Search results for "Neuropsychological tests"
showing 10 items of 523 documents
Gender differences in C-reactive protein and homocysteine modulation of cognitive performance and real-world functioning in bipolar disorder.
2018
Background: Cognitive and psychosocial impairment has been associated with increased levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and homocysteine in bipolar disorder, but gender differences have seldom been studied. Methods: Two hundred and twenty-four bipolar outpatients were included. Cognitive performance was assessed through the Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry (SCIP). Psychosocial functioning was evaluated using the Functioning Assessment Short Test (FAST) and the General Assessment of Functioning (GAF). Homocysteine and CRP levels were determined. Separate analyses were performed by gender. Partial correlations were calculated to test for associations between biomarkers and cognit…
IQ and the fronto-temporal cortex in bipolar disorder.
2012
AbstractCognitive changes are documented in bipolar disorder (BP). Cortical volume loss, especially in prefrontal regions, has also been reported, but associations between cognition and cortical abnormalities have not been fully documented. This study explores associations between cognitive performance and cortical parameters (area, thickness and volume) of the fronto-temporal cortex in 36 BP patients (25 BPI and 11 BPII). T1-weighted volumetric MRI images were obtained using a 1.5 Tesla scanner. Cortical parameters were measured using surface-based morphometry and their associations with estimated premorbid, current IQ, visual memory, and executive function explored. Premorbid IQ was assoc…
Factors associated with poor functional outcome in bipolar disorder: sociodemographic, clinical, and neurocognitive variables.
2018
Objective: The current investigation aimed at studying the sociodemographic, clinical, and neuropsychological variables related to functional outcome in a sample of euthymic patients with bipolar disorder(BD) presenting moderate-severe levels of functional impairment. Methods: Two-hundred and thirty-nine participants with BD disorders and with Functioning Assessment Short Test(FAST) scores equal or above 18 were administered a clinical and diagnostic interview, and the administration of mood measure scales and a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. Analyses involved preliminary Pearson bivariate correlations to identify sociodemographic and clinical variables associated with the FAST t…
The grey matter correlates of impaired decision-making in multiple sclerosis.
2014
Objective: People with multiple sclerosis (MS) have difficulties with decision-making but it is unclear if this is due to changes in impulsivity, risk taking, deliberation or risk adjustment, and how this relates to brain pathology. \ud \ud Methods: We assessed these aspects of decision-making in 105 people with MS and 43 healthy controls. We used a novel diffusion MRI method, diffusion orientational complexity (DOC), as an index of grey matter pathology in regions associated with decision-making and also measured grey matter tissue volumes and white matter lesion volumes. \ud \ud Results: People with MS showed less adjustment to risk and slower decision-making than controls. Moreover, impa…
Frontal hypoactivation and alterations in the reward-system during humor processing in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders
2018
Humor is a ubiquitous human ability with important implications for both social and emotional functioning. Patients with neuropsychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, experience difficulties in the comprehension and appreciation of humor. However, the specific neural mechanisms underlying these deficits are unknown. In the current study, we sought to elucidate the neural correlates of humor processing in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD). Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) was used in thirty-one patients with SSD and a control group, performing a humor processing paradigm. Both regional brain activation and parametric modulation of brain responses via subje…
Acute Alcohol Effects on Neuronal and Attentional Processing: Striatal Reward System and Inhibitory Sensory Interactions under Acute Ethanol Challenge
2004
The acute influence of ethanol on cerebral activity induces complex psycho-physiological effects that are considerably more pronounced during acute ethanol influx than during maximal blood alcohol concentration (elimination phase). Despite the psychiatric and forensic relevance of these different ethanol effects, the underlying neuronal mechanisms are still unclear. In total, 20 male healthy volunteers were investigated each with three different experimental conditions in a randomized order using an intravenous ethanol challenge (40 g bolus infusion): during influx phase, elimination phase, and under placebo condition. During and after the ethanol (or placebo) infusion, neuropsychological t…
Role of the cerebellum in time perception: A TMS study in normal subjects
2007
The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the cerebellum in a temporal-discrimination task without movement production in healthy subjects. Ten healthy subjects underwent a time-perception task with somatosensory stimuli. Two pairs of electrical stimuli: the first considered the reference pair (rp) with a standard interval of 400 ms and the second, the test pair (tp), with variable intervals ranging from 300 to 500 ms, were applied by surface electrodes on the right forearm. Subjects were instructed to compare time intervals of rp and tp and to estimate whether the tp interval was shorter than, equal to, or longer than that of rp. The task was performed in baseline and after 1 Hz…
Cognitive functioning after medial frontal lobe damage including the anterior cingulate cortex: A preliminary investigation
2006
Two patients with medial frontal lobe damage involving the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) performed a range of cognitive tasks, including tests of executive function and anterior attention. Both patients lesions extended beyond the ACC, therefore caution needs to be exerted in ascribing observed deficits to the ACC alone. Patient performance was compared with age and education matched healthy controls. Both patients showed intact intellectual, memory, and language abilities. No clear-cut abnormalities were noted in visuoperceptual functions. Speed of information processing was mildly reduced only in Patient 2 (bilateral ACC lesion). The patients demonstrated weak or impaired performance on…
Clock genes beyond the clock: CLOCK genotype biases neural correlates of moral valence decision in depressed patients
2007
Gene polymorphisms in the mammalian biological clock system influence individual rhythms. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the 3' flanking region of CLOCK (3111 T/C; rs1801260) influenced diurnal preference in healthy humans and caused sleep phase delay and insomnia in patients affected by bipolar disorder. Genes of the biological clock are expressed in many brain structures other than in the 'master clock' suprachiasmatic nuclei. These areas, such as cingulate cortex, are involved in the control of many human behaviors. Clock genes could then bias 'nonclock' functions such as information processing and decision making. Thirty inpatients affected by a major depressive episode under…
Automatic numerical-spatial association in synaesthesia: An fMRI investigation
2016
A horizontal mental number line (MNL) is used to describe how quantities are represented across space. In humans, the neural correlates associated with such a representation are found in different areas of the posterior parietal cortex, especially, the intraparietal sulcus (IPS). In a phenomenon known as number-space synaesthesia, individuals visualise numbers in specific spatial locations. The experience of a MNL for number-space synaesthetes is explicit, idiosyncratic, and highly stable over time. It remains an open question whether the mechanisms underlying numerical-spatial association are shared by synaesthetes and nonsynaesthetes. We address the neural correlates of number-space assoc…