Prevalence of low scores on language tests as a potential factor in misdiagnosis of cognitive impairment in a Spanish-speaking adult population.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, the prevalence of low scores for two neuropsychological tests of language has been determined. METHODS: In total, N = 5218 healthy adults from 11 countries in Latin America (LA) were administered the Boston Naming Test (BNT) and the Verbal Fluency Test (VFT) as part of a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation. Z-scores were calculated for BNT Total score, and phonological (letters F, A, S, M) and semantic (Animals, Fruits). Scores were adjusted for age, age2, sex, education, and interaction variables if significant for the given country. Each Z-score was converted to a percentile for each of the seven test-scores. Each participant was categorized based on his/her number of low scoring tests in specific percentile cutoff groups (25th, 16th, 10th, 5th, and 2nd). RESULTS: Between 53% (Paraguay) and 71% (Mexico) of the sample had at least 1-score below the 25th percentile, and between 41% (Paraguay) and 55% (Cuba) scored below the 16th percentile. Between 27% (Paraguay) and 39% (Peru) scored below the 10th percentile on at least 1-score, and between 17% (Chile) and 23% (Argentina) scored below the 5th percentile. CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians should use these data to reduce false-positive diagnoses and to improve the neuropsychological assessments in Spanish-speaking individuals from LA countries.

The relationship of semantic intrusions to different etiological subtypes of MCI and cognitively healthy older adults.

INTRODUCTION: There is increasing evidence that susceptibility to proactive semantic interference (PSI) and the failure to recover from PSI (frPSI) as evidenced by intrusion errors may be early cognitive markers of both preclinical and prodromal Alzheimer's disease (AD). METHODS: One hundred forty-five participants were administered extensive clinical and neuropsychological evaluations including the Loewenstein-Acevedo Scales for Semantic Interference and Learning (LASSI-L), a sensitive cognitive stress test measuring PSI and frPSI. Participants also underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and amyloid positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging. RESULTS: PSI and frPSI errors were much more prevalent in the mild cognitive impairment (MCI)-AD (amyloid positive) group than the other diagnostic groups. The number of intrusion errors observed across the other MCI groups without amyloid pathology and those with normal cognition were comparable. DISCUSSION: Semantic intrusion errors on the LASSI-L occur much less frequently in persons who have different types of non-AD-related MCI and may be used as an early cognitive marker of prodromal AD.

Neuropsychology in France.

The purpose of this study was to investigate sociodemographic characteristics, clinical and academic training, and the types of activities engaged in by practicing psychologists specialized in neuropsychology in France. A total of 804 French psychologists specializing in neuropsychology participated in an online-based survey: 90.2% of the participants were women, with a mean age of 32 (range 22-60). In the total sample, 54.2% of the participants worked in the hospital system, 38.2% in the private sector, and 24.9% had a private practice job; and 97.3% engage in evaluation, 74% in rehabilitation, 22.1% in research, and 35.8% in teaching. Clinicians primarily work with individuals with stroke/vascular (56.7%), dementia (53.3%), depression (36.7%), and learning disabilities (34.5%). The top perceived barriers to the field include: lack of willingness to collaborate between professionals (43.7%), lack of professional leaders in the field (40.7%), and lack of clinical training opportunities (24.9%). A total of 68.9% of the clinicians indicate that normative data for their countries do not exist. It is essential for psychologists specialized in neuropsychology in France to establish better-defined guidelines for academic and clinical education, since there is no legal protection of the specialty and given that needs for neuropsychological services are increasing.

Deficiência e Trabalho: Literatura Científica Internacional / Disability and Work: International Scientific Literature

O presente trabalho teve como objetivo analisar os artigos internacionais avaliados como A1 e A2 pela Qualis Capes das áreas de Administração e Psicologia, bem como os artigos indexados na base de dados Web of Science, no período de 2000 a 2010, que continham descritores relacionados à deficiência e trabalho, especialmente sobre a inserção de pessoas com deficiência (PcDs) no trabalho. Foram avaliados os indicadores bibliométricos da literatura científica e identificadas as principais temáticas de estudo sobre o tema. A amostra final foi constituída por 86 artigos provenientes de diferentes países. Por intermédio dos resultados deste trabalho, foi possível identificar os periódicos e universidades que mais publicam sobre o tema e constatar temas de estudo predominantes na literatura internacional e novas possibilidades de estudo sobre a inserção no trabalho de PcDs, o que pode contribuir para o trabalho dos pesquisadores brasileiros que se dedicam a essa temática de pesquisa (AU)

The aim of this work was to analyze the international articles assessed as A1 and A2 by Qualis Capes in the fields of Management and Psychology, as well as the articles indexed on databases of Web of Science, in the period between 2000 and 2010, which contained descriptors related to disability and work, especially associated to insertion of people with disability at work. The bibliometric indicators of the scientific literature were assessed and the main issued of study related to the topic were identified. The final sample consisted of 86 articles from different countries. By means of the results of this work, it was possible to identify the journals and universities which publish more materials on this issue, and to verify prevailing study themes in the international literature and new possibilities of study on insertion of people with disability at work. Furthermore, these results can contribute to the work of Brazilian researchers who devote themselves to this line of research

Nutrition-dependent influence of peripheral electrical stimulation during brain development on cortical spreading depression in weaned rats.

As several other factors, nutritional deficiency and sensory input hyperactivation can influence the mammalian brain development. This work investigated the effects of repeated episodes of early peripheral electrostimulation (PE), associated or not with early malnutrition, on cortical spreading depression (CSD) propagation. From postnatal days 7-28, well-nourished and malnourished Wistar rat pups (whose mothers were fed a 23 and 8% protein diet, respectively) received daily sessions of repetitive PE (2 or 60 Hz-square-wave pulses, 1.5 ms duration, 10-40 V intensity), delivered by two electrodes attached to the left paws. At postnatal days 35-45, under anesthesia, KCl-elicited spreading depression was monitored at two cortical points of both hemispheres. In the well-nourished rats, 2 Hz, but not 60 Hz PE was associated with slower spreading depression propagation in the hemisphere contralateral to the stimulated body-side, as compared to the ipsilateral hemisphere. In the malnourished rats, this effect was found for both 2 and 60 Hz stimulation frequencies. In the sham-stimulated controls, which received similar paw-electrodes, but were not stimulated, no inter-hemispheric spreading depression differences were seen. The results indicate an impairing effect of early PE on spreading depression propagation, which is frequency-dependent and can be influenced by the animal's nutritional status. Data raise the question whether brain plasticity changes consequent to the interaction between sensory input activation and malnutrition would be involved in the here described spreading depression effects.