Is the Folstein's Mini-Mental test an aphasia test?

The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) is recognized as a valid screening for dementia. It consists of 29 verbal items from a total of 30. The Brief Aphasia Evaluation (BAE) includes 10 aphasia and 12 orientation items, which are similar to most of the MMSE items. It was studied whether those BAE items (MMSE-like): (a) correlate with the rest of the BAE items (BAE-rest), and (b) differentiate patients with left cerebral lesions (LC) from both patients with right cerebral lesions (RC) and healthy participants (HP). A sample of 109 right-handed volunteers (38 HP, 37 LC, and 34 RC) was studied. The three groups were matched according to gender, age, and education. Patients were similar in multiple variables. The correlation between MMSE-like and BAE-rest was .90. MMSE-like showed a sensitivity and specificity of .81 or above to identify the LC from the other two groups. There is a risk for misdiagnosing aphasia as dementia with the MMSE.

Brief aphasia evaluation (minimum verbal performance): concurrent and conceptual validity study in patients with unilateral cerebral lesions.

INTRODUCTION: Aphasia tests validated according to the brain injury side are necessary, especially for Spanish instruments. OBJECTIVES: To study the concurrent validity of this Brief Aphasia Evaluation (BAE) to differentiate patients with left cerebral lesions (LC) from patients with right cerebral lesions (RC) as well as LC from healthy participants (HP). To study, through an unrestricted-sub-test-factor analysis, the BAE conceptual and content validity to generate a verbal homogeneous construct. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were obtained from a sample of 109 right-handed volunteers: 37 LC, 34 RC and 38 HP. The three groups were matched according to gender, age and education. RESULTS: Both groups of patients were similar in type and site of lesion, time since onset of condition, risk factors, presence of hemianopsia and hemiparesis and number of hospital visits. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient indicated an internal consistency of 0.99 for the total score and 0.88 or above for any of the sub-tests. All sub-tests (with loadings of 0.65 or above) grouped in one factor which explained 78% of the variance. The BAE showed a sensitivity and specificity of 0.84 or above to identify the LC (median as cut-off point). CONCLUSIONS: This test of free distribution demonstrated a satisfactory validity.

Estudio multivariado del test de bebida en campo abierto con ratas hiponutridas y desipramina com droga antipánico / Open field drink test-multivaried study with undernourished rats and desipramine as an antipanic drug

Los modelos animales de aproximación-evitación son útiles para el estudio inicial de drogas con efecto sobre la ansiedad pero los componentes de la ansiedad valorados por estos modelos continúan pobremente definidos. Los modelos complejos de evaluación permiten inferencias más completas que aquellos que evalúan sólo una conducta. Estudios previos demuestran que el antidepresivo tricíclico desipramina ejerce un selectivo efecto anticonflicto sobre ratas adultas sometidas a un programa de privación proteica en edad perinatal, en parámetros de conducta espontánea (laberinto en cruz elevado) e ingesta condicionada (Geller-Seifter). Dichas ratas hiponutridas muestran alteraciones en la neurotransmisión noradrenérgica que se asemejan a la activación generalizada del sistema noradrenérgico que presentan los pacientes que sufren ataques de pánico. Se evaluó la actividad anticonflicto de la desipramina en una prueba de conflicto etológico: el test de bebida en campo abierto, sin descartar a priori ninguna conducta, bajo un enfoque multivariado. Este enfoque no ha sido considerado en estudios previos de campo abierto y drogas antipánico. Sobre cuatro variables seleccionadas por análisis factorial, la administración de desipramina a una dosis de 10mg/kg por sólo 7 días produjo una significativa interacción dieta × droga, consistente con estudios previos. La interacción fue independiente de los efectos de ambos tratamientos sobre el peso o la ingesta y se expresó, en las ratas hiponutridas, como un decremento en todas las conductas excepto en el tiempo de bebida con respecto a las ratas controles que mostraron, en general, un decremento en todas las conductas excepto en la frecuencia de acicalamiento.

A panic experimental model: validation of a complex operant behavioral method in undernourished rats, with desipramine to provide a template effect profile.

INTRODUCTION: Clinical studies have shown that some antidepressants may be more efficient than benzodiazepines to alleviate anxiety associated with panic disorders; however, operant conflict procedures in rats developed so far seem not particularly able to model human anxiety sensitive to antidepressant treatments. Previous panic models with learned responses did not statistically subtract the effect of confounding factors from the variable of interest. METHODS: Undernourished rats were selected due to their behavioral and neurobiological resemblance to human patients suffering from panic disorder. The Geller-Seifter paradigm represented the stressful environmental condition in adult life. Desipramine (10 mg/kg/day) or saline were administered IP during 7 days under a cross over design (N=10). Five daily 15 min-operant sessions were carried out on each experiment. Unpunished, unrewarded and punished operant behavioral periods were identical both in their duration and in their reward system (the FR1 schedule) in order to measure response suppression, which has not been considered in previous studies with the Geller-Seifter paradigm. The dependent variable was the difference between comparable unpunished and punished periods. RESULTS: A significant Diet x Drug interaction was observed in the dependent variable, which represented the level of "suppression/suppression release" induced by treatments. DISCUSSION: Compared to control rats, deprived rats showed a significant and selective anticonflict effect of desipramine on the stressful and complex operant performance. The animal model of perinatally protein-deprived rats along with the Geller-Seifter's operant behavioral paradigm may represent a more sensitive approach to model human anxiety sensitive to antidepressant treatments by considering the combined impact of both early biological trauma and adult learned experiences under the same design.

[Multivariate study of the Open Field Drink Test using undernourished rats and desipramine as an antipanic drug]. / Estudio multivariado del test de bebida en campo abierto con ratas hiponutridas y desipramina como droga antipánico.

Approach-avoidance animal models are useful as initial screens for drugs affecting anxiety, but the components of anxiety assessed by these models remain poorly defined. Complex models of evaluation allow more complete inferences than those which are obtained when only one behavior is evaluated. Previous studies demonstrate that the tricyclic-antidepressant desipramine exerts a selective anticonflict effect on adult rats submitted to a protein deprivation schedule at perinatal age, in parameters of spontaneous behavior (elevated plus-maze) and conditioned intake (Geller Seifter). These deprived rats show alterations in noradrenergic neurotransmission that resembled the generalized activation of noradrenergic system displayed by patients suffering from panic attacks. The desipramine anticonflict activity was evaluated by a test of ethological conflict: the Open Field Drink Test, without discarding any behavior a priori under a multivaried approach. This approach has not been considered in previous studies with the open field and antipanic drugs. Considering the four variables selected by factorial analysis, desipramine (10 mg/kg/day) administered IP during just 7 days produced a significant diet x drug interaction which was consistent with previous studies. That interaction was independent of the effects of both treatments on weight or intake and was expressed, on deprived rats, as a decrease in all the behaviors, except for the time of drinking, with respect to the control rats, which displayed, in general, a decrease in all the behaviors except for the frequency of grooming.