Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Scores Research Articles

Under pressure: the interplay of hypertension and white matter hyperintensities with cognition in chronic stroke aphasia.

While converging research suggests that increased white matter hyperintensity load is associated with poorer cognition, and the presence of hypertension is associated with increased white matter hyperintensity load, the relationship among hypertension, cognition and white matter hyperintensities is not well understood. We sought to determine the effect of white matter hyperintensity burden on the relationship between hypertension and cognition in individuals with post-stroke aphasia, with the hypothesis that white matter hyperintensity load moderates the relationship between history of hypertension and cognitive function. Health history, Fazekas scores for white matter hyperintensities and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Matrix Reasoning subtest scores for 79 people with aphasia collected as part of the Predicting Outcomes of Language Rehabilitation study at the Center for the Study of Aphasia Recovery at the University of South Carolina and the Medical University of South Carolina were analysed retrospectively. We found that participants with a history of hypertension had increased deep white matter hyperintensity severity (P < 0.001), but not periventricular white matter hyperintensity severity (P = 0.116). Moderation analysis revealed that deep white matter hyperintensity load moderates the relationship between high blood pressure and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale scores when controlling for age, education, aphasia severity and lesion volume. The interaction is significant, showing that a history of high blood pressure and severe deep white matter hyperintensities together are associated with poorer Matrix Reasoning scores. The overall model explains 41.85% of the overall variation in Matrix Reasoning score in this group of participants. These findings underscore the importance of considering cardiovascular risk factors in aphasia treatment, specifically hypertension and its relationship to brain health in post-stroke cognitive function.

Memory, Executive, and Intellectual Functions in Adults with Moyamoya Disease

Cognitive function can decline in adults with moyamoya disease (MMD). Memory, which is an essential but complex and multifaceted function, underpins executive and intellectual functions. However, the relationship between memory and executive or intellectual functions in adults with MMD has not been well studied. The relationship between memory and cerebral blood flow has also not been elucidated. This study investigated correlations between memory, executive function, and intellectual function, and associations between cerebral blood flow and memory in adults with MMD. Memory, executive function, and intellectual function were assessed using the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R), Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) third or fourth edition, respectively, in 31 adults with MMD. Cerebral blood flow was measured with iodine 123I-iodoamphetamine single-photon emission computed tomography. WMS-R scores correlated significantly with total FAB and WAIS scores before and after revascularization. Cerebral blood flow in the left posterior cerebral artery territory correlated positively with WMS-R and WAIS scores pre- and postoperatively. Postoperative cerebrovascular reserves of the right cerebellum, pons, and vermis were positively associated with visual memory, and postoperative cerebrovascular reserve of the pons was also associated with general memory. Memory function correlates with executive and intellectual functions in adults with MMD. The FAB, which requires about 10min to administer, might be useful to screen for memory dysfunction. Memory might be vulnerable to hypoperfusion in the posterior cerebral artery territory among adults with MMD. Postoperative cerebrovascular reserve might help predict memory dysfunction in adults with MMD.

Feasibility of Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy for Patients with Obesity and Disorders of Intellectual Development: a Single Institutional Experience

BackgroundOwing to their difficulty following clinical advice for procedural safety and ideal surgical outcomes, bariatric and metabolic surgery (BMS) for patients with disorders of intellectual development (DID) is concerning. Studies reporting the feasibility of BMS for this population remain scarce. This study aims to clarify the feasibility of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) for patients with clinically severe obesity and DID.MethodsA retrospective analysis of a single institutional prospective database collected from 2010 to 2022 was performed. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) was used to measure intellectual ability before LSG. A multidisciplinary team approach was implemented to give special support and care to patients with DID. Patients were categorized into groups according to their WAIS scores. LSG outcomes were statistically compared between the DID and average intellectual ability groups.ResultsUsing the WAIS to measure intellectual ability among patients who underwent LSG, we identified 14 patients with DID (IQ score: < 69, mean IQ: 63.4) and 71 with average intellectual ability (IQ score: 90–109, mean IQ: 98.9). Operative outcomes were comparable between the groups as follows: operation time (DID: 163 ± 41 min, average intelligence: 162 ± 30 min), hospital stay (DID: 4 [4–5] days, average intelligence: 5 [4–6] days), and total comorbidities (DID: 7.1%, average intelligence: 8.4%). No reoperations were performed, and no mortalities were observed.ConclusionsWith medical and social support and care, performing LSG on patients with clinically severe obesity and DID is safe, with good short-term results.Graphical abstract

Association of autoantibodies to muscarinic acetylcholine receptors with gastrointestinal symptoms and disease severity in patients with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.

Previous studies have reported a relationship between postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and positivity for serum autoantibodies against G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). However, the role of these autoantibodies in POTS is unclear. The present retrospective study analyzed the autoimmune etiology of POTS in 24 patients using a head-up tilt test to assess for any correlation between the clinical features of POTS and serum levels of autoantibodies against diverse GPCRs. In total, ten assessment items, including autonomic function tests, were analyzed. Of these, persistent, gastrointestinal symptoms and disease severity showed a significant association with the serum level of anti-muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChRs) antibodies (gastrointestinal symptoms, M1, M2, M5; disease severity, M1, M3, M4, M5) [P <0.05]), while no significant association was found between the clinical features and autoantibodies against adrenergic receptors (α1, α2, β1, β2), angiotensin receptor 1, or endothelin receptor A. The patients were further divided into two groups based on the presence or absence of persistent gastrointestinal symptoms and then were characterized by the ten assessment items and neuropsychological tests, including the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale score and Self-Rating Depression Scale score. The results demonstrated a clear difference between the two groups in terms of disease severity, age at onset (older or younger than 20 years), and processing speed index (P <0.05), which were highly consistent with the association between these clinical features and the levels of serum anti-mAChR antibodies, particularly the anti-M5 receptor antibody. These findings suggested that anti-mAChR antibodies may play an important role in a subgroup of POTS patients with persistent gastrointestinal symptoms.

Association between brain-derived neurotropic factor gene variant (rs6265; C > T) and schizophrenia, its psychopathology and intelligence

Background and objectivesThe etiology of schizophrenia (SCZ) is not yet known, but the genetic factor has an essential role. Its heritability is estimated up to 85 percent. This study aimed to determine whether the selected brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) gene variant (rs6265) is associated with SCZ, its psychopathology and intelligence quotient (IQ). MethodsRs6265 was genotyped in 159 participants, including 71 unrelated patients with SCZ (males = 40 [56%]) and 88 healthy controls (males = 35 [40%]). Psychopathology assessment was done by using positive and negative symptoms scale (PANSS), and IQ was measured by Wechsler adult intelligence scale (WAIS). COCAPHASE and CLUMP22 softwares were used to compare allele and genotype frequencies respectively. Two-way multivariate ANOVA was done using SPSS22 to evaluate the effects of the group (patients and healthy control) and the genotype on the test scores, including PANSS and WAIS scores, considering sex and smoking status as covariates. ResultsThe study showed that the BDNF rs6265 C allele and CC genotypes, psychopathology, including PANSS scores, and also IQ were significantly different in all, male and female patients compared to healthy participants. For rs6265, we found significantly higher frequencies of the C allele (P = 0.04) in all participants with SCZ.The findings also revealed that BDNF polymorphism (rs6265) increased significantly the risk of SCZ in different genetic models. ConclusionThe results showed that the BDNF rs6265 may be associated with the risk of SCZ development in an Iranian group of patients with SCZ. These results may be helpful in better understanding the role of the BDNF gene in the pathogenesis of the disorder.

Brain iron content in systemic iron overload: A beta-thalassemia quantitative MRI study.

Multisystem iron poisoning is a major concern for long-term beta-thalassemia management. Quantitative MRI-based techniques routinely show iron overload in heart, liver, endocrine glands and kidneys. However, data on the brain are conflicting and monitoring of brain iron content is still matter of debate. This 3T-MRI study applied a well validated high-resolution whole-brain quantitative MRI assessment of iron content on 47 transfusion-dependent (mean-age: 36.9 ± 10.3 years, 63% females), 23 non-transfusion dependent (mean-age: 29.2 ± 11.7 years, 56% females) and 57 healthy controls (mean-age: 33.9 ± 10.8 years, 65% females). Clinical data, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale scores and treatment regimens were recorded. Beside whole-brain R2* analyses, regional R2*-values were extracted in putamen, globus pallidum, caudate nucleus, thalamus and red nucleus; hippocampal volumes were also determined. Regional analyses yielded no significant differences between patients and controls, except in those treated with deferiprone that showed lower R2*-values (p<0.05). Whole-brain analyses of R2*-maps revealed strong age-R2* correlations (r2=0.51) in both groups and clusters of significantly increased R2*-values in beta-thalassemia patients in the hippocampal formations and around the Luschka foramina; transfusion treatment was associated with additional R2* increase in dorsal thalami. Hippocampal formation R2*-values did not correlate with hippocampal volume; hippocampal volume did not differ between patients and controls. All regions with increased R2*-values shared a strict anatomical contiguity with choroid plexuses suggesting a blooming effect as the likely cause of R2* increase, in agreement with the available histopathologic literature evidence. According to our MRI findings and the available histopathologic literature evidence, concerns about neural tissue iron overload in beta-thalassemia appear to be unjustified.

Invalid before impaired: an emerging paradox of embedded validity indicators

Objective: Embedded validity indicators (EVIs) are cost-effective psychometric tools to identify non-credible response sets during neuropsychological testing. As research on EVIs expands, assessors are faced with an emerging contradiction: the range of credible impairment disappears between the ‘normal’ and ‘invalid’ range of performance. We labeled this phenomenon as the invalid-before-impaired paradox. This study was designed to explore the origin of this psychometric anomaly, subject it to empirical investigation, and generate potential solutions.Method: Archival data were analyzed from a mixed clinical sample of 312 (MAge = 45.2; MEducation = 13.6) patients medically referred for neuropsychological assessment. The distribution of scores on eight subtests of the third and fourth editions of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) were examined in relation to the standard normal curve and two performance validity tests (PVTs).Results: Although WAIS subtests varied in their sensitivity to non-credible responding, they were all significant predictors of performance validity. While subtests previously identified as EVIs (Digit Span, Coding, and Symbol Search) were comparably effective at differentiating credible and non-credible response sets, their classification accuracy was driven by their base rate of low scores, requiring different cutoffs to achieve comparable specificity.Conclusions: Invalid performance had a global effect on WAIS scores. Genuine impairment and non-credible performance can co-exist, are often intertwined, and may be psychometrically indistinguishable. A compromise between the alpha and beta bias on PVTs based on a balanced, objective evaluation of the evidence that requires concessions from both sides is needed to maintain/restore the credibility of performance validity assessment.

A Case of Klinefelter Syndrome and Gender Dysphoria

A Case of Klinefelter Syndrome and Gender Dysphoria

Higher Cognitive Performance Is Prospectively Associated with Healthy Dietary Choices: The Maine Syracuse Longitudinal Study.

Few studies have examined whether cognitive function predicts dietary intake. The majority of research has focused on how diet can influence cognitive performance or risk for cognitive impairment in later life. The aim of this study was to examine prospective relationships between cognitive performance and dietary intake in participants of the Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Study. A prospective study with neuropsychological testing at baseline and nutritional assessments measured a mean of 18 years later. Community-dwelling individuals residing in central New York state. 333 participants free of dementia and stroke. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) was assessed at baseline and dietary intake was measured using the Nutrition and Health Questionnaire. Higher WAIS Scores at baseline were prospectively associated with higher intakes of vegetables, meats, nuts and legumes, and fish, but inversely associated with consumption of total grains and carbonated soft drinks. After adjustment for sample selection, socioeconomic indicators, lifestyle factors (smoking and physical activity), and cardiovascular risk factors, the relations between higher cognitive performance and greater consumption of vegetables, meat, and fish, and lower consumption of grains remained significant. These data suggest that cognition early in life may influence dietary choices later in life.

Handedness, cognitive processing and intelligence in patients with epilepsy

Summary Introduction. The current knowledge of significance of some neurobiological and clinical variables for the development of cognitive deterioration in patients with epilepsy remains sparse and controversial. Aim. The current study has been carried out in order to elucidate the role of handedness in terms of influence on cognitive processing and intelligence in patients with epilepsy. Material and methods. One hundred and thirty two patients (62 males, 70 females, aged 27.8 ± 8.9 years) with epilepsy participated in the study. Patients were divided into two groups. The first group included 112 patients that were characterized by intelligence and cognitive impairment while the second group (20 patients) had no mental deterioration and was regarded as controls. The two diagnostic categories accorded with ICD-10 criteria. The diagnosis of Dementia (F-02.8) was confirmed in 54 patients, while the diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impair- ment (F-06.7) was confirmed in 58 patients. Results. Our results show that the level of left-handers among patients with cognitive Impairment achieved 14.2%, whilst in the group without cognitive deterioration there were no left-handers, and this difference was statistically significant (p = 0.051). An analysis of possible influence of motor lateralization on degree of cognitive deterioration, revealed that left-handedness determines the higher degrees of intelligence deterioration com- pared with right-handedness (χ 2 = 6.64; p < 0,05). These data were confirmed by use of Wechsler Adult Intelli- gence Scale (WAIS) and the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) tests, and all left-handed epilepsy patients achieved lower scores on MMSE, total WAIS, as well as verbal and nonverbal WAIS scores. Conclusion. Our data confirm a role of some neurobiological variables, with emphasis on cerebral motor lat- eralization, in their influence upon intelligence level and cognitive deterioration in epilepsy. These data may be used for predictive purposes of intelligence assessment in patients with epilepsy.

The diminished interhemispheric connectivity correlates with negative symptoms and cognitive impairment in first-episode schizophrenia

BackgroundPrevious studies imply that interhemispheric disconnectivity plays a more important role on information processing in schizophrenia. However, the role of the aberrant interhemispheric connection in the pathophysiology of this disorder remains unclear. Recently, resting-state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) has reported to have potentials of mapping functional interactions between pairs of brain hemispheres. MethodsResting-state whole-brain functional connectivity analyses were performed on 41 schizophrenia patients and 33 healthy controls. ResultsThe first-episode schizophrenia patients showed significant aberrant interhemispheric connection in the globus pallidus, medial frontal gyrus and inferior temporal gyrus. The correlation of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale scores with odds ratio of the aberrant interhemispheric connections revealed positive correlation in the pallidum (rho=0.335, p=.003) and medial frontal gyrus (rho=0.260, p=.025). The connection in the pallidum was also positively correlated with duration of illness (rho=−0.407, p=.009). Whereas, the aberrant interhemispheric connection in the inferior temporal gyrus was positively correlated with scores of Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (rho=0.393, p=.012). ConclusionThe present study provides fMRI evidence for the aberrant interhemispheric resting-state functional connectivity within resting-state networks in first-episode schizophrenia patients. These aberrant interhemispheric connections, in particular the pallidum, due to its anatomical and functional connectivities, may be the primary disturbance for cognitive impairment, negative symptoms and chronicity of schizophrenia.

Association between Mismatch Negativity and Functional Status in Patients with Schizophrenia

Objectives : It has been constantly reported that mismatch negativity (MMN) is impaired in patients with schizophrenia. However, the mechanism which relates impaired MMN and schizophrenia is not clear yet. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between MMN and clinical variables including functional status in patients with schizophrenia. Methods : The present study assessed MMN using passive auditory oddball task in 26 patients with schizophrenia and 48 healthy controls. Repeated measures Analysis of Variance with age as a covariate was carried out for comparing peak amplitude and latency of MMN at 8 central line electrodes (FPz, Fz, FCz, Cz, CPz, Pz, POz, Oz) across groups. Pearson’s correlation was performed to reveal the relationship between MMN and clinical variables including neurocognitive test results and the Global Assessment of Functioning score. Results : MMN amplitude was significantly reduced in patients with schizophrenia compared with healthy controls. Pearson’s cor relation showed that subsets of short form of Korean Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale scores and GAF scores were associated with MMN amplitude in patients with schizophrenia. Conclusion : These findings suggest that MMN amplitude is associated with current functional status including cognitive function in patients with schizophrenia. (Korean J Schizophr Res 2013;16:98-106)

Aβ-amyloid deposition in patients with Parkinson disease at risk for development of dementia

The aim of our study was to examine the relationship between corticostriatal Aβ-amyloid deposition and cognitive dysfunction in a cohort of patients with Parkinson disease (PD) at risk for dementia. This was a cross-sectional study of 40 patients with PD with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or other known dementia risk factors. Subjects underwent dynamic Aβ-amyloid and vesicular monoamine transporter 2 PET imaging using [(11)C] Pittsburgh compound B (PiB) and [(11)C]dihydrotetrabenazine (DTBZ), respectively, and neuropsychological assessment. PiB and DTBZ PET data were analyzed using the Logan graphical method to determine cerebral PiB deposition relative to the cerebellar hemispheres and striatal DTBZ binding relative to occipital neocortex. Component z scores were calculated for individual cognitive domains (memory, visuospatial processing, working memory/attention, and executive function) and combined linearly for global estimation of cognition. Correlation of cognitive function and cortical PiB binding was investigated. Elevated cerebral PiB binding at levels seen in patients with AD was infrequent (6 of 40 subjects). Mean cortical PiB binding in the entire cohort was 1.16 ± 0.16 (distribution volume ratio; range 0.96-1.78). A significant correlation was noted between cortical PiB binding and global composite cognitive function (r = -0.55, p < 0.005) as well as the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale score (r = -0.54, p = 0.0004). Elevated cerebral Aβ-amyloid deposition at levels seen in Alzheimer disease is uncommon in subjects with PD at risk for dementia. In our sample, the prevalence of markedly elevated PiB binding was significantly lower than that found in prior studies of cognitively normal elderly individuals. Neocortical PiB binding correlated robustly with measures of cognitive impairment in our cohort.

Brain spontaneous functional connectivity and intelligence

Many functional imaging studies have been performed to explore the neural basis of intelligence by detecting brain activity changes induced by intelligence-related tasks, such as reasoning or working memory. However, little is known about whether the spontaneous brain activity at rest is relevant to the differences in intelligence. Here, 59 healthy adult subjects (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale score, 90–138) were studied with resting state fMRI. We took the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortices (DLPFC) as the seed regions and investigated the correlations across subjects between individual intelligence scores and the strength of the functional connectivity (FC) between the seed regions and other brain regions. We found that the brain regions in which the strength of the FC significantly correlated with intelligence scores were distributed in the frontal, parietal, occipital and limbic lobes. Stepwise linear regression analysis also revealed that the FCs within the frontal lobe and between the frontal and posterior brain regions were both important predictive factors for the differences in intelligence. These findings support a network view of intelligence, as suggested in previous studies. More importantly, our findings suggest that brain activity may be relevant to the differences in intelligence even in the resting state and in the absence of an explicit cognitive demand. This could provide a new perspective for understanding the neural basis of intelligence.

No Difference in Short-Term Memory Span Between Sign and Speech

The conclusions of Bavelier, Newport, Hall, Supalla, and Boutla (2006, this issue) are undermined by an inappropriate procedure for measuring articulation rate. They measured duration for reading a matrix of 200 letters (D. Bavelier, personal communication, May 17, 2006), which may involve a considerable load on visual attention, translation from print, and articulatory planning. This procedure may slow responses to a point where constraints on articulatory production cease to matter. With appropriate methods (see the footnote to Table 1), articulation rates are much faster than they found (cf. our Table 1 with their Table 1), which suggests their methods did indeed introduce processing difficulties. With our methods, the stimuli we used in our study (Wilson & Emmorey, 2006) produce equal articulation rates in American Sign Language (ASL) and English, t(3) = 0.57, d = 0.24, pTep = .64. In contrast, the English stimuli Bavelier et al. used are articulated substantially faster than the ASL stimuli in their previous study (Boutla, Supalla, Newport, & Bavelier, 2004), t(3) = 5.40, d = 1.20, prep = .96. We conclude that (a) the equal spans and equal WAIS (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale) scores for English and ASL that we reported (Table 1) cannot be explained by failure to match articulation rate, and (b) the span difference between English and ASL seen when comparing the results of Bavelier et al. and Boutla et al. (Table 1) can be explained by failure to match articulation rate. Bavelier et al. also compare span for English digits with span for the ASL letters they used in their earlier study, but growing evidence shows that digits are not comparable to other stimuli in short-term memory (e.g., Knops, Nuerk, Fimm, Vohn, & Willmes, 2006). Contra Bavelier et al., this lack of comparability cannot be explained by the fact that letters share more vowel sounds than numbers do. Instead, numbers have a privileged status in short-t rm memory, and cannot be treated as equivalent to other stimulus categories. In short, Bavelier et al. do not present any new comparison that cont dicts our findings. But have they nevertheless cast doubt on our findings? The stimuli Bavelier et al. used are articulated substantially faster than our English stimuli, *(3) = 4.07, d = 1.29,prep = .94, which suggests that articulation rate accounts for the difference in span between these two sets. But contrary to what Bavelier et al. imply, this does not show that our stimuli are more phonologically similar. Phonological similarity and articulation rate are separate factors. Might phonological similarity nevertheless contribute to the difference between their results and ours? Perhaps. Our stimulus set is indeed more phonologically similar, though not by much. (In our stimuli, vowel sounds are shared by F, S, and X; by B and V; and by H and K. In the stimuli used by Bavelier et al., vowel sounds are shared by M and S, by G and P, and by H and K.) But this misses the point. The real question is not how one set of English stimuli compares with another, but how English compares with ASL. Could the equal spans for English and ASL that we found (Wilson & Emmorey, 2006) be explained by failure to match phonological similarity? This is possible, but Bavelier et al. have provided no evidence that speaks to this question. Our data s ill stand as the best comparison to date between ASL and English. Finally, we address the fourto six-item limit on ASL span. We agree that speech can yield higher spans, but this is of little theoretical interest. Instead, these higher spans are attributable to the well-understood factor of articulation rate, for which speech holds an enormous advantage. We conclude that known factors account for differences in span, and that there is no residual difference when these factors are controlled. Address correspondence to Margaret Wilson, Department of Psychology, UCSC, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, e-mail: mlwilson@ucsc.edu.

Intelligence and brain size in 100 postmortem brains: sex, lateralization and age factors

The neural basis of variation in human intelligence is not well delineated. Numerous studies relating measures of brain size such as brain weight, head circumference, CT or MRI brain volume to different intelligence test measures, with variously defined samples of subjects have yielded inconsistent findings with correlations from approximately 0 to 0.6, with most correlations approximately 0.3 or 0.4. The study of intelligence in relation to postmortem cerebral volume is not available to date. We report the results of such a study on 100 cases (58 women and 42 men) having prospectively obtained Full Scale Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale scores. Ability correlated with cerebral volume, but the relationship depended on the realm of intelligence studied, as well as the sex and hemispheric functional lateralization of the subject. General verbal ability was positively correlated with cerebral volume and each hemisphere's volume in women and in right-handed men accounting for 36% of the variation in verbal intelligence. There was no evidence of such a relationship in non-right-handed men, indicating that at least for verbal intelligence, functional asymmetry may be a relevant factor in structure-function relationships in men, but not in women. In women, general visuospatial ability was also positively correlated with cerebral volume, but less strongly, accounting for approximately 10% of the variance. In men, there was a non-significant trend of a negative correlation between visuospatial ability and cerebral volume, suggesting that the neural substrate of visuospatial ability may differ between the sexes. Analyses of additional research subjects used as test cases provided support for our regression models. In men, visuospatial ability and cerebral volume were strongly linked via the factor of chronological age, suggesting that the well-documented decline in visuospatial intelligence with age is related, at least in right-handed men, to the decrease in cerebral volume with age. We found that cerebral volume decreased only minimally with age in women. This leaves unknown the neural substrate underlying the visuospatial decline with age in women. Body height was found to account for 1-4% of the variation in cerebral volume within each sex, leaving the basis of the well-documented sex difference in cerebral volume unaccounted for. With finer testing instruments of specific cognitive abilities and measures of their associated brain regions, it is likely that stronger structure-function relationships will be observed. Our results point to the need for responsibility in the consideration of the possible use of brain images as intelligence tests.

Whole-Brain Voxel-Based Correlation Analysis between Regional Cerebral Blood Flow and Intelligence Quotient Score in Parkinson’s Disease

The correlation between regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and intelligence quotient (IQ) score was investigated in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) without severe dementia. We analyzed the ^99mTc-ethyl cysteinate dimer single-photon emission computed tomography quantitative images and Revised Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale scores of 44 PD patients using statistical parametric mapping. Verbal IQ positively correlated with rCBF in the right ventral striatum and the bilateral prefrontal cortex, performance IQ positively correlated with rCBF in the right operculum, insula and the left middle temporal gyrus, and full-scale IQ positively correlated with rCBF in the right operculum, insula and the ventral striatum. The identified areas may be functionally related to mild to moderate cognitive impairment in patients with PD.

The effects of cardiopulmonary bypass temperature on neuropsychologic outcome after coronary artery operations: A prospective randomized trial

The effect of systemic perfusion temperature on postoperative cognitive function was investigated in 96 adult patients undergoing elective coronary revascularization with cardiopulmonary bypass at 28º C, 32º C, or 37º C. Neuropsychologic performance was assessed 1 day before the operation and 6 weeks after the operation. Five tests were adapted from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and two from the Wechsler Memory Scale. Results : No patients had major neurologic complications. Ninety-three patients completed the five Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale tests, but only 70 went on to complete the Wechsler Memory Scale tests as well. In these, there was an effect of cardiopulmonary bypass temperature on the number of neuropsychologic tests in which there was a preoperative to postoperative deterioration ( p = 0.021), the number with bypass at 37º C being significantly greater than the number with bypass at 32º C ( p = 0.015). Subsidiary analyses using a multivariate linear model examined the effect of cardiopulmonary bypass temperature on the magnitude of change, with or without allowing for other possible confounding influences. There was an adverse effect of normothermic (37º C) versus moderately hypothermic (32º C) perfusion—more convincingly displayed in the analyses of all seven scores rather than just the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale scores. Further cooling to 28º C conferred no additional benefit in terms of cognitive function. The importance of the deterioration is open to question. (J T HORAC C ARDIOVASC S URG 1996;112:1036-45)

Schizophrenic patients with deficit syndrome have higher plasma homovanillic acid concentrations and ventricular enlargement

In order to investigate the biological characteristics of deficit syndrome in schizophrenia (Carpenter et al 1988), we examined cerebroventricular ratios (CVRs) and plasma concentrations of homovanillic acid (HVA) in a group of schizophrenic inpatients with deficit syndrome (n = 20) and in a control group of age- and sex-matched schizophrenic inpatients without deficit syndrome (n = 20). Symptoms and intelligence levels were measured using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), respectively. Patients in the deficit group had significantly higher CVRs as well as significantly elevated plasma HVA concentrations when compared with patients in the nondeficit group. We also found that the mean total WAIS score in the deficit group was significantly lower than that in the nondeficit group. These findings suggest the biological heterogeneity of schizophrenia. Increased central dopaminergic turnover, as indicated by higher plasma HVA concentrations, may partially account for the pathogenesis of deficit syndrome.

Electroencephalography, computed tomography and violence ratings of male patients in a maximum‐security mental hospital

A retrospective study of brain investigations of 372 male patients in a maximum-security mental hospital patients is described. All computed tomography (CT) scan and electroencephalography (EEG) reports were collected and rated blind; patients were subsequently divided into 3 groups according to the violence rating of their pre-admission offending behaviour. The 3 groups were similar in their mean age, psychiatric diagnosis, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale score and proportions of patients investigated with EEG and CT. In the most violent group, 20% had focal temporal electrical abnormalities on EEG (slowing and/or sharp waves) and 41% had structural abnormalities localised to temporal lobe on CT (dilated temporal horn and/or reduced size of temporal lobe). The corresponding figures for the least violent group are 2.4% and 6.7% respectively. These results suggest that high violence rating scores are associated with temporal lobe abnormalities on CT and abnormal temporal electrical discharges on EEG.