Cognitive Profile Research Articles

Neuropsychological functioning of adults with PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome.

PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome (PHTS) might be associated with a distinct cognitive and psychological profile. However, previous studies are limited, predominantly based on small and pediatric cohorts, likely affected by selection bias, and show a broad range of findings. We aimed to characterize the neuropsychological functioning of adults with PHTS. A total of 40 participants, with intellectual disability as exclusion criterium, completed an extensive clinical neuropsychological assessment including cognitive tasks, questionnaires, and a clinical diagnostic interview. The cognitive tasks and questionnaire data were categorized as below and above average based on 1.5 SD. About 80% of participants showed an average level of intelligence. In addition, 30% and 24% of participants scored below average on immediate memory recall and speed of information processing, respectively. Furthermore, about 25% reported above average scores on the majority of the questionnaires, indicating psychological distress, signs of alexithymia, and cognitive complaints. Personality of participants was characterized by inflexibility, social withdrawal, and difficulties in recognizing and describing their own emotions. Adults with PHTS demonstrate a heterogeneous yet distinct neuropsychological profile that is characterized by slower information processing, psychological problems, and specific personality traits. These findings provide directions on how to optimize the care and daily lives of adults with PHTS.

Moral foundations in autistic people and people with systemizing minds

BackgroundDo autistic people share the same moral foundations as typical people? Here we built on two prominent theories in psychology, moral foundations theory and the empathizing–systemizing (E–S) theory, to observe the nature of morality in autistic people and systemizers.MethodsIn dataset 1, we measured five foundations of moral judgements (Care, Fairness, Loyalty, Authority, and Sanctity) measured by the Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ) in autistic (n = 307) and typical people (n = 415) along with their scores on the Empathy Quotient (EQ) and Systemizing Quotient (SQ). In dataset 2, we measured these same five foundations along with E–S cognitive types (previously referred to as “brain types”) in a large sample of typical people (N = 7595).ResultsAutistic people scored the same on Care (i.e., concern for others) as typical people (h1). Their affective empathy (but not their cognitive empathy) scores were positively correlated with Care. Autistic people were more likely to endorse Fairness (i.e., giving people what they are owed, and treating them with justice) over Care (h2). Their systemizing scores were positively correlated with Fairness. Autistic people or those with a systemizing cognitive profile had lower scores on binding foundations: Loyalty, Authority, and Sanctity (h3). Systemizing in typical people was positively correlated with Liberty (i.e., hypervigilance against oppression), which is a sixth moral foundation (h4). Although the majority of people in all five E–S cognitive types self-identified as liberal, with a skew towards empathizing (h5), the percentage of libertarians was highest in systemizing cognitive types (h6). E–S cognitive types accounted for 2 to 3 times more variance for Care than did sex.LimitationsOur study is limited by its reliance on self-report measures and a focus on moral judgements rather than behavior or decision-making. Further, only dataset 2 measured political identification, therefore we were unable to assess politics in autistic people.ConclusionsWe conclude that some moral foundations in autistic people are similar to those in typical people (despite the difficulties in social interaction that are part of autism), and some are subtly different. These subtle differences vary depending on empathizing and systemizing cognitive types.

The Real-World Usability, Feasibility, and Performance Distributions of Deploying a Digital Toolbox of Computerized Assessments to Remotely Evaluate Brain Health: Development and Usability Study.

An ongoing global challenge is managing brain health and understanding how performance changes across the lifespan. We developed and deployed a set of self-administrable, computerized assessments designed to measure key indexes of brain health across the visual and auditory sensory modalities. In this pilot study, we evaluated the usability, feasibility, and performance distributions of the assessments in a home-based, real-world setting without supervision. Potential participants were untrained users who self-registered on an existing brain training app called BrainHQ. Participants were contacted via a recruitment email and registered remotely to complete a demographics questionnaire and 29 unique assessments on their personal devices. We examined participant engagement, descriptive and psychometric properties of the assessments, associations between performance and self-reported demographic variables, cognitive profiles, and factor loadings. Of the 365,782 potential participants contacted via a recruitment email, 414 (0.11%) registered, of whom 367 (88.6%) completed at least one assessment and 104 (25.1%) completed all 29 assessments. Registered participants were, on average, aged 63.6 (SD 14.8; range 13-107) years, mostly female (265/414, 64%), educated (329/414, 79.5% with a degree), and White (349/414, 84.3% White and 48/414, 11.6% people of color). A total of 72% (21/29) of the assessments showed no ceiling or floor effects or had easily modifiable score bounds to eliminate these effects. When correlating performance with self-reported demographic variables, 72% (21/29) of the assessments were sensitive to age, 72% (21/29) of the assessments were insensitive to gender, 93% (27/29) of the assessments were insensitive to race and ethnicity, and 93% (27/29) of the assessments were insensitive to education-based differences. Assessments were brief, with a mean duration of 3 (SD 1.0) minutes per task. The pattern of performance across the assessments revealed distinctive cognitive profiles and loaded onto 4 independent factors. The assessments were both usable and feasible and warrant a full normative study. A digital toolbox of scalable and self-administrable assessments that can evaluate brain health at a glance (and longitudinally) may lead to novel future applications across clinical trials, diagnostics, and performance optimization.

General ability and specific cognitive functions are lower in children with epilepsy after perinatal ischemic stroke

IntroductionEpilepsy develops in one third of children after perinatal stroke. Both epilepsy and stroke may be risk factors for impaired cognitive abilities. How the development of epilepsy is related to the cognitive profile of children with perinatal stroke is still unclear. The aim of the study was to evaluate general and specific cognitive functions in children with epilepsy and children without epilepsy after perinatal ischemic stroke.MethodsThe study group consisted of 51 children with perinatal ischemic stroke confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging: 27 (53%) children with arterial ischemic stroke and 24 (47%) with periventricular venous infarction. Magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalography were performed in all patients after the neonatal period. Epilepsy was diagnosed if the child had at least two unprovoked seizures occurring >24 h apart or one unprovoked seizure with a high recurrence risk. Cognitive assessments were performed using the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition, at the age of ≥7 years. General ability (Fluid Crystallized Index, Mental Processing Index, Non-verbal Index) and specific cognitive functions (sequential processing, simultaneous processing, learning, planning, knowledge) were evaluated.ResultsAt the median age of 19.3 years (interquartile range 14.0–22) at the time of follow-up for epilepsy, 14 (27.5%) patients had developed epilepsy, and 37 (72.5%) patients were without epilepsy. All general cognitive ability scores were lower in children with epilepsy compared to children without epilepsy. Among specific cognitive functions, simultaneous processing, planning, and knowledge were lower in children with epilepsy compared to children without epilepsy: simultaneous processing mean [78.5, 95% CI: [69.8, 87.2], vs. 96.9, 95% CI [90, 103.9], p = 0.0018]; planning mean [82.5, 95% CI: [73, 92], vs. 96.2, 95% CI: [88.7, 103.6], p = 0.026]; knowledge median (25th, 75th percentile): 80.5 (75, 87) vs. 92 (84, 108), p = 0.023.ConclusionChildren with epilepsy after perinatal ischemic stroke have lower general cognitive abilities compared to children without epilepsy. The profile of the subscales indicates lower verbal abilities and executive functions in children with epilepsy. Children with post-stroke epilepsy need targeted cognitive monitoring for early aimed rehabilitation and for establishing an adapted learning environment.

Exploring decision-making performance in young adults with mental health disorders: a comparative study using the Cambridge gambling task.

Decision-making deficits, assessed cognitively, are often associated with mental health symptoms, however, this relationship is not fully understood. This paper explores the relationship between mental health disorders and decision-making, using the Cambridge Gambling Task (CGT). Our study investigated how decision-making varied across 20 different mental health conditions compared to controls in a sample of 572 young adults from the Minneapolis and Chicago metropolitan areas, using a computerized laboratory-based task. Almost all mental health conditions were associated with at least mild (i.e. at least small effect size) impairment in all three studied parameters of the CGT (risk adjustment, quality of decision-making and overall proportion of bet). Notably, binge eating disorder had the largest cognitive impairment and gambling disorder had moderate impairment. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was associated with impaired decision-making while obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and depression showed moderate impairment. Additionally, half of the disorders assessed had moderate to large impairment in risk adjustment.These findings suggest that mental health conditions may have a more complex cognitive profile than previously thought, and a better understanding of these impairments may aid in risk assessment and targeted clinical interventions. This study underscores the need for further research to determine the causal pathways between mental health conditions and cognition, as well as to better understand the day-to-day impact of such deficits.

Impulsivity, emotional disorders and cognitive distortions in the general population: highlighting general interaction profiles.

Cognitive distortions, defined as erroneous information-processing, are involved in the emergence and maintenance of various mental and emotional disorders, including anxiety and depression. On the other hand, several studies highlight the existence of links between these states and the dimensions of impulsivity. We therefore studied the links between cognitive distortions, anxiety and depressive symptomatology, and impulsivity. Two hundred and forty adults (aged 18-60years, 101 men, 139 women) completed the French version of the Impulsive Behavior Scale, the Cognitive Distortions Scale for Adults and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. The results obtained highlight the existence of a cognitive distortion specific profile regarding the urgency dimension. Negative maximization, disqualification of the positive, negative-focused dichotomous reasoning, positive arbitrary focus, and neutral omission in favour of the negative are thus the distortions most associated with the level of urgency of subjects. The results also show, a moderating effect of the level of urgency on the interaction between anxiety and negative focused dichotomous reasoning. As well as on the interaction between depression and positive minimization, and between depression and positive maximization. The discussion of the results focuses on the interpretation of the data regarding the anxiety-depressive states in general population.

Neuropsychological Profile of 25 Brazilian Patients with 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome: Effects of Clinical and Socioeconomic Variables

The 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) is associated with a heterogeneous neurocognitive phenotype, which includes psychiatric disorders. However, few studies have investigated the influence of socioeconomic variables on intellectual variability. The aim of this study was to investigate the cognitive profile of 25 patients, aged 7 to 32 years, with a typical ≈3 Mb 22q11.2 deletion, considering intellectual, adaptive, and neuropsychological functioning. Univariate linear regression analysis explored the influence of socioeconomic variables on intellectual quotient (IQ) and global adaptive behavior. Associations with relevant clinical conditions such as seizures, recurrent infections, and heart diseases were also considered. Results showed IQ scores ranging from 42 to 104. Communication, executive functions, attention, and visuoconstructive skills were the most impaired in the sample. The study found effects of access to quality education, family socioeconomic status (SES), and caregiver education level on IQ. Conversely, age at diagnosis and language delay were associated with outcomes in adaptive behavior. This characterization may be useful for better understanding the influence of social-environmental factors on the development of patients with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, as well as for intervention processes aimed at improving their quality of life.

Functional connectivity is linked to working memory differences in children with reading learning disability

Reading learning disability (RLD) is characterized by a specific difficulty in learning to read that is not better explained by an intellectual disability, lack of instruction, psychosocial adversity, or a neurological disorder. According to the domain-general hypothesis, a working memory deficit is the primary problem. Working memory in this population has recently been linked to altered resting-state functional connectivity within the default mode network (DMN), salience network (SN), and frontoparietal network (FPN) compared to that in typically developing individuals. The main purpose of the present study was to compare the within-network functional connectivity of the DMN, SN, FPN, and reading network in two groups of children with RLD: a group with lower-than-average working memory (LWM) and a group with average working memory (AWM). All subjects underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and data were analyzed from a network perspective using the network brain statistics framework. The results showed that the LWM group had significantly weaker connectivity in a network that involved brain regions in the DMN, SN, and FPN than the AWM group. Although there was no significant difference between groups in reading network in the present study, other studies have shown relationship of the connectivity of the angular gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, and inferior parietal lobe with the phonological process of reading. The results suggest that although there are significant differences in functional connectivity in the associated networks between children with LWM and AWM, the distinctive cognitive profile has no specific effect on the reading network.

Cognitive dysfunction characteristics of multiple sclerosis with aging

BackgroundWe aimed to investigate the characteristics of cognitive impairment in older people with multiple sclerosis (MS). MethodsCross-sectional study that included participants that were examined with a common and comprehensive neuropsychological protocol. The subjects were matched by sociodemographic variables and the following groups were generated for comparisons: young MS versus healthy controls (HC) (n = 246), old MS versus HC (n = 198), young MS vs old MS (n = 226), MS vs Alzheimer's disease (AD)(n = 70), and MS vs Parkinson's disease (PD) (n = 62). The ICCoDiMS criteria were used to define cognitive impairment in MS. ResultsCognitive impairment was more frequent in young than old patients (70.8 % vs 52.2 %). Attention and speed processing is the most frequent cognitive domain impaired in MS (54.9 % of young MS vs 32.7 % of old MS). The frequency of impairment in attention/processing speed (54.9 % vs 32.7 %) and episodic memory (27.9 % vs 14.3) was higher in the young group than in the old group. There were no statistically significant differences in the distribution of impairment in executive function (46.0 % vs 35.3 %), visuospatial (17.9 % vs 9.5 %), and language (12.4 % vs 17.7 %). In those patients meeting the criteria for cognitive impairment, young MS patients showed lower performance in attention/processing speed tests. Conversely, old MS patients showed lower performance in episodic memory, verbal fluency, and planning. There were no differences in the correlations between SDMT and other neuropsychological tests in young and old patients, which suggests similar cognitive processes underlying SDMT performance in both groups. There were differences between old MS and prodromal AD, especially in episodic memory, while the cognitive profile of old MS was largely shared with PD. ConclusionsOur study found that the cognitive profile of MS is defined by a characteristic impairment in attention and processing speed, which is present during the lifespan. The impairment in processing speed is less prominent in old age, whereas the impairment of other cognitive functions becomes more relevant. These findings suggest potential differences in the pathophysiological processes associated with cognitive impairment between young and old ages that warrant further investigation.

Heterogeneity of cognitive impairments in myotonic dystrophy type 1 explained by three distinct cognitive profiles.

Severity and nature of cognitive impairments in Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) are heterogeneous among studies. We hypothesized that this heterogeneity is explained by different cognitive profiles in DM1, with different clinical, biological and behavioral features. Adult patients with genetically proven DM1 underwent a clinical, neuropsychological and behavioral assessment. We conducted a k-means clustering analysis on 9 cognitive tests representative of different domains (verbal/non-verbal episodic memory, visuo-constructive abilities, visual gnosis, executive functions, information processing speed). We included 124 DM1 patients. Mean age was 45.1 ± 13.5years [19.8-73.2], mean age of onset was 30.4 ± 15.7years [5-72], and mean CTG triplets' expansion size was 489.7 ± 351.8 [50-1600]. We found 3 cognitive clusters, including, respectively, 84, 29 and 11 patients. The first cluster included patients with more preserved cognitive functions; the second included patients with worse cognitive performances which predominate on executive functions; and the third even more pronounced and diffuse cognitive deficits. Younger patients, with a more recent DM1 clinical onset, higher educational level were more frequently classified in the cluster with more preserved cognitive functions. There were no significant differences between clusters regarding CTG triplets' expansion, neither age at DM1 onset, nor most of behavioral measures. We found different cognitive profiles in our DM1 population, which seem influenced by age and DM1 duration. Our findings may explain the heterogeneity of studies about cognition in DM1, and suggest a potential neurodegenerative mechanism in DM1 adults.

Temporal tau asymmetry spectrum influences divergent behavior and language patterns in Alzheimer‘s disease

Understanding the psychiatric symptoms of Alzheimer s disease (AD) is crucial for advancing precision medicine and therapeutic strategies. The relationship between AD behavioral symptoms and asymmetry in spatial tau PET patterns is not well-known. Braak tau progression implicates the temporal lobes early. However, the clinical and pathological implications of temporal tau laterality remain unexplored.This cross-sectional study investigated the correlation between temporal tau PET asymmetry and behavior assessed using the neuropsychiatric inventory and composite scores for memory, executive function, and language, using data from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) dataset. In the entire cohort, continuous right and left temporal tau contributions to behavior and cognition were evaluated, controlling for age, sex, education, and tau burden on the contralateral side. Additionally, a temporal tau laterality index was calculated to define “asymmetry-extreme” groups (individuals with laterality indices greater than two standard deviations from the mean).695 individuals (age = 73.9 ± 7.6 years, 372 (53.5 %) females) were included, comprising 281 (40%) cognitively unimpaired (CU) amyloid negative, 185 (27%) CU amyloid positive, and 229 (33%) impaired (CI) amyloid positive participants. In the full cohort analysis, right temporal tau was associated with worse behavior (B = 8.14, p-value = 0.007), and left temporal tau was associated with worse language (B = 1.4, p-value < 0.001). Categorization into asymmetry-extreme groups revealed 20 right- and 27 left-asymmetric participants. Within these extreme groups, there was additional heterogeneity along the anterior-posterior dimension.Asymmetrical tau burden is associated with distinct behavioral and cognitive profiles. Wide multi-cultural implementation of social cognition measures is needed to understand right-sided asymmetry in AD.

Oral health conditions and cognitive and nutritional profile in non-institutionalized elderly in the North of Minas Gerais

The aim of this study was to evaluate oral health and its relationship with sociodemographic aspects and the cognitive and nutritional profile of non-institutionalized elderly people treated at a reference center in the North of Minas Gerais. This is a cross-sectional, documentary and quantitative study, based on an analysis of 1026 medical and dental records, between 2008 and 2011, of patients aged 60 or over. The instruments used included the Minimental, Clinical Dementia Scale, mini nutritional assessment and oral health assessment. The existence of edentulism and the use of dentures were compared with sociodemographic data and the cognitive and nutritional profile, using binary logistic regression (p&lt;0.05). The presence of edentulism was significantly more likely to occur in elderly females (p=0.036, OR: 1.857, CI: 1.042-3.306). In relation to the use of dental prostheses, the chance of occurrence was increased in elderly women (p=0.001, OR: 1.807), people aged between 75 and 84 years (p=0.028, OR: 1.752), illiterate (p= 0.014, OR: 1.584), underweight (p=0.017, OR: 0.585), and with cognitive impairment (p=0.012, OR: 1.581). We conclude that edentulism affects more elderly women; and the use of dental prostheses occurs more in elderly women, between 74 and 84 years old, illiterate, underweight, and with cognitive impairment.

Shared and Specific Neural Correlates of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Meta-Analysis of 243 Task-Based Functional MRI Studies.

To investigate shared and specific neural correlates of cognitive functions in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the authors performed a comprehensive meta-analysis and considered a balanced set of neuropsychological tasks across the two disorders. A broad set of electronic databases was searched up to December 4, 2022, for task-based functional MRI studies investigating differences between individuals with ADHD or ASD and typically developing control subjects. Spatial coordinates of brain loci differing significantly between case and control subjects were extracted. To avoid potential diagnosis-driven selection bias of cognitive tasks, the tasks were grouped according to the Research Domain Criteria framework, and stratified sampling was used to match cognitive component profiles. Activation likelihood estimation was used for the meta-analysis. After screening 20,756 potentially relevant references, a meta-analysis of 243 studies was performed, which included 3,084 participants with ADHD (676 females), 2,654 participants with ASD (292 females), and 6,795 control subjects (1,909 females). ASD and ADHD showed shared greater activations in the lingual and rectal gyri and shared lower activations in regions including the middle frontal gyrus, the parahippocampal gyrus, and the insula. By contrast, there were ASD-specific greater and lower activations in regions including the left middle temporal gyrus and the left middle frontal gyrus, respectively, and ADHD-specific greater and lower activations in the amygdala and the global pallidus, respectively. Although ASD and ADHD showed both shared and disorder-specific standardized neural activations, disorder-specific activations were more prominent than shared ones. Functional brain differences between ADHD and ASD are more likely to reflect diagnosis-related pathophysiology than bias from the selection of specific neuropsychological tasks.

Bipolar disorders and schizophrenia: discrete disorders?

With similarities in heritability, neurobiology and symptomatology, the question has been raised whether schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are truly distinctive disorders or belong to a continuum. This narrative review summarizes common and distinctive findings from genetics, neuroimaging, cognition and clinical course that may help to solve this ethiopathogenetic puzzle. The authors conducted a literature search for papers listed in PubMed and Google Scholar, using the search terms "schizophrenia" and "bipolar disorder" combined with different terms such as "genes", "neuroimaging studies", "phenomenology differences", "cognition", "epidemiology". Articles were considered for inclusion if they were written in English or Spanish, published as full articles, if they compared subjects with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, or subjects with either disorder with healthy controls, addressing differences between groups. Several findings support the hypothesis that schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are discrete disorders, yet some overlapping of findings exists. The evidence for heritability of both SZ and BD is obvious, as well as the environmental impact on individual manifestations of both disorders. Neuroimaging studies support subtle differences between disorders, it appears to be rather a pattern of irregularities than an unequivocally unique finding distinguishing schizophrenia from bipolar disorder. The cognitive profile displays differences between disorders in certain domains, such as premorbid intellectual functioning and executive functions. Finally, the timing and trajectory of cognitive impairment in both disorders also differs. The question whether SZ and BD belong to a continuum or are separate disorders remains a challenge for further research. Currently, our research tools may be not precise enough to carve out distinctive, unique and undisputable differences between SZ and BD, but current evidence favors separate disorders. Given that differences are subtle, a way to overcome diagnostic uncertainties in the future could be the application of artificial intelligence based on BigData. Despite the detailed search, this article is not a full and complete review of all available studies on the topic. The search and selection of papers was also limited to articles in English and Spanish. Selection of papers and conclusions may be biased by the personal view and clinical experience of the authors.

Cognitive profile in multiple sclerosis and post-COVID condition: a comparative study using a unified taxonomy

Post-COVID condition (PCC) and multiple sclerosis (MS) share some clinical and demographic features, including cognitive symptoms and fatigue. Some pathophysiological mechanisms well-known in MS, such as autoimmunity, neuroinflammation and myelin damage, have also been implicated in PCC. In this study, we aimed to compare the cognitive phenotypes of two large cohorts of patients with PCC and MS, and to evaluate the relationship between fatigue and cognitive performance. Cross-sectional study including 218 patients with PCC and 218 with MS matched by age, sex, and years of education. Patients were evaluated with a comprehensive neuropsychological protocol and were categorized according to the International Classification of Cognitive Disorders system. Fatigue and depression were also assessed. Cognitive profiles of PCC and MS largely overlapped, with a greater impairment in episodic memory in MS, but with small effect sizes. The most salient deficits in both disorders were in attention and processing speed. The severity of fatigue was greater in patients with PCC. Still, the correlations between fatigue severity and neuropsychological tests were more prominent in the case of MS. There were no differences in the severity of depression among groups. Our study found similar cognitive profiles in PCC and MS. Fatigue was more severe in PCC, but was more associated with cognitive performance in MS. Further comparative studies addressing the mechanisms related to cognitive dysfunction and fatigue may be of interest to advance the knowledge of these disorders and develop new therapies.

Identification and Connectomic Profiling of Concussion Using Bayesian Machine Learning.

Accurate early diagnosis of concussion is useful to prevent sequelae and improve neurocognitive outcomes. Early after head impact, concussion diagnosis may be doubtful in persons whose neurological, neuroradiological, and/or neurocognitive examinations are equivocal. Such individuals can benefit from novel accurate assessments that complement clinical diagnostics. We introduce a Bayesian machine learning classifier to identify concussion through cortico-cortical connectome mapping from magnetic resonance imaging in persons with quasi-normal cognition and without neuroradiological findings. Classifier features are generated from connectivity matrices specifying the mean fractional anisotropy of white matter connections linking brain structures. Each connection's saliency to classification was quantified by training individual classifier instantiations using a single feature type. The classifier was tested on a discovery sample of 92 healthy controls (HCs; 26 females, age μ ± σ: 39.8 ± 15.5 years) and 471 adult mTBI patients (158 females, age μ ± σ: 38.4 ± 5.9 years). Results were replicated in an independent validation sample of 256 HCs (149 females, age μ ± σ: 55.3 ± 12.1 years) and 126 patients with concussion (46 females, age μ ± σ: 39.0 ± 17.7 years). Classifier accuracy exceeds 99% in both samples, suggesting robust generalizability to new samples. Notably, 13 bilateral cortico-cortical connection pairs predict diagnostic status with accuracy exceeding 99% in both discovery and validation samples. Many such connection pairs are between prefrontal cortex structures, fronto-limbic and fronto-subcortical structures, and occipito-temporal structures in the ventral ("what") visual stream. This and related connectivity form a highly salient network of brain connections that is particularly vulnerable to concussion. Because these connections are important in mediating cognitive control, memory, and attention, our findings explain the high frequency of cognitive disturbances after concussion. Our classifier was trained and validated on concussed participants with cognitive profiles very similar to those of HCs. This suggests that the classifier can complement current diagnostics by providing independent information in clinical contexts where patients have quasi-normal cognition but where concussion diagnosis stands to benefit from additional evidence.

Cluster analysis exploring the impact of childhood neglect on cognitive function in patients with bipolar disorder

BackgroundBipolar disorder (BD) is a severe mental disorder related to neurocognitive deficits. Exposure to childhood trauma is associated with worse cognitive performance. Different compositions of childhood trauma in BD and their impacts on cognition are rarely reported.MethodsWe used the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Affective Disorders (BAC-A) to assess cognitive performance and the Chinese version of the Short Form of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (C-CTQ-SF) to assess childhood trauma experience among 55 euthymic BD patients. Cluster analysis was applied to dissect their childhood trauma experiences, which revealed three distinct clusters: a low trauma group, neglect-focus group, and multiple-trauma-experience group. We compared the cognitive function between the three clusters and used a generalized linear model to evaluate the impact of childhood neglect on cognitive domains.ResultsThe neglect-focus cluster showed prominent exposures to physical and emotional neglect (41.8%). BD patients in this cluster performed worse in BAC-A compared with patients in the multiple trauma cluster, especially in working memory and processing speed. The neglect-focus group revealed a significant negative effect on the composite score (ß = -0.904, p = 0.025) and working memory (ß = -1.150, p = 0.002) after adjusting sex, age, education year, BMI and total psychotropic defined daily dose.ConclusionsDistinct patterns of childhood trauma experience are seen in BD patients and are related with different cognitive profiles. Early exposure of neglect-focus trauma was associated with the worst cognitive performance in current study. Further studies investigating the intensity of the neglect, as well as individual resilience and coping mechanisms in BD, are warranted.

Особенности интеллектуального развития при расстройстве аутистического спектра (РАС)

&lt;p style="text-align: justify;"&gt;The article presents an overview of the current understanding of the intellectual development of children and adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A review of research indicates a wide heterogeneity in the levels of intellectual development in autism (from severe intellectual disability to giftedness) and demonstrates a lack of specific cognitive and intellectual profiles. The assessment of "strengths" and "weaknesses" of individual cognitive abilities and/or subtests of the measures comes to the fore. At the same time, the incidence of ASD and intellectual disability is higher than in the general population (33% to 70% in the studies reported in this article), indicating that these conditions are comorbid. These rates vary according to the methodological design of the studies, especially the type of data used (administrative, medical, educational, etc.) and the instruments used to assess intellectual ability. For example, Wechsler tests may underestimate scores in children and adults with ASD because of the large number of verbal instructions that are difficult for people with severe communication difficulties. Comprehensive nonverbal intelligence tests (e.g., Leiter-3 or UNIT-2) are the most appropriate methods. Assessing the level of intellectual ability in people with autism spectrum disorders in Russia is complicated by the existing deficit of methods, the elimination of which is an important task that researchers face.&lt;/p&gt;

Early Maladaptive Schemas in Sex Offenders and Non-Sexual Violent Offenders: A Systematic Review

AbstractSex offenders and non-sexual violent offenders display distinct cognitive distortions that shape their offenses. Some evidence suggests that early maladaptive schemas which reflect individuals’ fundamental cognitions and beliefs, contribute to these cognitive distortions. However, these have not been systematically appraised. We conducted a systematic review to synthesize the evidence regarding the schema profiles of sex offenders and non-sexual violent offenders, and to explore differences in schemas between these offender types. Eight studies met the inclusion criteria. Within the sex offender category, rapists and child sex offenders endorsed similar schemas. For non-sexual violent offenders, schemas related to self-control issues and self-entitlement were most prominent. Sex offenders demonstrated more schemas that endorsed negative perceptions of themselves and others than violent offenders. Findings also suggest that atypical sexual interests and mental disorders may be important. This evidence highlights the need for a more fine-tuned understanding of the cognitive profiles of sexual and non-sexual violent offenders and for developing schema-based offender management and rehabilitation services.

Exploring the distribution and cognitive profiles of poor readers across varying levels of reading difficulty: implications for identification and support

BackgroundThis study explored the impact of different cut‐off points used to identify children with reading difficulties on the distribution of these children across the three poor reader groups predicted by the simple view of reading (dyslexia, specific comprehension difficulty and mixed difficulty). Additionally, the study investigated whether the cognitive profiles of these poor reader groups remained consistent across varying levels of reading impairment.MethodsThis study included 209 primary school children from New Zealand, in Years 4–6 and aged 8–10 years, who experienced reading comprehension difficulties. Using a two‐step cluster analysis, participants were assigned to one of three poor reader groups: dyslexia, specific comprehension difficulty (SCD) and mixed difficulty. We examined the distribution of children across these groups at eight levels of reading comprehension difficulty and conducted strengths and weaknesses profiles at four levels of reading ability across 14 tests that assessed a range of reading‐related skills. Additionally, we compared the performance of children in these groups who performed above and below the 10th percentile on a reading comprehension assessment across these tests.ResultsThe results showed that the proportion of children assigned to each group varied across the reading levels, with children at the lower end of the reading comprehension continuum more likely to exhibit the mixed difficulty profile than the SCD and dyslexia profiles. Overall, the research found that dyslexia, SCD and mixed difficulty profiles could be identified at all levels of reading comprehension difficulty, though weaknesses in their reading‐related skills increased as reading comprehension difficulties also increased.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that struggling readers demonstrate distinct cognitive profiles across all levels of reading ability. These results have important implications for identifying and supporting struggling readers, as well as enhancing our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of reading difficulties. The possible relationship between the results obtained in this study and tiered models of reading support is discussed.