Verbal Test Scores Research Articles

Parietal memory network and memory encoding versus retrieval impairments in PD-MCI patients: A hippocampal volume and cortical thickness study.

The pathophysiology behind memory impairment in Parkinson's Disease Mild Cognitive Impairment (PD-MCI) is unclear. This study aims to investigate the hippocampal and cortical atrophy patterns in PD-MCI patients with different types of memory impairments, categorized as Retrieval Failure (RF) and Encoding Failure (EF). The study included 16 healthy controls (HC) and 34 PD-MCI patients, divided into RF (N = 18) and EF (N = 16) groups based on their Verbal Memory Processes Test (VMPT) scores, including spontaneous recall, recognition, and Index of Sensitivity to Cueing (ISC). Hippocampal subfields and cortical thicknesses were measured using the FreeSurfer software for automatic segmentation. Compared to the HC group, the EF group exhibited significant atrophy in the left lateral occipital region and the right caudal middle frontal, superior temporal, and inferior temporal regions (p⟨0.05). The RF group displayed significant atrophy in the left lateral occipital, middle temporal, and precentral regions, as well as the right pars orbitalis and superior frontal regions (p⟨0.05). Hippocampal subfield analysis revealed distinct volume differences between HC-EF and RF-EF groups, with significant reductions in the CA1, CA3, and CA4 subregions in the EF group, but no differences between HC and RF groups (p > 0.05). Gray matter atrophy patterns differ in PD-MCI patients with encoding and retrieval memory impairments. The significant hippocampal atrophy in the EF group, particularly in the CA subregions, highlights its potential role in disease progression and memory decline. Additionally, the convergence of atrophy in the lateral occipital cortex across both RF and EF groups suggests the involvement of the Parietal Memory Network (PMN) in PD-related memory impairment.

The impact of incentivizing training on students’ outcomes

This paper studies the effect on students’ scores of incentivizing in-service teacher training in a system that conditions teacher promotions to in-service training take-up. In Ecuador, teachers need to pass a compulsory knowledge test with a minimum score and undergo substantial training to qualify for a promotion. We use a regression discontinuity design to identify the causal effect of incentivizing in-service teacher training on students’ scores on a standardized national university entrance exam. We find that in-service training significantly improves students’ verbal test scores by 0.19 to 0.31 standard deviations (depending on the selected comparison window).

The Influence of Verbal Ability on the Writing Achievement of Undergraduates of Federal University of Technology Owerri, Nigeria

This study investigated the extent to which verbal ability would influence the writing achievement of fresh undergraduate students of Federal University of Technology Owerri, Nigeria. The pretest, posttest, control group, quasi experimental design was employed for the study. A sample of 425 students from a population of 5300 newly admitted undergraduates from four different faculties and departments of the university were the study participants. Three departments were used as the experimental groups while one was the control. These faculties and departments were selected through simple random sampling. A writing achievement test and a verbal ability test were the instruments used for the study. The data were collected from the writing scores and verbal test scores of the participants and analysed using mean and standard deviation, as well as Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). From the results of the study, it was found that verbal ability level did not significantly affect the writing achievement of participants. The findings indicate that students who apply themselves to their studies can excel in their writing irrespective of their level of verbal ability. It was therefore recommended that teachers in the different educational institutions should encourage their students to become proficient in the different areas of language covered by the verbal ability tests as this would help the students excel in their tertiary courses, while on the other hand, students should apply themselves to their studies as hard work and not verbal ability level is a key determinant determine in performance and achievement in their English language and other courses.

Iron Deficiency in Infancy and Sluggish Cognitive Tempo and ADHD Symptoms in Childhood and Adolescence

ABSTRACT Objective To determine whether iron deficiency in infancy is associated with sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) or attention-deficit/hyperactive-impulsive (AD-HI) symptoms in childhood and adolescence, and whether such behaviors contribute concurrently and predictively to lower verbal and mathematical abilities. Method Chilean children (N = 959; 50% male, of Spanish or indigenous descent from working-class backgrounds) were rated by mothers for SCT or AD-HI symptoms at ages 5, 10, and 16 years. Children completed standardized tests assessing verbal and mathematical abilities at ages 5, 10, and 16. At ages 12 and 18 months, children were assessed for iron deficiency. Results Adjusting for a comprehensive panel of covariates, greater severity of iron deficiency in infancy was associated with more frequent SCT and AD-HI symptoms at all ages studied. Most effects of iron deficiency on children’s verbal and math skills were indirect, mediated through AD-HI behaviors. Children’s AD-HI symptoms related to lower verbal and math test scores within age and across age. Conclusions The long-term associations found between infant iron deficiency and SCT and AD-HI behaviors suggest that the neurodevelopmental alterations that stem from postnatal iron deficiency might play an etiological role in the development of ADHD. Screening for early-life nutritional deficiencies among children with SCT or ADHD symptoms might prove useful, and behavioral screening of children with a history of iron deficiency seems warranted. Interventions that support brain development after early nutritional deprivation also would be beneficial.

Does domestic violence jeopardize the learning environment of peers within the school? Peer effects of exposure to domestic violence in urban Peru

This study examines the peer effects of domestic violence within school classrooms. Thus, it builds on the findings of Carrell and Hoekstra (2010) and Carrell et al. (2018) and expands them in two aspects. First, we focus our attention in less extreme cases of domestic violence than those that get reported to public institutions. Second, we also study the peer effects of domestic violence over a novel set of outcomes: internalizing behaviors and forms of violence at school. We show that being in a classroom with peers exposed to domestic violence leads to increased dropout rates; increased levels of depression, victimization from bullying and attitudes towards violence at school; and lower verbal and math test scores. Our findings are mainly driven by the extensive margin of exposure to physical violence (i.e. additional students affected by average violence within the classroom).

Cognitive profile in early stage Parkinson disease

Purpose: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by both motor and nonmotor symptoms mainly due to striatal dopamine deficiency. Cognitive dysfunction is one of nonmotor symptoms. The purpose of this study is to determine the cognitive dysfunction with practical screening tests and to investigate relationship between cognitive dysfunction and clinical severity in early stage of PD (EPD) Materials and Methods: EPD patients and healthy control group were included into the study. Mini mental state examination (MMSE), digit span (DS), clock drawing (CD), verbal and visual memory tests were applied to all cases. Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and Hoehn & Yahr Staging (H&Y) tests were performed to EPD patients. Correlation of neurocognitive tests with UPDRS and H&Y scores were examined in EPD patients. Results: There were 30 EPD patients (11 female/19 male) and 20 healthy controls (10 female/10 male). There was a significant difference only in CD test between EPD and healthy controls. EPD with H&Y stage 1. group had higher score on backward DS, CD, and visual memory tests than EPD with H&Y stage 2. Verbal memory test scores had negatively correlated with UPDRS scores. Conclusion: The first impaired test was CD in EPD compared to control group. Other cognitive tests (backward DS, verbal and visual memory tests) were also impaired with increasing severity of disease. MMSE was not different from the control group and did not change with increasing severity of disease. MMSE alone is not enough for evaluating of EPD, other cognitive tests have to be used.

Outdoor heat stress and cognition: Effects on those over 40 years old in China

With the increases in hot weather frequency and intensity induced by observed and predicted climate change, heat exposure is an evolving challenge. We estimated a fixed effect econometric model to data on 5,404 individuals drawn from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study database. These observations were used to examine the effect of heat stress on cognitive performance for those above 40 years of age who are often household decision-makers. We found today's heat stress decreases performance on verbal and math test scores, and that cumulative heat exposure over the last 3 days adversely affects verbal test scores. We also found that middle-aged women and people in rural areas exhibit substantial heat stress-induced reductions on cognitive test scores. This finding implies that continuing climate change may well diminish decision-making capacity and effectiveness.

Life history strategy and intelligence: Commonality and personality profile differences

Previous work on individual and group differences in life history (LH) strategy posited a central role for intelligence. Yet, empirical results failed to support the hypothesized positive association between a slow LH strategy and intelligence. The current investigation (N = 102) represents an attempt to not only re-examine the LH/intelligence hypothesis, but also to conduct an in-depth examination on how LH strategy and intelligence are expressed in personality profiles. The California Adult Q-sort measure of slow LH strategy exhibited a significant positive correlation with performance (r = 0.32), verbal (r = 0.34), and full (r = 0.38) IQ test scores. Additional findings suggest that a slow LH strategy and intelligence both include personality characteristics reflecting ambition and, possibly, social perceptiveness. Alternatively, intelligence is more closely aligned with a personality profile including intellectual ability, independence, and creativity while LH strategy was uniquely associated with interpersonal warmth, conformity, and reticence.

Use of alcohol, drugs, inhalants, and smoking tobacco and the long-term risk of depression in men: A nationwide Swedish cohort study from 1969–2017

BackgroundThe use of alcohol, drugs, inhalants, and smoking tobacco may lead to mood disorders such as depression. However, knowledge on the independent contributions of the use of these substances to the risk of depression is lacking. MethodsThe study cohort consisted of 24,564 men included in the Swedish national military conscription register who were conscripted in 1969–1970 and followed until 2017. Cox proportional hazard ratios were used to estimate the risk of depression according to alcohol, drug, inhalant, and cigarette consumption, and adjusted for body mass index, verbal comprehension test scores, handgrip strength, and the other main exposures investigated. ResultsDuring an average follow-up period of 44 years, 4500 men were diagnosed with or treated for depression at a mean age of 54 years. A dose-dependent association was found in men who smoked cigarettes, with the highest risk for smoking >20 cigarettes per day, at time of conscription (aHR 1.86, 95 % CI 1.61–2.16, p < 0.001). Independent associations with an increased risk of depression were found for the use of drugs at least once (aHR 1.21, 95 % CI 1.10–1.32, p < 0.001) and >50 times (aHR 1.48, 95 % CI 1.23–1.77, p < 0.001) and the use of inhalants (aHR 1.16, 95 % CI 1.05–1.29). Excessive alcohol intake was not associated with the risk of depression. ConclusionThe results suggest that people who reported to have used cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs at 18 years of age have a moderately increased risk of depression later in life.

Is Fish Brain Food or Brain Poison? Sea Surface Temperature, Methyl-Mercury and Child Cognitive Development

We exploit variation in the composition of local fish catches around the time of birth using largescale administrative and census data on adult cognitive test scores, schooling attainment, and occupation among coastal populations in Colombia to estimate the distinct causal effects of methylmercury (MeHg) and DHA, elements contained in fish, on cognitive development. Using an IV strategy based on an equilibrium model of fish supply that exploits time-series variation in oceanic SST anomalies on both coasts of Colombia from 1950 to 2014 as instruments, we find that net of cohort and municipality fixed effects increases in high-MeHg fish catches around a cohort’s birth, net of rainfall variation in the same interval, negatively affect the cohort’s verbal and math test scores upon exiting high school and their likelihood of continuing their schooling, while increasing the likelihood the cohort is disproportionally represented in manual-labor occupations. In contrast, for given levels of early-life high-MeHg fish supply, increases in early-life catch sizes of low-MeHg fish raise verbal and math test scores and educational attainment and lower the likelihood of being a manual laborer.

Does Domestic Violence Jeopardize the Learning Environment of Peers within the School? Peer Effects of Exposure to Domestic Violence in Urban Peru

This study builds on the findings of Carrell and Hoekstra (2010, 2018) by exploring the peer effects of domestic violence exposure over the academic attainment of secondary school students in Peru. However, we also study these peer effects over a novel set of outcomes: internalizing behaviors and forms of violence at school. Our results show that being in a classroom with peers exposed to domestic violence leads to increased dropout and school mobility rates; increased levels of depression, isolation, victimization from bullying and attitudes towards violence at school; and lower verbal and math test scores. We also find no evidence that internalizing behaviors and forms of violence at school constitute mediators through which peer exposure to domestic violence affects test scores.

Estimating New Quantities from Longitudinal Test Scores to Improve Forecasts of Future Performance

Psychometric models for longitudinal test scores typically estimate quantities associated with single-administration tests, like ability at each time-point. However, models for longitudinal tests have not considered opportunities to estimate new quantities that are unavailable from single-administration tests. Specifically, we discuss dynamic measurement models – which combine aspects of longitudinal IRT, nonlinear growth models, and dynamic assessment – to directly estimate capacity, defined as the expected future score once the construct has fully developed. After discussing the history and connecting these areas into a single framework, we apply the model to verbal test scores from the Intergenerational Studies, which follow 494 people from 3 to 72 years old. The goal is to predict adult verbal scores (Age ≥ 34) from adolescent scores (Age ≤ 20). We held-out the adult data for prediction and compared predictions from traditional longitudinal IRT ability scores and proposed dynamic measurement capacity scores from models fit to the adolescent data. Results showed that the R2 from capacity scores were 2.5 times larger than the R2 from longitudinal IRT ability scores (43% vs. 16%), providing some evidence that exploring new quantities available from longitudinal testing could be worthwhile when an interest in testing is forecasting future performance.

Heavy Air Pollution May Lower Cognitive Test Scores

A new study found that verbal and math test scores in China dropped with reduced air quality. The effects were especially pronounced for men and elderly populations.

Associations between low circulatory low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level and brain health in non-stroke non-demented subjects

Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and hypertension have independent and synergistic effects on atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. However, the role of circulatory LDL-C and its possible interactions with hypertension in brain health have been poorly investigated. The study aimed to investigate the relationship between the circulatory LDL-C level and (1) brain structures, grey-matter volume (GMV) and white matter hyperintensity (WMH) and (2) cognitive functions, and whether hypertension plays a role in these relationships. Subjects who were non-stroke and non-demented were prospectively recruited from the community-based I-Lan Longitudinal Aging Study. High-resolution 3T MRI was performed with GM and WMH segmentation. GMVs, total and regional including Alzheimer's disease-susceptible area, and WMH volumes were measured. Neurological tests including verbal memory, visuospatial, and verbal executive functions were assessed. Eight-hundred-and-two participants (59.2 ± 5.7 years; 44% men) were included. Multivariate linear regression analyses showed that low circulatory LDL-C levels (<98 mg/dL) were significantly associated with reduced GMVs in frontal (standardized β = −0.130; p = 0.003) and posterior cingulate (β = −0.113; p = 0.032) regions in hypertensive but not normotensive subjects. In addition, low circulatory LDL-C levels, combined with hypertension, had the lowest posterior cingulate GMV (β = −0.073; p = 0.021), highest periventricular WMH (β = 0.089; p = 0.011) and lowest verbal memory test scores (β = −0.088; p = 0.035) compared with neither low circulatory LDL-C level nor hypertension, and either hypertension or low circulatory LDL-C level. Age, sex, total intracranial volume, vascular risk factors, level of other circulatory lipids, and the taking of anti-hypertensive and lipid-lowering medications were adjusted. In conclusion, the role of circulatory LDL-C level and its interactive effect with hypertension on brain health are firstly demonstrated. A low circulatory LDL-C level was associated with reduced regional brain GMVs in hypertensive but not normotensive subjects. In addition, there seems a combined detrimental-effect of low circulatory LDL-C levels with hypertension on posterior cingulate GMV, WMH, and verbal memory.

Verbal learning and memory in prelingually deaf children with cochlear implants

Objective: Deaf children with cochlear implants (CIs) show poorer verbal working memory compared to normal-hearing (NH) peers, but little is known about their verbal learning and memory (VLM) processes involving multi-trial free recall.Design: Children with CIs were compared to NH peers using the California Verbal Learning Test for Children (CVLT-C).Study sample: Participants were 21 deaf (before age 6 months) children (6–16 years old) implanted prior to age 3 years, and 21 age-IQ matched NH peers.Results: Results revealed no differences between groups in number of words recalled. However, CI users showed a pattern of increasing use of serial clustering strategies across learning trials, whereas NH peers decreased their use of serial clustering strategies. In the CI sample (but not in the NH sample), verbal working memory test scores were related to resistance to the build-up of proactive interference, and sentence recognition was associated with performance on the first exposure to the word list and to the use of recency recall strategies.Conclusions: Children with CIs showed robust evidence of VLM comparable to NH peers. However, their VLM processing (especially recency and proactive interference) was related to speech perception outcomes and verbal WM in different ways from NH peers.

The effect of neighborhood context on children’s academic achievement in China: Exploring mediating mechanisms

Along with the economic reforms, rapid urbanization, and the growth of a free land market, Chinese cities witness new forms of neighborhood poverty and increasing residential segregation by social class, migration status, and housing tenure. But little is known about the consequences of the growing social-spatial differentiation for children's educational achievement in China. Using national-scale survey data from the China Family Panel Studies in 2010, this study examines the relationship between neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) and children's test scores in urban China, and explores the mechanisms through which neighborhood environment is associated with children's academic achievement. The results show that neighborhood SES is positively associated with children's verbal and math test scores after accounting for myriad individual and family characteristics. The relationship between neighborhood SES and test scores is partially explained by neighborhood educational institutions and collective socialization. Peer contagion, neighborhood social organization, or neighborhood physical environment do not explain this relationship.

Differences in verbal and nonverbal IQ test scores in children with autism spectrum disorder

BackgroundIntelligence tests are a fundamental component of diagnostic assessments for children with suspected autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There are many assessments available, but scores across tests may not be comparable in children with ASD. MethodEighty children (68 boys) age 4–14 years with ASD completed the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, 5th Edition (SB5), a verbal measure of intelligence, and the Leiter International Performance Scale – Revised (Leiter-R), a nonverbal measure of intelligence. ResultsAlthough discrepancies went in both directions, we found significantly higher mean scores on the Leiter-R than SB5 (9.6 point difference). Children younger than 8 years had more pronounced discrepancies (13.8 points vs. 3.5 points for >8 years), and children with less-developed language skills had greater discrepancies (13.1 points vs. 5.8 points for higher language skills). ConclusionThis suggests these IQ tests are not interchangeable and language demands may produce different results that could impact clinician interpretation. Both clinicians and researchers should be aware of the likely impact of adopting primarily verbal vs. nonverbal tests when assessing children with ASD, especially those with less language.

MATERNAL SENSITIVITY AND PERFORMANCE AND VERBAL INTELLIGENCE IN LATE CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between maternal sensitivity and offspring intelligence in late childhood and adolescence. Secondary data (N=117) from the Block and Block (2006a, b) 30-year longitudinal study of Californian children, which began in the late 1960s, was used to test the hypothesis that maternal sensitivity in childhood would be predictive of late childhood and adolescent intelligence. Correlational analyses revealed that maternal sensitivity, as judged by raters viewing mother's interactions with their children in a set of four joint structured cognitive tasks when the child was 5 years of age, was associated with verbal and performance IQ test scores when the children were ages 11 and 18. Using hierarchical regression to control for child sex, socioeconomic status, child temperament, child baseline IQ (as measured at age 4), mother's level of education and mother's emotional nurturance, it was found that the maternal sensitivity and child and adolescent IQ association held for verbal, but not performance IQ. Furthermore, a pattern emerged in which the association between maternal sensitivity and verbal IQ was stronger for adolescents with a lower baseline IQ. The results suggest that maternal sensitivity is associated with offspring verbal intelligence and that this association holds when numerous variables are accounted for. Additionally, this association may be stronger for children with lower IQs.

Cortical sources of resting state electroencephalographic rhythms probe brain function in naïve HIV individuals

ObjectiveHere we evaluated the hypothesis that resting state electroencephalographic (EEG) cortical sources correlated with cognitive functions and discriminated asymptomatic treatment-naïve HIV subjects (no AIDS). MethodsEEG, clinical, and neuropsychological data were collected in 103 treatment-naïve HIV subjects (88 males; mean age 39.8 years ± 1.1 standard error of the mean, SE). An age-matched group of 70 cognitively normal and HIV-negative (Healthy; 56 males; 39.0 years ± 2.0 SE) subjects, selected from a local university archive, was used for control purposes. LORETA freeware was used for EEG source estimation in fronto-central, temporal, and parieto-occipital regions of interest. ResultsWidespread sources of delta (<4 Hz) and alpha (8–12 Hz) rhythms were abnormal in the treatment-naïve HIV group. Fronto-central delta source activity showed a slight but significant (p < 0.05, corrected) negative correlation with verbal and semantic test scores. So did parieto-occipital delta/alpha source ratio with memory and composite cognitive scores. These sources allowed a moderate classification accuracy between HIV and control individuals (area under the ROC curves of 70–75%). ConclusionsRegional EEG abnormalities in quiet wakefulness characterized treatment-naïve HIV subjects at the individual level. SignificanceThis EEG approach may contribute to the management of treatment-naïve HIV subjects at risk of cognitive deficits.

Disconnection of hippocampal networks contributes to memory dysfunction in individuals with temporal lobe epilepsy.

A deficit in declarative memory function is common among individuals with temporal lobe epilepsy. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between the volume of the hippocampus, entorhinal cortex along with the surrounding parahippocampal white matter and memory performance in those with temporal lobe epilepsy. T1 weighted MRI scans were acquired using a 3-D pulse sequence in 50 individuals with temporal lobe epilepsy. Hippocampal and entorhinal cortex volumes were derived by manually tracing consecutive coronal slices aligned perpendicular to the long axis of the hippocampus. In addition, parahippocampal white matter volumes were determined using voxel based morphometry. Finally, declarative memory was assessed using immediate and delayed verbal and visual memory tests from the Wechsler Memory Scale third edition. Significant correlations were seen between right and left hippocampal volumes and delayed verbal memory test scores. In addition, left parahippocampal white matter showed positive correlations with immediate and delayed verbal and visual recall. Furthermore, regression models found that the right hippocampus and left parahippocampal white matter were the best predictors of immediate and delayed verbal and visual memory performance. These results show that a decrease in white matter fibers projecting to the hippocampus may cause a disruption of incoming multi-modal sensory information, contributing to the memory decline seen in individuals with temporal lobe epilepsy.