Recognition Trials Research Articles

The influence of age on cognitive test performance as measured by the original and extended version of the Alzheimer’s disease assessment scale in the SIU longitudinal cognitive aging study

AbstractBackgroundSince the 1980s, the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS) has been used to evaluate cognitive aging in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and is considered the gold standard for assessing the efficacy of medications for treatment of AD. One criticism of the original ADAS (oADAS) is that this measure is not sensitive to pre‐dementia syndromes such as mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Previous studies have found that increasing age is associated with poorer neuropsychological functioning. In the present study, we examined the influence of age on the oADAS. We hypothesized that increasing age would be associated with increased error scores on both the oADAS and an extended version of this measure (eADAS) after controlling for gender and education.MethodWe included data from 938 adults who were enrolled in the SIU Longitudinal Cognitive Aging Study (LCAS) as normal controls. The vast majority of the cohort was White/Not‐Hispanic (98.9%) and female (72.4%). Mean age and education were 67.3 years and 14.9 years, respectively. Participants who met the diagnostic criteria for MCI, dementia, and/or other neurological or psychiatric conditions at baseline or developed these conditions within three consecutive study visits were excluded. The oADAS was administered using standardized methods. The eADAS included short‐delay recall and recognition trials for the first word‐list, a short‐delay true‐false word recognition trial for the second word‐list, a letter‐digit timed psychomotor test, supermarket fluency, spontaneous clock drawing, three additional items to the object naming subtest, three additional figures to copy, and a similarities test.ResultThe mean oADAS and eADAS scores were 3.9 and 8.7, respectively. Linear regression analysis revealed that both gender and education were associated with higher error scores for both the oADAS and eADAS (p < 0.001). After controlling for gender and education, increasing age was also found to be associated with higher error scores for both the oADAS and eADAS (p < 0.001).ConclusionOur results are consistent with previous literature showing age effects on oADAS scores and also extend these findings to the eADAS. Future research determining the sensitivity of the extended ADAS to the transition from normal aging to MCI and dementia are ongoing.

Drill-Rep: Repetition counting for automatic shot hole depth recognition based on combined deep learning-based model

In order to solve the problems of low efficiency and dependability of human experience in shot hole depth recognition by manual interpretation of the massive drilling videos, this paper proposed a repetition counting framework from the perspective of representation object motion, and firstly studied and realized the automatic shot hole depth recognition by adopting the proposed framework by combining multiple deep learning-based models. Firstly, the periodic motion characteristics of the objects in the drilling video were analyzed, and the motion extraction model of the representative object was established based on YOLOv5 and Deep SORT algorithm to obtain the spatiotemporal sequence. Then, the sequence noise and redundant information were filtered according to the spatiotemporal relationship between the drill pipes and workers, to obtain a coherent, smooth, and clean motion sequence. On this basis, a drill pipe motion counting model was established by using the YOLOv5 network to detect the temporal boundary and repetition number of the drill pipe motion. Finally, combined with the pipe motion extraction model and counting model, the comprehensive reliable recognition method of shot hole depth was presented. The shot hole depth recognition trial was carried out on 1029 drilling videos from the Bureau of Geophysical Prospecting INC. The proposed method achieved 90.5% recognition accuracy (Acc) and 0.027 mean absolute error (MAE) with 64 frames per second (FPS) and 0.39 average recognition time ratio (Rt). Therefore, the proposed repetition counting framework solved the problem of efficient and intelligent drilling depth recognition of massive drilling videos and thus provided a new idea for repetition counting.

Electroconvulsive Therapy Impact on Memory Performance in Patients With Depression

IntroductionThe safety of electroconvulsive therapy has improved greatly over the last decades, making the potentially adverse effects on memory and other neurocognitive functions the main clinical aspect of concern in the present. In Colombia, the general population and healthcare professionals (even some psychiatrists) seem to have mostly negative opinions towards electroconvulsive therapy treatment, but maybe this could be reconsidered if more information is provided; therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the changes in memory and the severity of the symptoms in a group of patients with severe depression before and after electroconvulsive therapy. MethodsTwenty-three patients ranging in age from 23 to 70 years from the electroconvulsive therapy service at the San Juan de Dios Clinic (Manizales, Colombia) were recruited in order to assess the effect of electroconvulsive therapy on memory in patients with severe depression. Depressive symptoms and memory were assessed with the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT), respectively. The assessment was administered to participants before the initial treatment of electroconvulsive therapy series (0-1 day) and 2 days after their last treatment. ResultsElectroconvulsive therapy resulted in significant improvement in the rating of depression. There were no significant differences in the five learning trials, delayed recall, learning and forgetting scores from pre-treatment to post-treatment. Significant pre-treatment/post-treatment differences were found in the delayed recognition trial. ConclusionsPre- and post- electroconvulsive therapy cognitive assessment is a feasible and useful procedure. In general, memory performance does not worsen after electroconvulsive therapy in patients with depression. Only delayed recognition is affected a few days following electroconvulsive therapy, particularly in patients with low educational level and bitemporal (BT) electrode placement.

Logical memory, visual reproduction, and verbal paired associates are effective embedded validity indicators in patients with traumatic brain injury

Objective This study was design to evaluate the potential of the recognition trials for the Logical Memory (LM), Visual Reproduction (VR), and Verbal Paired Associates (VPA) subtests of the Wechsler Memory Scales–Fourth Edition (WMS-IV) to serve as embedded performance validity tests (PVTs). Method The classification accuracy of the three WMS-IV subtests was computed against three different criterion PVTs in a sample of 103 adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Results The optimal cutoffs (LM ≤ 20, VR ≤ 3, VPA ≤ 36) produced good combinations of sensitivity (.33–.87) and specificity (.92–.98). An age-corrected scaled score of ≤5 on either of the free recall trials on the VPA was specific (.91–.92) and relatively sensitive (.48–.57) to psychometrically defined invalid performance. A VR I ≤ 5 or VR II ≤ 4 had comparable specificity, but lower sensitivity (.25–.42). There was no difference in failure rate as a function of TBI severity. Conclusions In addition to LM, VR, and VPA can also function as embedded PVTs. Failing validity cutoffs on these subtests signals an increased risk of non-credible presentation and is robust to genuine neurocognitive impairment. However, they should not be used in isolation to determine the validity of an overall neurocognitive profile.

Neurocognitive functions and some electroencephalographic changes in preadolescent children with different degrees of primary hypothyroidism and mild iodine deficiency

Neurologic and electrophysiologic changes in children with mild hypothyreosis andeuthyroidgoiteratthebackgroundofmildIDarenotwellunderstoodand euthyroid goiter at the background of mild ID are not well understood atpresent.Ourgoalwastoevaluateofsomecognitivedisturbancesandal-at present. Our goal was to evaluate of some cognitive disturbances and al-terationofsomeEEGparametersinpreadolescentchildrenatearlystagesofteration of some EEG parameters in preadolescent children at early stages of thedevelopmentofprimaryhypothyreosisandeuthyroidgoiter.55somaticallythe development of primary hypothyreosis and euthyroid goiter. 55 somatically healthypreadolescentchildren,aged8-12yearswiththe1healthy preadolescent children, aged 8-12 years with the 1ststdegreeofdiffuse degree of diffuse goiterunderwentclinicalandneurologicalinvestigationofcognitivefunctions:goiter underwent clinical and neurological investigation of cognitive functions: ”copycopy”,, ”timetocopytime to copy”and and ”recognitionrecognition”usingReyComplexFigureTestand using Rey Complex Figure Test and recognitiontrialaswellasRochesterfatigueDiarytest;MotorFatigueindex,recognition trial as well as Rochester fatigue Diary test; Motor Fatigue index, PASAT–3(secondversion)andlassitudewasevaluated.Digital21channeledPASAT – 3 (second version) and lassitude was evaluated. Digital 21 channeled EEGstudywasalsoperformed.Studygroupswererandomizedto:childrenEEG study was also performed. Study groups were randomized to: children withovertmildhypothyreosis;childrenwithsubclinicalhypothyreosis;euthyroidwith overt mild hypothyreosis; children with subclinical hypothyreosis; euthyroid children;healthycontrols.MedianaofUIE64wasinthelower3children; healthy controls. Mediana of UIE 64 was in the lower 3rdrdintherange in the range formildID.Childrenofthestudygroupmoreoftenhadnon-specificneurolog-for mild ID. Children of the study group more often had non-specifi c neurolog-icsymptoms.Allindicesofneurocognitivedysfunctionweremorefrequentinic symptoms. All indices of neurocognitive dysfunction were more frequent in patients with overt hypothyreosis (P<0,001) and in lesser extent were present in subclinicalhypothyreosisandeuthyroidgoiter,comparedtocontrols.Thiswassubclinical hypothyreosis and euthyroid goiter, compared to controls. This was accompaniedbythechangesofEEGparameters.Thepathologicvisualversionaccompanied by the changes of EEG parameters. The pathologic visual version ofEEGhad90%ofchildrenwithoverthypothyreosis.Inturnedoutthatinof EEG had 90% of children with overt hypothyreosis. In turned out that in prepubertalchildrenisaccompaniedbycognitivedisordersrepresentedbyMildprepubertal children is accompanied by cognitive disorders represented by Mild CognitiveImpairment;amongneurologicsubclinicalsignsofmanifestationofCognitive Impairment; among neurologic subclinical signs of manifestation of IDtheFatiguetestisofgreatsensitivity;evenmildIDischaracterizedbyspe-ID the Fatigue test is of great sensitivity; even mild ID is characterized by spe-cificchangesofthefrequencyandamplitudeofphysiologicspectrumofEEGcifi c changes of the frequency and amplitude of physiologic spectrum of EEG activity,mainlyofaA;pathologicconsequencesofIDaremanifestedbothinactivity, mainly of aA; pathologic consequences of ID are manifested both in overtandsubclinicalhypothyroidismandinlesserextentinpatientswitheuthy-overt and subclinical hypothyroidism and in lesser extent in patients with euthyroid goiter.

Fronto-parietal single-trial brain connectivity benefits successful memory recognition.

Successful recognition has been known to produce distinct patterns of neural activity. Many studies have used spectral power or event-related potentials of single recognition-specific regions as classification features. However, this does not accurately reflect the mechanisms behind recognition, in that recognition requires multiple brain regions to work together. Hence, classification accuracy of subsequent memory performance could be improved by using functional connectivity within memory-related brain networks instead of using local brain activity as classifiers. In this study, we examined electroencephalography (EEG) signals while performing a word recognition memory task. Recorded EEG signals were collected using a 32-channel cap. Connectivity measures related to the left hemispheric fronto-parietal connectivity (P3 and F3) were found to contribute to the accurate recognition of previously studied memory items. Classification of subsequent memory outcome using connectivity features revealed that the classifier with support vector machine achieved the highest classification accuracy of 86.79 ± 5.93% (mean ± standard deviation) by using theta (3-8 Hz) connectivity during successful recognition trials. The results strongly suggest that highly accurate classification of subsequent memory outcome can be achieved by using single-trial functional connectivity.

SUVN‐I7016031: A Novel M1‐receptor Positive Allosteric Modulator (M1‐PAM) for the treatment of Parkinson's Disease Associated Dementia

AbstractBackgroundParkinson's disease (PD) patients experience progressive cognitive decline over the time and as the disease progresses. Drug‐induced Parkinsonism (DIP) is the second‐most‐common etiology of parkinsonism in the elderly after Parkinson's disease. DIP is indistinguishable from pathological PD as the symptoms are similar for both conditions. Haloperidol is a classical antipsychotic, known for its propensity to cause parkinsonism, which can be accompanied with the cognitive impairment, due to the blockade of striatal dopamine D2 receptors and further the downstream antagonism of M1 receptors in the signaling cascade. Therapeutic potential of SUVN‐I7016031 was evaluated in an animal model reflecting PD associated dementia.MethodHaloperidol was supplied in water feeder bottles at 2 mg/kg, p.o. to induce PD associated dementia. Following one week of haloperidol supplementation, treatment with either SUVN‐I7016031 (0.3, 1, 3 and 10 mg/kg, p.o.) or rivastigmine (0.3 mg/kg, s.c.) was began and the treatments were continued up to 37 days. Social recognition task (SRT) was conducted on day‐13 and day‐37. In SRT, familiarization and recognition trials were conducted with a trial delay of 30 min. Social investigation time by adult rat with either familiar or novel juvenile rat was assessed during recognition trial and compared, along with discriminative index. Statistical analysis is carried out using GraphPad Prism software (Version 7.02).ResultAnimals treated with haloperidol did not discriminate the novel juvenile from the familiar juvenile and showed cognitive impairment on day‐13 and day‐37. Rivastigmine reversed haloperidol‐induced PD dementia on day‐13 and day‐37. SUVN‐I7016031 at 10 mg/kg, p.o., reversed haloperidol‐induced PD dementia on day‐13 of testing. However, on day‐37, SUVN‐I7016031 reversed haloperidol‐induced PD dementia at 1, 3 and 10 mg/kg, p.o. which resulted in dose‐dependent positive efficacy. Further, rivastigmine and SUVN‐I7016031 treatment also resulted in significant improvement of discriminative index relative to haloperidol control on day‐37. Effects observed with SUVN‐I7016031 are more prominent on day‐37 relative to day‐13.ConclusionSUVN‐I7016031 showed positive efficacy in an animal model reflecting PD associated dementia, which could be a future promising therapeutic strategy in improving health related quality of life (hQOL) in PD patients.

Quantifying scientific breakthroughs by a novel disruption indicator based on knowledge entities

AbstractCompared to previous studies that generally detect scientific breakthroughs based on citation patterns, this article proposes a knowledge entity‐based disruption indicator by quantifying the change of knowledge directly created and inspired by scientific breakthroughs to their evolutionary trajectories. Two groups of analytic units, including MeSH terms and their co‐occurrences, are employed independently by the indicator to measure the change of knowledge. The effectiveness of the proposed indicators was evaluated against the four datasets of scientific breakthroughs derived from four recognition trials. In terms of identifying scientific breakthroughs, the proposed disruption indicator based on MeSH co‐occurrences outperforms that based on MeSH terms and three earlier citation‐based disruption indicators. It is also shown that in our indicator, measuring the change of knowledge inspired by the focal paper in its evolutionary trajectory is a larger contributor than measuring the change created by the focal paper. Our study not only offers empirical insights into conceptual understanding of scientific breakthroughs but also provides practical disruption indicator for scientists and science management agencies searching for valuable research.

Bias effects in a two-stage recognition paradigm: A challenge for "pure" threshold and signal detection models.

We explored a two-stage recognition memory paradigm in which people first make single-item "studied"/"not studied" decisions and then have a chance to correct their errors in forced-choice trials. Each forced-choice trial included one studied word ("target") and one nonstudied word ("lure") that received the same previous single-item response. For example, a studied-studied trial would have a target that was correctly called "studied" and a lure that was incorrectly called "studied." The two-high-threshold (2HT) model and the unequal-variance signal detection (UVSD) model predict opposite effects of biasing the initial single-item responses on subsequent forced-choice accuracy. Results from two experiments showed that the bias effect is actually near zero and well out of the range of effects predicted by either model. Follow-up analyses suggested that the model failures were not a function of experiment artifacts like changing memory states between the two types of recognition trials. Follow-up analyses also showed that the dual process signal detection model made better predictions for the forced-choice data than 2HT and UVSD models. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Source recognition discriminability impairment in Huntington’s versus Alzheimer’s disease: Evidence from the CVLT-3

Research suggests that individuals with Huntington’s disease (HD) perform better than individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) on the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) Yes/No Recognition trial. However, those with HD have been shown to have deficits comparable to those with AD on the Source Recognition Discriminability (RD) index (which assesses the ability to distinguish between List A targets and List B distractors), suggesting that HD may involve selective impairment in aspects of yes/no recognition that rely on source memory. However, whether individuals with HD and AD show comparable deficits on Source RD across stages of dementia severity has not been adequately investigated. We examined performance on the CVLT-3 List A vs. List B RD index in individuals with HD or AD and mild or moderate dementia. Among individuals with mild dementia, scores were higher in the HD versus AD group, whereas among individuals with moderate dementia, scores were comparable between the HD and AD groups; this corresponded to differential performance across dementia stages among individuals with HD, but not AD. The present findings suggest that, relative to AD, HD may be associated with disproportionate decline in aspects of yes/no recognition that rely on source memory.

A-233 Less Items, Less Problems: Using TOMMe10 to Predict Performance Validity

Abstract Objective: A frequently used standalone performance validity test (PVT) is the Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM), which utilizes two or three visual recognition trials to assess for suboptimal participant effort. In situations with limited time, shortened evaluation times are preferred. One method for this is to look at the error rate on the first 10 TOMM items (TOMMe10) for predicting invalid performance. The objective of this review is to investigate the utility of TOMMe10 in adult neuropsychological evaluations, including potential cutoffs. Data Selection: A systematic review of available literature was conducted using the PubMed database. The following keywords were used during the search: “TOMM first 10 items” and “TOMMe10.” Eight out of eleven articles were found to have met the inclusion criteria for this review, which required the study to speak to cutoffs used and to the effectiveness of TOMMe10 at predicting performance validity with adults on the TOMM or other validated assessments. Data Synthesis: All eight studies demonstrated adequate sensitivity, specificity, and discriminability of TOMMe10 for invalid performance, with all but four supporting a cutoff of ≥2 errors. Three proposed a cutoff of ≥1 error, while one proposed a cutoff of ≥3 errors. Both alternate cutoffs demonstrated adequate predictive power. Conclusions: This research demonstrated that TOMMe10 could accurately predict invalid PVT performance, except in cases of severe memory impairment. Optimal TOMMe10 cutoff results were mixed but a cutoff of ≥2 errors was the most supported. Future research could assess the utility of the various suggested TOMMe10 cutoffs in specific situations.

Auditory verbal learning test can lateralize hippocampal sclerosis

The ability of the Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT) to lateralize hippocampal sclerosis (HS) in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) was explored in a sample of 50 patients with MTLE-HS (23 right and 27 left). Patients’ AVLT scores were adjusted to the demographic characteristics of each individual in accordance with the Portuguese normative data. The laterality of the HS was determined by consensus by two neuroradiologists. ROC curves were used to identify the best AVLT cutoff scores to differentiate right vs. left HS. Diagnostic statistics were applied to different AVLT measures. The study results revealed that four AVLT scores can correctly classify the laterality of HS in the total sample and a sub-group of 39 right-handed patients (Edinburgh Laterality Inventory +100): delayed recall trial (76 and 80%, respectively), delayed recognition trial (64 and 67%, respectively), learning over trials index (64 and 74%, respectively), and long-term percent retention index (68 and 72%, respectively). In right-handed patients, the diagnostic capability of the delayed recall trial was improved by pairing it with the learning over trials index (accuracy of 85%). In sum, AVLT measures of verbal memory differentiate left from right HS in MTLE. The delayed recall trial demonstrated good diagnostic capacity.

A Longitudinal Examination of Alcohol-Related Blackouts as a Predictor of Changes in Learning, Memory, and Executive Function in Adolescents.

IntroductionIn adolescents, the relationship between alcohol-related blackouts (ARBs) and distinct cognitive changes lasting beyond intoxication is unclear. We examined ARBs as a predictor of persistent changes in the development of learning, memory, and executive function in participants from the National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA) study.MethodsDescriptive analyses of the NCANDA sample (N = 831, 50.9% female, 12–21 years at baseline) identified ARB patterns within participants with an ARB history (n = 106). Latent growth curve modeling evaluated ARB-related performance changes on four neuropsychological measures across five years, excluding baseline data to reduce the magnitude of practice effects over time (n = 790). Measures included the Penn Conditional Exclusion Test (PCET), Penn Letter N-back Test (PLBT), Penn Facial Memory Test immediate (PFMTi), and delayed (PFMTd) recognition trials, and the Rey Complex Figure Test copy (RCFTc), immediate recall (RCFTi), and delayed recall (RCFTd) trials. Multivariate models were fit for raw accuracy scores from each measure, with ARB history (i.e., presence of past-year ARBs) as the main independent variable. Age, sex, race, socioeconomic status, assessment site, and alcohol use (i.e., past-year frequency) were included as covariates. Interaction effects between ARB history and alcohol use frequency were tested.ResultsBy year five, 16% of participants had experienced at least one ARB (59% of whom reported > 1 ARB and 57% of whom had an ARB lasting > 1 h). After controlling for demographics and alcohol use, ARB history predicted attenuated PFMTd performance growth at year one. Interaction effects between ARB history and alcohol use frequency predicted attenuated PFMTd performance growth at years one and two. ARB history predicted attenuated RCFTi and RCFTd performance growth by year four, but not PCET or PLBT performance over time. By contrast, greater past-year alcohol use predicted attenuated PFMTi and PFMTd performance growth between years two and four in adolescents without an ARB history.ConclusionWe found that ARBs predict distinct, lasting changes in learning and memory for visual information, with results suggesting that the developing brain is vulnerable to ARBs during adolescence and emerging adulthood.

Examining the cross-cultural validity of the test of memory malingering and the Rey 15-item test

Objective This study was designed to investigate the cross-cultural validity of two freestanding performance validity tests (PVTs), the Test of Memory Malingering – Trial 1 (TOMM-1) and the Rey Fifteen Item Test (Rey-15) in Romanian-speaking patients. Methods The TOMM-1 and Rey-15 free recall (FR) and the combination score incorporating the recognition trial (COMB) were administered to a mixed clinical sample of 61 adults referred for cognitive evaluation, 24 of whom had external incentives to appear impaired. Average scores on PVTs were compared between the two groups. Classification accuracies were computed using one PVT against another. Results Patients with identifiable external incentives to appear impaired produced significantly lower scores and more errors on validity indicators. The largest effect sizes emerged on TOMM-1 (Cohen’s d = 1.00–1.19). TOMM-1 was a significant predictor of the Rey-15 COMB ≤20 (AUC = .80; .38 sensitivity; .89 specificity at a cutoff of ≤39). Similarly, both Rey-15 indicators were significant predictors of TOMM-1 at ≤39 as the criterion (AUCs = .73–.76; .33 sensitivity; .89–.90 specificity). Conclusion Results offer a proof of concept for the cross-cultural validity of the TOMM-1 and Rey-15 in a Romanian clinical sample.

A Forced Choice Performance Validity Test for the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status.

We aimed to assess the utility of a novel and easy-to-administer performance validity test (PVT), the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) Forced Choice recognition trial (RFC), compared with previously developed RBANS PVTs. We compared the RFC with the RBANS Effort Index (EI) and Effort Scale (ES) in a sample of 62 non-litigating older adults (mean age = 74years, 52% female) with varying levels of cognitive impairment. A significantly greater proportion of the sample met EI criteria for non-credible performance (EI > 2; 31%) compared with RFC criteria (RFC < 9; 15%). Among participants with Major Neurocognitive Disorder, 60% met EI criteria for non-credible performance, 32% met ES criteria (ES > 12), and 24% met RFC criteria. The RFC may have greater specificity than other RBANS PVTs among individuals with more severe cognitive impairment. Further research is needed to establish the classification accuracy of the RFC for assessing performance validity.

The influence of spatial cognition and variability of mental workload among construction hazard prevention through design tasks

Research suggests safety reviews are important for Construction Hazard Prevention through Design implementation. Various visual stimuli exist when performing safety reviews and may affect the mental workload of Construction Hazard Prevention through Design tasks. However, no research addresses how spatial cognitive capability, or the format of visual stimuli may affect the mental workload of hazard recognition tasks. To address this gap, safety reviews were conducted across the United States to explore the association of spatial cognitive capability and hazard recognition performance and the variability of the mental workload of hazard recognition tasks across various formats of engineering design. In total, 117 participants were provided a mixture of design information including: computer aided design, computerized visualizations, and a combination of the two and asked to identify hazards for three construction activities. Participants spatial cognitive capability and mental workload were assessed. Multiple linear regression was used to measure the association among these variables. The results indicate no association between spatial cognitive capability and hazard recognition performance. Additionally, the format of design had no effect on mental workload. The results conflict with the prevailing belief that computerized visualizations are superior to computer aided design for reducing the mental workload of Construction Hazard Prevention through Design tasks. However, a demographic analysis revealed that construction experience and time spent in hazard recognition trials predicts hazard recognition performance. Simply, skill in a hazard recognition task depends more on the experience and diligence of the practitioner rather than the format of the design information, task demand, or spatial cognitive capability.

Explaining short-term memory phenomena with long-term memory theory: Is a special state involved?

The idea that some recently encountered items reside in a special state where they do not have to be retrieved has come to be a critical component of short-term memory theories. In the current work, the existence of such a special state was tested using the probe-recognition paradigm followed by a delayed recognition test. Across two experiments participants received a series of probe recognition trials where list lengths of 1-, 4- and 8-items were intermixed. Delayed recognition performance for non-target probes was poorer for the only item in 1-item lists than for the last item in multi-item lists. At the same time, the delayed recognition of studied-but-not probed items was better for the 1-item list, compared to the last item in a multi-item list, indicating that some form of a retrieval effect was involved and not lower levels of attention/initial learning. An examination of the size of the testing effect as it varied across list lengths and experiments also indicated that residence in a special state was not playing an important role. Overall, the data are not in support of the assumption that items at the focus of attention are in a special state that do not require retrieval. Our conclusions are that special states cannot be used to define STM memory and that the probe recognition paradigm may be useful in determining how testing affects memory.

Normative morphometrics from MRI are associated with episodic memory test performance in amnestic MCI

AbstractBackgroundProprietary software that generate normative scores for brain regions using MRI (e.g. NeuroQuant, Neuroreader) have identified greater atrophy in MCI patients than controls, particularly in the hippocampus, and have associated these measurements with episodic memory performance (Tanpitukpongse et al., 2017; Umfleet et al., 2020). While useful in clinical settings, these may be cost‐prohibitive for research purposes. Our goal was to conduct a validation study using free, non‐proprietary morphometric software (Potvin et al., 2016; 2017) with data from a cross‐sectional study of amnestic MCI (aMCI) and normal controls (NC).Method102 older adults ages 60 to 86 (nNC=75; naMCI=27) underwent 3T brain MRI and neuropsychological testing (Weintraub et al., 2018). T1‐weighted images were segmented using FreeSurfer v5.3, and from these outputs normed z‐scores were generated, adjusting for age, sex, total intracranial volume, and MRI field strength (Potvin et al., 2016a; 2016b; 2017). We hypothesized that volumes of AD‐relevant regions (hippocampus, amygdala, entorhinal cortex, parahippocampus) would be smaller in aMCI than NC with no differences in non‐AD “control regions” (cuneus, lingual gyrus, pericalcarine; Fig. 1.A), and that AD‐relevant volumes would correlate with episodic memory composites (i.e. average of normed scores (percentiles) on immediate, delay, and recognition trials from list‐learning (Rey‐Auditory Verbal Learning Test) and story‐learning (Wechsler‐Logical Memory) tests).ResultBonferroni‐corrected t‐tests showed significantly lower volumes of all AD‐relevant regions in the aMCI versus NC, with large effect sizes (Hedge’s g=0.9 to 1.2), and no group differences in control regions (ps&lt;0.05, Hedge’s g&lt;0.3). Bivariate correlations showed moderate (rs=0.38 to 0.55) associations between memory composites and most AD‐relevant regions in the aMCI but not the NC group (Fig. 1.B.1), and no associations between memory composites and control regions except for a positive association between story‐learning and cuneus volume in aMCI (Fig. 1.B.2).ConclusionSimilar to results using proprietary software, this study validates the potential clinical utility of a non‐proprietary normative morphometric software when distinguishing aMCI from NC, with AD‐relevant volumes associated with episodic memory in aMCI. Future studies are needed to characterize associations between other AD‐relevant brain regions and cognitive domains.

Multifractal Functional Connectivity Analysis of Electroencephalogram Reveals Reorganization of Brain Networks in a Visual Pattern Recognition Paradigm.

The human brain consists of anatomically distant neuronal assemblies that are interconnected via a myriad of synapses. This anatomical network provides the neurophysiological wiring framework for functional connectivity (FC), which is essential for higher-order brain functions. While several studies have explored the scale-specific FC, the scale-free (i.e., multifractal) aspect of brain connectivity remains largely neglected. Here we examined the brain reorganization during a visual pattern recognition paradigm, using bivariate focus-based multifractal (BFMF) analysis. For this study, 58 young, healthy volunteers were recruited. Before the task, 3-3 min of resting EEG was recorded in eyes-closed (EC) and eyes-open (EO) states, respectively. The subsequent part of the measurement protocol consisted of 30 visual pattern recognition trials of 3 difficulty levels graded as Easy, Medium, and Hard. Multifractal FC was estimated with BFMF analysis of preprocessed EEG signals yielding two generalized Hurst exponent-based multifractal connectivity endpoint parameters, H(2) and ΔH15; with the former indicating the long-term cross-correlation between two brain regions, while the latter captures the degree of multifractality of their functional coupling. Accordingly, H(2) and ΔH15 networks were constructed for every participant and state, and they were characterized by their weighted local and global node degrees. Then, we investigated the between- and within-state variability of multifractal FC, as well as the relationship between global node degree and task performance captured in average success rate and reaction time. Multifractal FC increased when visual pattern recognition was administered with no differences regarding difficulty level. The observed regional heterogeneity was greater for ΔH15 networks compared to H(2) networks. These results show that reorganization of scale-free coupled dynamics takes place during visual pattern recognition independent of difficulty level. Additionally, the observed regional variability illustrates that multifractal FC is region-specific both during rest and task. Our findings indicate that investigating multifractal FC under various conditions – such as mental workload in healthy and potentially in diseased populations – is a promising direction for future research.

A-113 Evaluation of a Recognition Trial for the Symbol Digit Modalities Test as a Performance Validity Measure in Monolingual and Bilingual Traumatic Brain Injury Survivors

Abstract Objective Research shows that traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients perform worse than healthy comparisons (HC) on the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT). We evaluated cut-off scores for a newly developed recognition trial of the SDMT as a performance validity assessment in monolingual and bilingual TBI survivors and HC adults. Method The sample consisted of 43 acute TBI (ATBI; 24 monolinguals; 19 bilinguals), 32 chronic TBI (CTBI; 13 monolinguals; 19 bilinguals), and 57 HC (24 monolinguals; 33 bilinguals) participants. All participants received standardized administration of the SDMT. None of the participants displayed motivation for feigning cognitive deficits. Results The HC group outperformed both TBI groups on the demographically adjusted SDMT scores, p = 0.000, ηp2 = 0.24. An interaction emerged in SDMT scores where monolingual ATBI outperformed bilingual ATBI and bilingual CTBI outperformed monolingual CTBI, p = 0.017, ηp2 = 0.06. No differences were found in the SDMT recognition trial. Both Bichlmeier and Boone’s suggested cut-off scores had different failure rates in ATBI (Bichlmeier: 77%; Boone: 37%), CTBI (Bichlmeier: 69%; Boone: 19%), and HC (Bichlmeier: 56%; Boone: 26%). For the monolingual group (Bichlmeier: 66%; Boone: 36%) and the bilingual group (Bichlmeier: 66%; Boone: 21%). Finally, chi-squared analysis revealed monolingual TBI had greater failure rates than the bilingual ATBI. Conclusion Bichlmeier’s proposed cut-off score resulted in greater failure rates in TBI survivors compared to Boone’s suggested cut-off score. Furthermore, monolingual ATBI were influenced more by Bichlmeier’s cut-off score than the bilingual ATBI group, although the reason for this finding is unclear and requires additional study with a larger sample size.