Story Recall Test Research Articles

Story recall performance and AT classification via positron emission tomography: A comparison of logical memory and Craft Story 21

BackgroundEarly detection of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the critical components of the global response to the growing dementia crisis. Analysis of serial position performance in story recall tests has yielded sensitive metrics for the prediction of AD at low cost. In this study, we examined whether serial position markers in two story recall tests (the logical memory test, LMT, and the Craft Story 21 test, CST) were sensitive to cross-sectional biomarker-based assessment of in vivo neuropathology. MethodsParticipants were selected from the Wisconsin Registry of Alzheimer's Prevention (n = 288; WRAP) and the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (n = 156; ADRC), both from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Average age at PET was 68.9 (6.7) and 67.0 (8.0), respectively. Data included tau and PiB PET, and LMT for WRAP participants and CST for ADRC participants. Two sets of Bayesian analyses (logistic regressions and ANCOVAs) were conducted within each cohort, separately. ResultsResults indicated that the A+T+ classification was best predicted, cross-sectionally, by the recency ratio (Rr), indexing how much of the end of the story was forgotten between initial learning and delayed assessment. Rr outperformed traditional scores and discriminated between A+T+ and A+T−/A-T-, in both cohorts. ConclusionsOverall, this study confirms that serial position analysis of LMT and CST data, and particularly Rr as an index of recency loss, is a valuable tool for the identification of in vivo tau pathology in individuals free of dementia. Diagnostic considerations are discussed.

Enhanced Learning and Memory in Patients with CRB1 Retinopathy.

Neuropsychological tests of cognitive function were used to test individuals with CRB1 and non-CRB1 retinopathies and compare results with a standardised normative dataset. CRB1 retinopathy subjects significantly outperformed those with non-CRB1 retinopathy in list learning tasks of immediate (p = 0.001) and delayed memory (p = 0.007), tests of semantic verbal fluency (p = 0.017), verbal IQ digit span subtest (p = 0.037), and estimation test of higher execution function (p = 0.020) but not in the remaining tests of cognitive function (p > 0.05). CRB1 retinopathy subjects scored significantly higher than the normal population in all areas of memory testing (p < 0.05) and overall verbal IQ tests (p = 0.0012). Non-CRB1 retinopathy subjects scored significantly higher than the normal population in story recall, verbal fluency, and overall verbal IQ tests (p = 0.0016). Subjects with CRB1 retinopathy may have enhanced cognitive function in areas of memory and learning. Further work is required to understand the role of CRB1 in cognition.

A comparison of word‐list and story recall tests for prediction of biomarker‐determined Alzheimer’s disease

AbstractBackgroundWord‐list and story recall tests are routinely employed in clinical practice for dementia screening. Previous research has shown that both types of tests are predictive of subsequent clinical diagnoses of dementia, including when examining process scores such as forgetting rate. In this study, our aim was to establish how well standard clinical metrics compared to process scores derived from word‐list and story recall tests in predicting biomarker‐determined Alzheimer’s disease (bdAD), as defined by CSF p‐tau/Abeta42 ratio.MethodData from 381 participants (mean age = 65, ± 9) were drawn from the University of Wisconsin – Madison Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) and Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer’s Prevention (WRAP). Rey’s Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT; word‐list) and Logical Memory Test (LMT; story) data were available. The conventional clinical scores examined were: AVLT total recall, AVLT delayed recall, LMT immediate recall, and LMT delayed recall. The process scores examined were: AVLT recency ratio (i.e., recency forgetting), AVLT total forgetting, LMT recency ratio, LMT total forgetting, and LMT primacy ratio (i.e., primacy forgetting). Bayesian linear regression analyses were carried out with either the nearest or farthest CSF p‐tau/Abeta42 ratio as outcome; the standard and process baseline memory scores as predictors; and baseline age, time elapsed from baseline to lumbar puncture, APOE risk score, sex, and years of education as control variables. Sensitivity analyses were carried out with logistic regressions using a cut‐off of 0.038 CSF p‐tau/Abeta42 ratio as outcome, to assess diagnosticity. CSF biomarkers were measured using the NeuroToolKit (Roche Diagnostics International Ltd, Rotkreuz, Switzerland).ResultLMT recency ratio and LMT primacy ratio were the best performing predictors (BF10 &gt; 1 billion) both when evaluating the nearest (Figure 1a) and the farthest (Figure 1b) outcomes. However, sensitivity analyses with a binary cut‐off favored the primacy ratio. Areas under the curve (AUCs) ranged from 0.86 to 0.87 (including covariates). Specificity was consistently high for primacy ratio with 94% probability of correctly identifying individuals without bdAD.ConclusionOur study shows that story recall tests may be better than word‐list tests for dementia screening, especially when employing process scores alongside conventional clinical scores.

Norms for the Triana Test: A Story Recall Test Based on Emotional Material.

The "Triana Test" is a novel story recall test based on emotional material with demonstrated accuracy in diagnosing mild cognitive impairment patients. This study aims to obtain normative data for the "Triana Test". A normative study was conducted at a university hospital in Spain. Partners of patients were systematically recruited if eligible (age ≥50, no memory complaints, and a total TMA-93 score at or above the 10th percentile). The "Triana Test" was administered and scored. For developing the normative data, a regression-based method was followed. The final sample included 362 participants (median age = 66, range = 50-88; 64.9% females). A model including age and educational level better predicted the total scores. Combinations of these variables resulted in different 10th percentile scores. Norms for using the "Triana Test" are now available. The provided cutoffs for the 10th percentile will aid in the diagnosis of prodromal Alzheimer's disease.

17 The Chinese Version of Craft Story Recall: A Preliminary Study on the Diagnostic Values of Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia.

Objective:Craft story recall test in the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center Uniformed Data Set 3 (NACC UDS3) neuropsychological battery has been employed to assess verbal memory and assist clinical diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. While a Chinese version of the test was adapted, no existing literature has examined the diagnostic validity of the test in Chinese Americans. This study aimed to evaluate the predictive validity of both immediate and delayed recall.Participants and Methods:The Chinese version of Craft Story was administered in to 78 Chinese participants per their language preference of Mandarin or Cantonese. Outcome measures were verbatim and paraphrase recall of the story immediately and after a 20-minute delay. A multiple linear regression was performed to investigate the association of each outcome measure with age, education, gender, age when moved to the U.S., years in the U.S., and testing language. To assess its diagnostic value, cutoff standard deviation scores of -1.5 and -2.0 from the mean of the clinically cognitive normal participants were generated for MCI and dementia diagnoses, respectively. Due to the small sample size, a normative group fitting the mean age (73 years), years of education (12 years), and the majority gender (female) of the current sample were used to identify standard cut points. A receiver-operating characteristic analysis was used to compare predicted diagnosis with actual clinical diagnosis obtained through patients’ overall performance and a consensus meeting by licensed clinicians.Results:Younger age (p &lt; 0.05) and being tested in Mandarin (p &lt; .01) were positively associated with immediate and delayed recall. Strong positive correlations between each measure were observed (all p &lt; .001), indicating a significant relationship between information encoded and retained. Among all the participants, 15 (19.2%) were diagnosed with MCI and 22 (28.2%) with dementia. For MCI diagnosis, the standard cutoff scores demonstrated adequate sensitivity (verbatim=82%, paraphrase=91%) but low specificity (verbatim=44%, paraphrase=67%) in all outcome measures. For dementia diagnosis, delayed recall showed strong sensitivity (100%) and adequate specificity (75%) in both verbatim and paraphrasing scores. Immediate recall paraphrase (sensitivity = 95%, specificity = 50%) showed a better sensitivity but lower specificity than verbatim scoring (sensitivity = 86%, specificity = 58%). The accuracy was higher in delayed recall for both MCI and dementia diagnosis. A preliminary analysis on the optimal cut points indicated higher cutoff scores to distinguish MCI and dementia from clinically cognitive normal population, and from each other (e.g., the optimal cut point for delayed verbatim in distinguishing MCI from normal is 8.0 (sensitivity=89%, specificity=73%, AUC=84.3%)).Conclusions:Consistent with previous literature, Craft Story delayed recall served as a more accurate diagnostic tool for both MCI and dementia compared to immediate recall in older Chinese Americans. However, poor specificity might increase the chance of following false positive subjects in clinical trials. In addition, testing language appeared to impact performance on verbal memory recall of constructed information. Thus, future studies should focus on developing normative scores that address both the overall cultural differences of Chinese Americans and the heterogeneity within this population.

The Use of Verbal and Nonverbal Memory Tests for Alzheimer's Disease Screening in Taiwan Chinese.

Patients with Alzheimer's disease typically have initial deficits in memory. Memory testing can be categorized as verbal or nonverbal by the modality of the stimuli used. We compared the discriminative validity of selected verbal and nonverbal memory tests between non-dementia and Alzheimer's disease in Taiwan. Ninety-eight patients with mild Alzheimer's disease and 269 non-dementia individuals underwent story recall test (immediate and delayed recall), and constructional praxis test (copy and delayed recall). The receiver-operating characteristic curve and area under the curve were evaluated to compare between tests. Patients with Alzheimer's disease performed poorly across all memory tests, and the receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis indicated that story recall immediate and relayed recall, and constructional praxis delayed recall had good classification accuracy with area under the curve of .90, .87 and .87 respectively. These results provide support that both verbal and nonverbal memory tests are reliable measure for screening patients with Alzheimer's disease.

A comparison of diagnostic performance of word-list and story recall tests for biomarker-determined Alzheimer’s disease

ABSTRACT Background Wordlist and story recall tests are routinely employed in clinical practice for dementia diagnosis. In this study, our aim was to establish how well-standard clinical metrics compared to process scores derived from wordlist and story recall tests in predicting biomarker determined Alzheimer’s disease, as defined by CSF ptau/Aβ42 ratio. Methods Data from 295 participants (mean age = 65 ± 9.) were drawn from the University of Wisconsin – Madison Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) and Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer’s Prevention (WRAP). Rey’s Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT; wordlist) and Logical Memory Test (LMT; story) data were used. Bayesian linear regression analyses were carried out with CSF ptau/Aβ42 ratio as outcome. Sensitivity analyses were carried out with logistic regressions to assess diagnosticity. Results LMT generally outperformed AVLT. Notably, the best predictors were primacy ratio, a process score indexing loss of information learned early during test administration, and recency ratio, which tracks loss of recently learned information. Sensitivity analyses confirmed this conclusion. Conclusions Our study shows that story recall tests may be better than wordlist tests for detection of dementia, especially when employing process scores alongside conventional clinical scores.

Story memory in Alzheimer’s disease research: Concordance between logical memory and craft story 21 in a demographically diverse aging cohort

AbstractBackgroundEpisodic memory loss, the hallmark symptom of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), is frequently quantified by performance on story memory tasks. The National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC) Uniform Data Set (UDS) previously included Logical Memory (LM) as a story memory measure due to its widespread use in the field. Version 3 of the UDS shifted towards nonproprietary neuropsychological tests, hence the Craft Story 21 (CS) was introduced to replace LM. The concordance between LM and CS is poorly understood in demographically diverse older adults, possibly jeopardizing the integrity of longitudinal data in aging cohorts.MethodEinstein Aging Study participants (subsample, n = 300; Mage = 76.6; Myears education = 14.9; 66.3% women; 43.3% Non‐Hispanic White) completed measures from the UDS test battery, including two story measures of immediate recall (LM1 and CS1) and delayed recall (LM2 CS2). Classification as cognitively normal (CN; n = 201) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI; n = 98) was based on Jak/Bondi criteria. Analyses included correlations, linear regression, and equipercentile equating at baseline to characterize the relationship between LM and CS. Multivariate linear mixed effects (LME) models (for immediate and delay) explored LM and CS performance across follow‐up ‘waves’ of longitudinal data, controlling for gender, ethnicity, education level, baseline depressive symptoms, and baseline age, and were further stratified by baseline cognitive status (CN vs MCI).ResultLM1 and CS1 (r = 0.54) and LM2 and CS2 (r = 0.56) were moderately correlated, although the correlations were weaker in our sample than those previously reported by NACC (r = 0.73 and r = 0.77 respectively). Education, age, and depressive symptoms were significantly associated with story memory performance at baseline. Multivariate LME revealed significant interaction effects of follow‐up waves, depressive symptoms, and gender on story memory. These results were consistent regardless of baseline cognitive status.ConclusionWhile LM and CS are correlated they are not replicate measures. Our findings underscore the importance of taking into account key factors that may influence performance on story recall tests, including gender, depressive symptoms, and practice effects. Furthermore, the distinct content of the LM and CS stories may differentially impact learning and recall. These findings may aid in decision making about test selection in a given clinical or research sample.

Disruption in normal correlational patterns of metabolic networks in the limbic circuit during transient global amnesia.

Transient global amnesia is characterized by the sudden apparition of severe episodic amnesia, mainly anterograde, associated with emotional changes. Even though the symptoms are stereotyped, cerebral mechanism underlying transient global amnesia remains unexplained and previous studies using positron emission tomography do not show any clear results or consensus on cerebral regions impacted during transient global amnesia. This study included a group of 10 transient global amnesic patients who underwent 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography during the acute or recovery phase of the episode and 10 paired healthy controls. Episodic memory was evaluated with the encoding-storage-retrieval paradigm and a story recall test of the Wechsler's memory scale and anxiety was assessed with the Spielberger scale. We used statistical parametric mapping to identify modifications of whole-brain metabolism. Regarding hypometabolism, there was no brain region systematically affected in all transient global amnesic patients and the comparison between amnesic patients and controls did not show any significant differences. To better understand the specific implication of the limbic circuit in the pathophysiology of transient global amnesia, we then conducted a correlational analysis that included regions of this network. Our findings showed that in healthy controls, regions of the limbic circuit seem to operate in a synchronized way with all regions being highly correlated to each other. On the opposite, in transient global amnesic patients, we observed a clear disruption of this normal correlational patterns between regions with the medial temporal lobe (the hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus and amygdala) included in one cluster and the orbitofrontal cortex, anterior and posterior cingulate gyrus and thalamus gathered in the other one. Given the individual variability in the time course of transient global amnesia, the direct comparison between a group of patients and controls does not seem to favour the identification of subtle and transient alterations in regional metabolism. The involvement of an extended network, such as the limbic circuit, seems more likely to explain the symptoms of patients. Indeed, the synchronization of regions within the limbic circuit seems to be altered during transient global amnesia, which could explain the amnesia and anxiety observed in transient global amnesic patients. The present study thus deepens our understanding of the mechanisms underlying not only amnesia but also the emotional component of transient global amnesia by considering it as a disruption in the normal correlational patterns within the limbic circuit.

A novel dual-task paradigm with story recall shows significant differences in the gait kinematics in older adults with cognitive impairment: A cross-sectional study.

Cognitive and motor dysfunctions in older people become more evident while dual-tasking. Several dual-task paradigms have been used to identify older individuals at the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and dementia. This study evaluated gait kinematic parameters for dual-task (DT) conditions in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), subjective cognitive decline (SCD), and normal cognition (NC). This is a cross-sectional, clinical-based study carried out at the Zhongshan Rehabilitation Branch of First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, China. We recruited 83 community-dwelling participants and sorted them into MCI (n = 24), SCD (n = 33), and NC (n = 26) groups based on neuropsychological tests. Their mean age was 72.0 (5.55) years, and male-female ratio was 42/41 (p = 0.112). Each participant performed one single-task walk and four DT walks: DT calculation with subtracting serial sevens; DT naming animals; DT story recall; and DT words recall. Kinematic gait parameters of speed, knee peak extension angle, and dual-task cost (DTC) were obtained using the Vicon Nexus motion capture system and calculated by Visual 3D software. A mixed-effect linear regression model was used to analyze the data. The difference in gait speed under DT story recall and DT calculation was -0.099 m/s and - 0.119 m/s (p = 0.04, p = 0.013) between MCI and SCD, respectively. Knee peak extension angle under DT story recall, words recall, and single task was bigger in the MCI group compared to the NC group, respectively (p = 0.001, p = 0.001, p = 0.004). DTC was higher in the DT story recall test than all other DT conditions (p < 0.001). Kinematic gait parameters of knee peak extension angle for the DT story recall were found to be sensitive enough to discriminate MCI individuals from NC group. DTC under DT story recall was higher than the other DT conditions.

Association between PTSD and Cognitive Performance: A Longitudinal Twins Study

AbstractBackgroundPosttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a chronic psychiatric condition that develops after exposure to life‐threatening events. The negative impact of PTSD on a person’s emotions and behavior can have long‐term deleterious effects on cognitive performance. The association between PTSD and cognition however can be confounded by unmeasured factors such as shared genetic and environmental factors. Twin studies allow us to explore this potential causal pathway by controlling for genetic and familial confounding.MethodsWe examined 77 male monozygotic and 47 dizygotic twin pairs from the Vietnam Era Twin Registry in two examinations approximately 12 years apart. At both visits, we obtained information regarding demographic data, medical history, diagnosis of PTSD and cognitive tests. Memory and learning were measured by Trail making tests, Wechsler Memory Scale (Immediate and Delayed Memory tests and Visual Reproductive Test). Linear mixed‐effect regression models were used to examine the association between PTSD and cognitive tests accounting for twin pairing. Analysis was performed by treating twins as individuals and considering within twin pair differences (among twin pairs discordant for PTSD).ResultsThe mean age was 55 years (SD 3.0) at baseline, 96% were White, and 60% monozygotic twins. Lifetime history of PTSD was not associated with cognitive measures at baseline. At follow‐up, the mean age was 67.9 years (SD 2.5). In twins considered as individuals lifetime history of PTSD was associated with worse performance on Trails A (β = 4.9, 95% CI 8.6, 1.3, p‐value = 0.008) and Trails B (β = 14.6, 95% CI 26.8, 2.4, p‐value = 0.019). After adjusting for demographics, cardiovascular and behavioral risk factors, these associations persisted (Trails A, β = 5.4, 95% CI 9.4, 1.4, p‐value = 0.009; Trails B, β = 14.1, 95% CI 26.9, 1.2, p‐value = 0.032). The within‐pair estimates were similar to individual estimates. There was no association with Wechsler immediate or delayed story recall or Visual Reproductive Test. In stratified analyses, the results were similar by zygosity.ConclusionsLifetime history of PTSD is associated with poor cognitive performance, primarily in the executive function domain, which manifests at older age. This association is not confounded by shared genetic and other familial factors.

Associations between semantic memory for proper names in story recall and CSF amyloid and tau in a cognitively unimpaired sample

AbstractBackgroundDifficulty recalling proper names (PNs; e.g., names of people/places) is a common complaint of individuals at risk for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We recently reported that cognitively unimpaired (CU), positron emission tomography amyloid‐beta (Aβ) positive (A+) individuals recalled fewer PNs than Aβ negative individuals on the Logical Memory (LM) delayed story recall test. Declines in delayed LM total scores (LMtot) have been associated with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) A+ and tau (T); the relationship between PNs and AD‐CSF biomarkers is unknown. We investigated whether delayed recall of PNs at baseline, or most recent visit, were associated with biomarker positivity for two AD‐CSF biomarkers, and whether PNs were more strongly associated than traditionally used LMtot scores.MethodCU participants with no other neurological diagnoses and CSF data available were included from the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer’s Prevention (N = 219; mean baseline age [standard deviation] = 58.12 [6.31]). Item‐level LM data were used to create PNs (0–9) and LMtot (0–50) scores. A and T statuses (+/‐) were determined using published cutoffs for CSF Aβ42/40 and phosphorylated tau 181 (pTau181). Logistic regression models investigated whether LMtot or PNs were associated with most recent biomarker status, covarying CSF age, sex, Wide Range Achievement Test‐3 score, and apolipoprotein E4 status. Model fits were compared using Akaike information criterion (AIC). For descriptive purposes, effect sizes between adjusted means of PNs and LMtot were calculated for biomarker‐positive vs. negative groups.ResultOverall, 31 individuals (14%) were Aβ42/40+ and 29 (13.0%) were pTau181+ (Table 1). Baseline PNs nor LMtot were not significantly associated with AD‐CSF biomarkers (Table 2). Most recent PNs and LMtot were associated with AD‐CSF (Table 3). AICs indicated similar fits between PNs and LMtot at each timepoint, and better fits with most recent vs. baseline LM scores. Effect sizes were higher for most recent LM metrics compared to baseline and were slightly higher for PNs than LMTot for Aβ (Figure 1).ConclusionMetrics from story recall tasks are associated with increased risk of CSF‐AD biomarker positivity and suggest that PNs from story recall may be sensitive to early AD biomarker changes. Validation by replication in additional cohorts is required.

Guidance in storytelling tables supports emotional development in kindergartners

Promoting the social-emotional development of kindergartners is of special relevance as will lay the foundations for emotion regulation in later childhood and adulthood stages. Considering that tangible storytelling tables are already used for language and literacy skills in kindergarten, we addressed the problem of designing a storytelling intervention aimed at social-emotional development suitable in such a context by using an emotional laden story as content and embedding a guidance method that can be implemented with either a human or robot guide to enhance the learning setting. The study considered two guided storytelling activities (one traditional guided by the teacher, and one in which guidance was provided by a robot) and a control condition without additional guidance. The three conditions were compared in terms of kindergartners’ enactment process, an emotion recognition test and a story recall test. The results show that the guidance method properly supported emotion naming, children involvement and goal completion during the storytelling activity whereas the intervention supported the learning gain on emotion recognition. The study revealed that both robot and human guidance did not differ significantly in the performance tests but did outperform the control. In view of the results, this research is helpful for researchers and teachers to create in an informed way a range of environments in the kindergarten class based on storytelling tables, either with or without guidance, and with or without robot support. Future work may further investigate how specific interaction issues concerning robot embodiment (e.g., voice and behavioral cues to direct children’s attention) might enhance or not the children’s performance.

Sex influences clinical phenotype in frontotemporal dementia

IntroductionFrontotemporal dementia (FTD) encompasses a wide spectrum of genetic, clinical, and histological findings. Sex is emerging as a potential biological variable influencing FTD heterogeneity; however, only a few studies explored this issue with nonconclusive results.ObjectiveTo estimate the role of sex in a single-center large cohort of FTD patients.MethodsFive hundred thirty-one FTD patients were consecutively enrolled. Demographic, clinical, and neuropsychological features, survival rate, and serum neurofilament light (NfL) concentration were determined and compared between sex.ResultsThe behavioral variant of FTD was more common in men, whereas primary progressive aphasia was overrepresented in women (p < 0.001). While global cognitive impairment was comparable, females had a more severe cognitive impairment, namely in Trail Making Test parts A and B (p = 0.003), semantic fluency (p = 0.03), Short Story Recall Test (p = 0.003), and the copy of Rey Complex Figure (p = 0.005). On the other hand, men exhibited more personality/behavioral symptoms (Frontal Behavior Inventory [FBI] AB, p = 0.003), displaying higher scores in positive FBI subscales (FBI B, p < 0.001). In particular, apathy (p = 0.02), irritability (p = 0.006), poor judgment (p = 0.033), aggressivity (p = 0.008), and hypersexuality (p = 0.006) were more common in men, after correction for disease severity. NfL concentration and survival were not statistically different between men and women (p = 0.167 and p = 0.645, respectively).DiscussionThe present study demonstrated that sex is a potential factor in determining FTD phenotype, while it does not influence survival. Although the pathophysiological contribution of sex in neurodegeneration is not well characterized yet, our findings highlight its role as deserving biological variable in FTD.

On the importance of using local tests and local norms in the assessment of memory

The current study compared the assessment of memory with a translated story recall test and its original published norms and an equivalent local test with local norms. Analyses used data from 232 individuals with memory complaints who underwent neuropsychological evaluation at an outpatient memory clinic. One group of participants completed a translated test (N = 126) and another group completed a local test (N = 106). Additionally, participants completed tasks of word list recall, picture naming, and verbal fluency, all having local norms. The results showed that raw scores on the delayed story recall test, and on all other cognitive tasks, did not differ across groups, and the cross-task correlations were significant and similar in size in both groups. Yet, there was an interaction between group and standardized tests scores, whereby the standardized scores on the translated story recall test were equivalent to population mean, whereas all other scores fell below the mean. Conversion of raw scores to the original norms indicated that the performance of individuals with memory complaints was intact, while conversion of scores on a local test to local norms revealed the expected memory impairment. The findings highlight the importance of using local tests and local norms in the assessment of memory.

Extending the usefulness of the verbal memory test: The promise of machine learning

The evaluation of verbal memory is a core component of neuropsychological assessment in a wide range of clinical and research settings. Leveraging story recall to assay neurocognitive function could be made more useful if it were possible to administer frequently (i.e., would allow for the collection of more patient data over time) and automatically assess the recalls with machine learning methods. In the present study, we evaluated a novel story recall test with 24 parallel forms that was deployed using smart devices in 94 psychiatric inpatients and 80 nonpatient adults. Machine learning and vector-based natural language processing methods were employed to automate test scoring, and performance using these methods was evaluated in their incremental validity, criterion validity (i.e., convergence with trained human raters), and parallel forms reliability. Our results suggest moderate to high consistency across the parallel forms, high convergence with human raters (r values ~ 0.89), and high incremental validity for discriminating between groups. While much work remains, the present findings are critical for implementing an automated, neuropsychological test deployable using remote technologies across multiple and frequent administrations.

Higher blood cadmium level is associated with greater cognitive decline in rural Chinese adults aged 65 or older

Cadmium (Cd) exposure has been reported to have neurotoxic effects in animal studies and associated with increased Alzheimer's Disease mortality and lower cognitive function in cross-sectional and case-control studies. However, no results from longitudinal studies on Cd and cognitive decline are available. In this prospective cohort study, we recruited 1867 participants aged 65 years or older from rural areas in China, blood Cd and cognitive function were measured at baseline (2010−2012), and 1554 participants completed cognitive function tests during a 3-year follow-up (2013–2015). Cognitive function was evaluated using nine standardized cognitive tests: The Community Screening Instrument for Dementia, the CERAD Word List Learning, Word list recall, IU Story Recall, Animal Fluency Test, Boston Naming Test, Stick Design, Delayed Stick Design and the IU Token Test. Analysis of covariance models and logistic regression models were used to determine the association between Cd and standardized cognitive decline adjusting for covariates. The median blood Cd concentration of this study population was 2.12 μg/L, and the interquartile range was 1.42–4.64 μg/L. Significant association of higher Cd levels with lower cognitive scores were observed in five individual cognitive tests (Delayed Stick Design Test, Boston Naming Test, CERAD Word List Learning Test, Word List Recall Test and IU Story Recall Test) and the composite cognitive score adjusting for multi-covariates at baseline. Higher Cd levels were significantly associated with greater 3-year cognitive decline in Delayed Stick Design Test, Boston Naming Test, IU Token Test, Word List Recall Test and Composite cognitive score. For these cognitive tests, participants in the top two Cd quartile groups had significantly greater decline than those in the lowest Cd quartile group, while the two lowest Cd quartile groups were not significantly different. Our findings suggest that higher Cd exposure is associated with greater cognitive decline in older Chinese adults.

Worth the Wait: Delayed Recall after 1 Week Predicts Cognitive and Medial Temporal Lobe Trajectories in Older Adults.

Clinically normal older adults (52-92 years old) were followed longitudinally for up to 8 years after completing a memory paradigm at baseline [Story Recall Test (SRT)] that assessed delayed recall at 30 min and 1 week. Subsets of the cohort underwent neuroimaging (N = 134, mean age = 75) and neuropsychological testing (N = 178-207, mean ages = 74-76) at annual study visits occurring approximately 15-18 months apart. Mixed-effects regression models evaluated if baseline SRT performance predicted longitudinal changes in gray matter volumes and cognitive composite scores, controlling for demographics. Worse SRT 1-week recall was associated with more precipitous rates of longitudinal decline in medial temporal lobe volumes (p = .037), episodic memory (p = .003), and executive functioning (p = .011), but not occipital lobe or total gray matter volumes (demonstrating neuroanatomical specificity; p > .58). By contrast, SRT 30-min recall was only associated with longitudinal decline in executive functioning (p = .044). Memory paradigms that capture longer-term recall may be particularly sensitive to age-related medial temporal lobe changes and neurodegenerative disease trajectories. (JINS, 2020, xx, xx-xx).

The Characteristics of Cognitive Impairment in ALS Patients Depend on the Lateralization of Motor Damage.

(1) Background: Cognitive features of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have never been specifically analyzed according to the lateralization of motor impairment. In the present study we investigated the cognitive performances of ALS patients to describe the relationship between motor and cognitive dysfunction, according to site and side of disease onset. (2) Methods: Six-hundred and nine ALS patients underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation at diagnosis in Turin ALS Centre Tests included—mini-mental state examination (MMSE), frontal assessment battery (FAB), trail-making test A/B (TMT A-B), digit span forward and backward (digit span FW/digit span BW), letter fluency test (FAS), category fluency test (CAT), Rey auditory verbal learning test (RAVLT), Babcock story recall test (BSRT), Rey-Osterrieth complex figure test (ROCFT), Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST), Raven’s coloured progressive matrices (CPM47). Cognitive performances of patients, grouped by side and site of onset, were statistically compared using z-scores, as appropriate. (3) Results: Bulbar patients and bilateral spinal onset patients (Sbil) were generally characterized by lower cognitive performances in most neuropsychological tests, when compared to patients with lateralized onset (right-side spinal onset, Sri and left-side spinal onset, Sle). Digit span backward and visual memory task (ROCFT) median z-scores were significantly higher, reflecting a better cognitive performance, in Sri patients when compared to bulbar/Sbil patients, while verbal memory tasks (RAVLT and BRST) resulted in significantly higher scores in Sle patients. Our results are in keeping with hemispheric functional lateralization of language and visuospatial abilities. (4) Conclusions: In ALS patients, as in other neurodegenerative diseases, we found a direct relationship between lateralized motor and cognitive features.

A Comparison of EFL Fifth Graders’ Vocabulary Acquisition through Skype Videoconferencing and Face-to-face Picture Book Storytelling

This quasi-experimental study explores the relative efficacy of computer-mediated communication (CMC) and face-to-face picture book storytelling for promoting young EFL learners’ English word acquisition. Thirty-two young EFL learners participated in a 40-minute story session in the two aforementioned modes. Receptive and productive word gains were assessed through immediate and delayed receptive vocabulary tests and productive story recall tests. To better explain how the CMC and face-to-face settings affected the participants’ word gains, their involvement in the two types of storytelling settings was evaluated using an involvement load survey. The results show that the participants’ task involvement was higher in the face-to-face setting than the CMC setting, which led to better word gains. Within each setting, high-involvement participants’ word gain was better than that of their low-involvement counterparts. However, the difference between high-involvement and low-involvement participants was only manifest in the receptive word gains for the participants in the CMC setting, but not the productive word gains. These findings suggest that face-to-face storytelling might be the more effective setting when picture book storytelling is adopted to promote EFL young learners’ word gains, especially for receptive word gains.