Cognitive Complaints in Motor Functional Neurological (Conversion) Disorders: A Focused Review and Clinical Perspective.

Functional neurological (conversion) disorder (FND) is a neuropsychiatric condition characterized by sensorimotor symptoms exhibiting features incompatible with other neurologic diseases. Individuals with motor FND (mFND) typically present with limb weakness, nonepileptic seizures, and/or abnormal movements. However, this population also frequently reports clouded thinking, inattention, and memory difficulties. Cognitive complaints in individuals with mFND are important to evaluate as they may negatively impact quality of life and impede treatment engagement. We provide a narrative review of the neuropsychological testing literature detailing neurocognitive profiles of individuals with mFND. We also present three illustrative clinical cases at the intersection of mFND and cognitive concerns. Several studies and our case examples highlight that generally normal cognitive performance can be observed concurrently with subjective cognitive complaints in some individuals with mFND; this mismatch may be a possible "rule-in" sign of functional cognitive symptoms. Other studies have reported impairments in attention, memory, language, visuospatial, and executive functioning in individuals with mFND. These impairments could be related to medical-psychiatric comorbidities, psychotropic medication side effects, and intrinsic disease mechanisms. When evaluating individuals with mFND and their cognitive complaints, clinicians can use performance validity test and psychopathology findings to help them interpret the neuropsychological test results. Perceptual mismatches between intact objective cognitive performance and subjective cognitive complaints may reflect a negative attentional bias for cognitive abilities that can be targeted with cognitive retraining and cognitive behavioral therapy. Neuropsychological evaluations may provide a useful adjunctive tool clinicians can use to help assess individuals with mFND and cognitive concerns.

Current Topics in Serious Illness and Palliative Medicine: A Curricular Initiative in a US Veterinary Teaching Institution.

Although interest in hospice and palliative care for companion animals is on the rise, formal training in these areas is limited. Veterinary teaching institutions, professional organizations, and accrediting bodies have much to gain from the human palliative medicine field. Core competencies, curricular milestones, and scope of practice for palliative medicine are identified. A formal palliative care intervention has been implemented in a US veterinary teaching institution, and preliminary evaluation data reflect significant potential for integration of palliative care training into veterinary teaching. Positive outcomes for veterinarian well-being and ability to cope with emotional demands are suggested.

Goals of Care: Development and Use of the Serious Veterinary Illness Conversation Guide.

Goals of care (GOC) conversations and resulting goal-concordant treatment are the heart of palliative medicine. Despite repeated evidence that GOC conversations offer significant benefit and minimal harm, barriers to widespread and high-quality implementation persist in human medicine. One strategy to overcoming these barriers has been utilization of a structured checklist format for serious illness conversations. The Serious Illness Conversation Guide was developed for human patients and has been modified for use in the veterinary profession. The guide promotes individualized, goal-concordant care planning even when conflict and emotional demands are high.

Veterinary hospice and palliative care: a comprehensive review of the literature.

The death of a pet is a universal experience for those who share their lives with animals. In parallel with a rising interest in palliative medicine, hospice care and advance-care planning within human medicine, increasing attention is currently being given to serious illness and death within veterinary medicine. Our ability to prolong life has created the need for thoughtful end of life discourse. Interest in hospice and palliative care for companion animals is on the rise, yet there has been limited scholarly research in these areas to date. This review concludes that veterinary hospice and palliative care is currently hindered by an inadequate amount of scholarly research to guide clinicians. Given a lack of prospective studies in veterinary hospice and palliative care to date, a significant opportunity exists for veterinary teaching institutions to contribute to the literature in an important and growing field.