Year-end Sale % OFF 
Abstract
Behavioural and imaging studies of young adult carriers of the APOE ε4 allele (ε4+), the strongest genetic risk factor for sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD), have demonstrated inconsistent performance differences when compared to non-ε4 carriers (ε4-). Differential responses to cognitive complexity or load may underlie the differences observed. Therefore, we examined whether an intensive time-pressured battery of cognitive tests would result in genotype performance differences. Young adults (25 ε4+ and 24 ε4-, aged 18–28 years) were administered an intensive time-pressured 30-minute battery of cognitive assessments, comprising arithmetic, WAIS digit span, prospective memory card-sort, colour stroop, and digit-symbol substitution tasks. Additional measures included NART-IQ, a Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the GRIT test of subjective effort. One-way ANOVAs (covarying for additional factors e.g. NART-IQ, trait anxiety) assessed differences in time-challenged cognitive performance. No genotype differences were seen in performance accuracy. ε4+ demonstrated slower performance across cognitive tasks with a reaction time component, including the arithmetic addition, subtraction, and switching tasks (p<.05). ε4- reported significantly greater subjective effort throughout. Differences in NART-IQ and anxiety scores may contribute: the ε4+ carriers exhibited higher IQ and trait anxiety scores than their ε4- peers. This study presents preliminary data exploring effects of cognitive challenge induced by a time-pressured battery of tasks. There was some evidence that genotype differences were associated with different strategies, with ε4+ taking more time, and ε4+ applying more effort, under a time-pressured paradigm. Future work will explore whether genotype differences reflect different responses to time intensive vs cognitive complexity manipulations, and whether any genotype differences are associated with structural or functional brain activation patterns.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
