The present study investigated the common cause hypothesis in another sensory modality. Structural equation modeling tested the fit of a model representing the common cause hypothesis for olfactory acuity and cognitive function data from 98 nondemented older adults and 103 younger adults. The model fit better the data from the older adults, consistent with the common cause hypothesis. In addition, unique influences of age beyond those shared between cognitive and sensory variables were also demonstrated. The results suggest that olfactory functioning may be a valid indicator of the integrity of the aging brain in older adults.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[The neuropharmacological restoration of cognitive functions in cats after damage to the forebrain basal nuclei (Meynert's nucleus)].

The cognitive functions were studied on experimental model of Alzheimer's disease (destruction of the basal nuclei of Meynert in cats) using the stimulation and inhibition of Ach, GABA, and DA brain systems. Ach system was found to be essential to form generalization function, DA system to improve simple learning, and GABA system to involve in formation of complex associations.

Alzheimer Disease↗

PubMed1991

The impact of human immunodeficiency virus on cognitive function.

It is now recognized that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can directly impact on cognitive function, particularly in patients with AIDS. Whether HIV affects neuropsychologic performance in otherwise asymptomatic seropositive individuals is controversial, and several large studies have not detected performance changes in the asymptomatic patient. However, our work and the work of several other groups suggest that the influence of HIV on cognition may be detected even at this early stage.

AIDS Dementia Complex↗

PubMed1994

Cognitive functioning and depression in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and multiple sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess cognitive function in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and multiple sclerosis (MS) and to evaluate the role of depressive symptoms in cognitive performance. DESIGN: Case-control. All subjects were given a neuropsychological battery, self-report measures of depression and fatigue, and a global cognitive impairment rating by a neuropsychologist "blinded" to clinical diagnosis. Patients with MS and CFS were additionally evaluated with a Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Revised Third Edition) disorders. SETTING: Institutional and private neurological practices and the community at large. PATIENTS: Twenty patients with CFS diagnosed in accord with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-revised criteria who had cognitive complaints; 20 patients with clinically definite MS who were ambulatory and were matched for fatigue severity, age, and education to CFS subjects; and 20 age- and education-matched healthy controls. RESULTS: Patients with CFS had significantly elevated depression symptoms compared with patients with MS and healthy controls (P < .001) and had a greater lifetime prevalence of depression and dysthymia compared with MS subjects. Patients with CFS, relative to controls, performed more poorly on the Digit Symbol subtest (P = .023) and showed a trend for poorer performance on logical memory (P = .087). Patients with MS compared with controls had more widespread differences of greater magnitude on the Digit Span (P < .004) and Digit Symbol (P < .001), Trail Making parts A (P = .022) and B (P = .037), and Controlled Oral Word Association (P = .043) tests. Patients with MS also showed a trend of poorer performance on the Booklet Category Test (P = .089). When patients with CFS and MS were directly compared, MS subjects had lower scores on all measures, but the differences reached significance only for the Digit Span measure of attention (P = .035). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with CFS compared with MS have more depressive symptoms but less cognitive impairment. Relative to controls, a subset of CFS subjects did poorly on tests of visuomotor search and on the logical memory measure of the Wechsler Memory Scale-revised. Poor performance of logical memory in CFS appears to be related to depression, while visuomotor deficits in CFS are unrelated. Cognitive deficits in patients with MS are more widespread compared with those in patients with CFS and are independent of depressive symptoms.

Adult↗

PubMed1983

Cognitive functioning of solvent abusers.

Cognitive dysfunction and solvent abuse have been found to be closely related, but the precise nature of this relationship remains obscure. Twenty eight non-active solvent abusing and 20 non-abusing adolescents were given tests of non-verbal and verbal intelligence, arithmetic, literacy level and learning ability. In addition, they were asked three standard questions about their spare time activities and future orientation. The results clearly indicated that, while the two groups did not significantly differ in potential abilities, the abusers performed significantly poorly on all but one test of acquired abilities. The abusers were found to be less future orientated, were 'bored' with themselves. The aetiological implications of the study are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1990

[Plasma anticholinergic activity and cognitive function in geriatric patients].

This study evaluated the putative impact of circulating anticholinergic equivalents on cognitive functional performance in non-demented geropsychiatric inpatients. Standard rating instruments were administered to measure memory functions, concentration and overall functional competency. Anticholinergic plasma activity was assayed, using a radioreceptor technique with tritiated quinuclidinyl benzilate as the active reagent. None of the cognitive tests employed indicated a statistically significant change in the subjects' quantifiable level of cognitive performance. All changes in anticholinergic activities were related to adjustments in psychotherapeutic medications. The possible role of reversal of pseudodementing features is discussed as well as the potential for monitoring anticholinergic activity when treating elderly individuals with more than one centrally active medication having anticholinergic properties.

Aged↗

PubMed1996

The influence of diabetes, hypertension, and stroke on ethnic differences in physical and cognitive functioning in an ethnically diverse older population.

Prevention of decline in cognitive and physical functioning in the elderly has become an important focus in geriatric medicine. Hispanics are among the fastest-growing group of elderly in the United States, yet few data are available on functional impairments in this group. We examined the association between ethnicity (non-Hispanic whites [NHW], English-speaking Hispanics [EH], and Spanish-speaking Hispanics [SH]) and cognitive status, self-assessed functional status, and physical performance in a community-dwelling sample of 589 people aged > or = 60 years. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between ethnicity and these measures of functional status and to evaluate the influence of comorbid stroke, diabetes, and hypertension on this association. We found that EH and SH had significantly lower scores on the MiniMental State Exam than NHW, but that this difference was almost entirely due to educational level. When SH whose educational attainment was grade 8 or higher were compared to NHWs, there were no differences in cognitive functioning. Those with diabetes and stroke had poorer cognitive functioning. Among those with stroke, EH and SH women had more self-assessed functional limitations (IADLs and ADLs) than NHW. Male SH and EH with diabetes also had more self-assessed functional limitations than NHW. SH with two or three of these conditions had more IADL limitations. Our results suggest that elderly community-dwelling Hispanics experience greater levels of disability and that this is due, in part, to lower socioeconomic status and higher prevalence of disabling conditions.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Glutathione in cognitive function and neurodegeneration].

OBJECTIVE: To review the main findings on the glutathione role in cognitive function and synaptic plasticity processes, as well as, its involvement in neurotrophic and neurodegenerative events in rodents. DEVELOPMENT: The tripeptide glutathione and its related enzymes participate in the maintenance of oxidant homeostasis in aerobic cells. Oxidative damage to neuronal components underlies the molecular basis of neurodegeneration and brain aging. Several biomolecules with redox dependent activity are involved in the neuronal plasticity events that have a role in learning and memory functions. The maintenance of normal glutathione level is important for acquisition, but not consolidation, of spatial memory. Glutathione unavailability induces failures in hippocampal synaptic plasticity mechanisms, which are possibly related to a spatial memory deficit. On the other hand, several studies have suggested that the beneficial effects of neurotrophic treatments are mediated by the modulation of antioxidant defense mechanisms. In fact, nerve growth factor treatment to cognitively impaired rats stimulates glutathione reductase and can prevent the increases in glutathione peroxidase activity, pointing these enzymes as possible intracellular targets of neurotrophin actions on oxidant homeostasis. CONCLUSION: There is a closed link between glutathione metabolism and oxidant homeostasis, which is expressed in learning and synaptic plasticity deficits in conditions of low glutathione content, as well as, in neurodegeneration induced glutathione metabolism changes that can be prevented by neurotrophic treatment

Aging↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of cigarette smoking history on cognitive functioning in healthy older adults.

OBJECTIVE: The authors assessed the unique effect of smoking history on cognitive functioning after adjusting for demographic factors such as age, education, and gender, and presence of vascular illness. METHODS: A sample of 127 healthy older adults (29 men, 98 women) between the ages of 47 and 83 (mean: 66.9) were administered a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. Information regarding risk for vascular illness was assessed with a detailed self-report history and/or medical examination. Smoking history was gathered with a self-report questionnaire, and a composite score reflecting amount and duration of cigarette use was computed. From this composite score, three smoking groups were created: None-Light, Moderate, and Heavy smokers. RESULTS: Analyses of covariance, using age, education, gender, and vascular status as the covariates, revealed that the heavy smokers performed significantly poorer than the other groups on two scores from a test assessing executive function/problem-solving (Wisconsin Card-Sorting Test), but not on any of the other cognitive tests. CONCLUSIONS: Consistent with previous findings, smoking history did not appear to have deleterious effects on most cognitive domains. Heavy smoking history, however, did appear to affect performance on a measure of executive functioning.

Aged↗

PubMed2005

Prediction of the level of cognitive functional independence in acute care following traumatic brain injury.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: To determine a predictive model for cognitive functional outcome of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) at discharge from acute care. METHODS AND PROCEDURE: Three hundred and thirty-five patients were included in this analysis. Variables considered were age, education, initial score on the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), duration of post-traumatic amnesia (PTA), cerebral imaging results and the need for neurosurgical intervention. EXPERIMENTAL INTERVENTIONS: Functional Independence Measure (FIM). MAIN OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Results of this analysis indicated better cognitive FIM at discharge from acute care settings for patients with TBI when PTA was less than 24 hours, when level of education was higher, when no parietal lesion was identified, when no neurosurgical intervention was required, for patients with TBI who were younger and who presented with a higher GCS score upon admission. CONCLUSIONS: This model will help to plan resource allocation for treatment and discharge planning within the first weeks following TBI.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed1985

Levels of cognitive functioning: evaluation of interrater reliability.

This study examined the reliability of the Levels of Cognitive Functioning Scale, an observational tool used to assess head-injured patients. Twenty-two undergraduate and ten graduate students viewed videotapes of four patients at various levels and rated each using the scale. Findings indicate a high percent agreement of subjects with each other for the four patient examples and with the correct level (p less than .001). These results suggest that this assessment tool may be useful in planning nursing interventions.

Cognition↗

PubMed2004

Improvement in cognitive function following a switch to ziprasidone from conventional antipsychotics, olanzapine, or risperidone in outpatients with schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE: To assess changes in cognitive function in stable outpatients with schizophrenia switched to ziprasidone from conventional antipsychotics (n = 108), olanzapine (n = 104), or risperidone (n = 58) because of suboptimal efficacy or poor tolerability. METHODS: In three separate 6-week trials, patients received ziprasidone 40 mg b.i.d. for 2 days, followed by 20-80 mg b.i.d. for the next 40 days. Before switching, and at endpoint, patients were evaluated with tests of working and secondary verbal memory, vigilance, visuomotor speed, verbal fluency, and executive functioning. Principal components factor analysis was performed to test for clustering of cognitive variables. RESULTS: Significant improvements were seen at endpoint in secondary verbal memory (in all three groups), vigilance (in patients switched from conventional antipsychotics or risperidone), executive function (in patients switched from conventional antipsychotics or risperidone), and verbal fluency. Factor analysis on baseline scores suggested reduction of the cognitive variables to three factors: verbal skills, attention and short-term memory, and executive functioning. Analysis of z-transformed mean change in factor scores showed significant improvement in verbal skills and global score following the switch from conventional antipsychotics, olanzapine, or risperidone. CONCLUSIONS: Patients requiring a change in antipsychotic therapy may exhibit cognitive improvement following a switch to ziprasidone.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Changes in cognitive function after neuronal cell transplantation for basal ganglia stroke.

Reported is the change in cognitive function after neuronal cell transplantation as a treatment for basal ganglia stroke. Nine subjects (two controls, seven transplants), all over 2 years post stroke, completed a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery prior to and 6 months after treatment. Four transplanted subjects who had strokes in the nondominant hemisphere showed marked improvement on the Rey Complex Figure, a test of visuospatial/constructional ability and nonverbal memory.

Aged↗

PubMed1985

Alcohol use and cognitive functioning in men and women college students.

Two studies of the relationship between alcohol consumption and cognitive functioning in men and women college students are presented. Study 1 showed several predicted relationships of decreased cognitive performance on various tests with increased quantity of alcohol per occasion and total lifetime consumption in both women and men. Study 2a was designed to replicate study 1, but the pattern of relationship of cognitive and consumption variables was quite different, e.g., increased cognitive performance was associated with increased quantity per occasion for several tests in males. Study 2b was designed to demonstrate reversibility of the negative effects of consumption on cognition by randomly assigning half of the subjects to abstain for two weeks. Reversibility was not demonstrated. Difficulties in studying these effects in college students are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Alpha-linolenic acid supplementation during human pregnancy does not effect cognitive functioning.

Increasing evidence suggests a positive association between docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) and cognitive performance. In addition, pregnancy is associated with a reduction of the DHA status and cognitive deficits. In the current study, cognition was assessed in pregnant women receiving a margarine enriched with alpha-linolenic acid (ALA, 18:3n-3, the ultimate dietary precursor of DHA) and some linoleic acid (LA, 18:2n-6, to prevent a possible reduction in n-6 fatty acids). A control group received a margarine enriched with LA only. ALA supplementation hardly affected the maternal DHA status and no significant differences were found in cognitive performance between the two groups. This indicates that ALA supplementation during pregnancy does not affect cognitive performance during and 32 weeks after gestation. At week 14 of pregnancy and 32 weeks after delivery, higher plasma DHA levels were associated with lower cognitive performance as indicated by longer reaction times on the finger precuing task (partial correlation coefficients 0.3705 and 0.4633, respectively, P<0.01). Since this could imply an unexpected adverse association between DHA and certain aspects of cognitive functioning this certainly needs further investigation.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Cortisol and dehydroepiandosterone sulfate plasma levels and their relationship to aging, cognitive function, and dementia.

We have studied the relationship between dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), cortisol, and cognitive function in a population of demented patients (n=29), age-matched controls (n=46), and younger subjects (n=11). All were submitted to morning collection of blood for determination of plasma cortisol and DHEAS measured by 125I radioimmunoassay. DHEAS levels and cortisol/DHEAS ratios were significantly different among groups with higher DHEAS levels and lower cortisol/DHEAS ratios in younger people (Bonferroni p<.05). Cortisol levels were associated to the presence of dementia (Odds ratio=.93; 95% CI,.86-1.01). There was no difference between DHEAS levels of demented and age-matched controls; however, demented patients showed a trend for higher cortisol/DHEAS ratios than age-matched controls and the latter showed higher ratio values than younger subjects. DHEAS and cortisol plasma values were significantly correlated in all individuals (p<.01). In this study cortisol was independently associated to the presence of dementia.

Aged↗

PubMed1989

Cognitive function and regional cerebral blood flow in partial seizures.

Patients with partial seizures have cognitive function impairments that have been attributed to the toxic side effects of anticonvulsants and structural cerebral damage. However, even when these factors are absent, neuropsychological (NP) deficits have been demonstrated, although of milder degree than in structurally brain-damaged patients. Assessment of cerebral metabolism using positron emission tomography and cerebral blood flow with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) reveals focal physiologic deficits in structurally normal areas. Using both SPECT and NP assessment with the Halstead-Reitan Battery, we evaluated 50 patients with partial seizures. Comparison of the location of visually identified regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) deficits in these patients with the location of the NP deficits revealed a significant correlation. Additional analyses indicated that rCBF quantification in visually identified areas of hypoperfusion was significantly lower than in "normal" areas and that quantified NP variables significantly discriminated patients with and without visual rCBF deficits in temporal and frontal brain regions.

Adult↗