****BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL
MODELS AND COGNITION
Annual Review of Psychology
Volume 55: Pages 1-22, 2004
TOWARD AN INTEGRATIVE SCIENCE OF THE PERSON
Walter Mischel
Department of Psychology,
Abstract
To build a science of the person, the most basic question was, and remains, how
can one identify and understand the psychological invariance that distinctively
characterizes an individual and that underlies the variations in the thoughts,
feelings, and actions that occur across contexts and over time? This question
proved particularly difficult because of the discrepancies that soon emerged
between the expressions of consistency that were expected and those that were
found. The resulting dilemma became known as the classic "personality
paradox": How can we reconcile our intuitionsand theoriesabout the
invariance and stability of personality with the equally compelling empirical
evidence for the variability of the person's behavior across diverse
situations? Which is right: the intuitions or the research findings? In this
chapter I review and discuss some of the advances made to answer this question
since it was posed. These findings have allowed a resolution of the paradox,
and provide the outlines for a conception of the underlying structure and
dynamics of personality that seems to better account for the data.
Annual Review of Psychology
Volume 55: Pages 87-124, 2004
UNDERSTANDING OTHER MINDS: Linking Developmental
Psychology and Functional Neuroimaging
R. Saxe, S. Carey, and N. Kanwisher
Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT,
Abstract
Evidence from developmental psychology suggests that understanding other minds
constitutes a special domain of cognition with at least two components: an
early-developing system for reasoning about goals, perceptions, and emotions,
and a later-developing system for representing the contents of beliefs.
Neuroimaging reinforces and elaborates upon this view by providing evidence
that (a) domain-specific brain regions exist for representing belief contents,
(b) these regions are apparently distinct from other regions engaged in
reasoning about goals and actions (suggesting that the two developmental stages
reflect the emergence of two distinct systems, rather than the elaboration of a
single system), and (c) these regions are distinct from brain regions engaged
in inhibitory control and in syntactic processing. The clear neural distinction
between these processes is evidence that belief attribution is not dependent on
either inhibitory control or syntax, but is subserved by a specialized neural
system for theory of mind.
Annual Review of Psychology
Volume 55: Pages 333-363, 2004
THE INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSFER OF PSYCHOSOCIAL RISK:
Mediators of Vulnerability and Resilience
Lisa A. Serbin and Jennifer Karp
Center for Research in Human Development, Department of
Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H4B 1R6; email:
lserbin@vax2.concordia.ca, karpie7@hotmail.com
Abstract
The recurrence of social, behavioral, and health problems in successive
generations of families is a prevalent theme in both the scientific and popular
literatures. This review discusses recent conceptual models and findings from
longitudinal studies concerning the intergenerational transfer of psychosocial
risk, including intergenerational continuity, and the processes whereby a
generation of parents may place their offspring at elevated risk for social,
behavioral, and health problems. Key findings include the mediational effects
of parenting and environmental factors in the transfer of risk. In both girls
and boys, childhood aggression and antisocial behavior appear to predict
long-term trajectories that place offspring at risk. Sequelae of childhood
aggression that may threaten the well-being of offspring include school
failure, adolescent risk-taking behavior, early and single parenthood, and
family poverty. These childhood and adolescent behavioral styles also predict
harsh, aggressive, neglectful, and unstimulating parenting behavior toward
offspring. Buffering factors within at-risk families include maternal
educational attainment and constructive parenting practices (e.g., emotional
warmth, consistent disciplinary practices, and cognitive scaffolding). These
findings highlight the potential application and relevance of intergenerational
studies for social, educational, and health policy.
Annual Review of Psychology
Volume 55: Pages 591-621, 2004
SOCIAL INFLUENCE: Compliance and Conformity
Department of Psychology,
Abstract This review covers recent
developments in the social influence literature, focusing primarily on
compliance and conformity research published between 1997 and 2002. The
principles and processes underlying a target's susceptibility to outside
influences are considered in light of three goals fundamental to rewarding
human functioning. Specifically, targets are motivated to form accurate
perceptions of reality and react accordingly, to develop and preserve
meaningful social relationships, and to maintain a favorable self-concept.
Consistent with the current movement in compliance and conformity research,
this review emphasizes the ways in which these goals interact with external
forces to engender social influence processes that are subtle, indirect, and
outside of awareness.
Annual Review of Psychology
Volume 55: Pages 745-774, 2004
COPING: Pitfalls and Promise
Susan Folkman and Judith Tedlie Moskowitz
Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, University of
California, San Francisco, California 94143-1726; email: folkman@ocim.ucsf.edu,
moskj@ocim.ucsf.edu
Abstract
Coping, defined as the thoughts and behaviors used to manage the internal and
external demands of situations that are appraised as stressful, has been a
focus of research in the social sciences for more than three decades. The
dramatic proliferation of coping research has spawned healthy debate and
criticism and offered insight into the question of why some individuals fare
better than others do when encountering stress in their lives. We briefly
review the history of contemporary coping research with adults. We discuss
three primary challenges for coping researchers (measurement, nomenclature, and
effectiveness), and highlight recent developments in coping theory and research
that hold promise for the field, including previously unaddressed aspects of
coping, new measurement approaches, and focus on positive affective outcomes.
Annual Review of Psychology
Volume 55: Pages 803-832, 2004
HUMAN RESEARCH AND DATA COLLECTION VIA THE INTERNET
Michael H. Birnbaum
Department of Psychology,
Abstract
Advantages and disadvantages of Web and lab research are reviewed. Via the
World Wide Web, one can efficiently recruit large, heterogeneous samples
quickly, recruit specialized samples (people with rare characteristics), and
standardize procedures, making studies easy to replicate. Alternative
programming techniques (procedures for data collection) are compared, including
client-side as opposed to server-side programming. Web studies have
methodological problems; for example, higher rates of drop out and of repeated
participation. Web studies must be thoroughly analyzed and tested before
launching on-line. Many studies compared data obtained in Web versus lab. These
two methods usually reach the same conclusions; however, there are significant
differences between college students tested in the lab and people recruited and
tested via the Internet. Reasons that Web researchers are enthusiastic about
the potential of the new methods are discussed.
Annual Review of Psychology
Volume 55: Pages 573-590, 2004
THE INTERNET AND SOCIAL LIFE
John A. Bargh and Katelyn Y. A. McKenna
Abstract
The Internet is the latest in a series of technological breakthroughs in
interpersonal communication, following the telegraph, telephone, radio, and
television. It combines innovative features of its predecessors, such as
bridging great distances and reaching a mass audience. However, the Internet
has novel features as well, most critically the relative anonymity afforded to
users and the provision of group venues in which to meet others with similar
interests and values. We place the Internet in its historical context, and then
examine the effects of Internet use on the user's psychological well-being, the
formation and maintenance of personal relationships, group memberships and
social identity, the workplace, and community involvement. The evidence
suggests that while these effects are largely dependent on the particular goals
that users bring to the interactionsuch as self-expression, affiliation, or
competitionthey also interact in important ways with the unique qualities of
the Internet communication situation.
Annu Rev Psychol. 2004;55:23-50
On building a bridge between brain and behavior.
Schall JD.
Center for Integrative & Cognitive Neuroscience,
Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt
University, Nashville, Tennessee 37203; email: jeffrey.d.schall@vanderbilt.edu
Cognitive
neuroscience is motivated by the precept that a discoverable correspondence
exists between mental states and brain states. This precept seems to be
supported by remarkable observations and conclusions derived from event-related
potentials and functional imaging with humans and neurophysiology with behaving
monkeys. This review evaluates specific conceptual and technical limits of
claims of correspondence between neural events, overt behavior, and
hypothesized covert processes examined using data on the neural control of
saccadic eye movements.
Cerebral reserve
J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 15:333-339, August 2003
The Influence of COGNITIVE RESERVE Reserve on Memory
Following Electroconvulsive Therapy
Susan A. Legendre, Ph.D.,
Address correspondence to Dr.
Cognitive
reserve (CR) theory proposes that certain genetic and nonacquired variables,
such as larger head size and greater neuronal density, and some life
experiences, such as higher educational and occupational attainment, provide a
buffer against brain dysfunction in the face of acquired central nervous system
(CNS) dysfunction. This study examined CR in the pseudoexperimental paradigm of
electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Subjects included fifty (N = 50) depressed
patients treated with bilateral ECT. Subjects were placed in high (n = 27)
or low (n = 23) CR groups based on years of education and occupational
attainment. At baseline, no significant differences were observed between the
groups in the amount of information forgotten on a verbal memory measure (Randt
stories) after a 30-minute delay. Following three ECT treatments, however, the
high CR group forgot significantly less information after a 30-minute delay, as
compared to the low CR group (p < 0.01). These data provide further
support for CR theory and suggest that CR may be an underlying factor in differential
memory loss in ECT.
Appl Neuropsychol. 2003;10(3):153-62.
Premorbid intellectual functioning, education, and
brain size in traumatic brain injury: an investigation of the cognitive reserve
hypothesis.
Kesler SR, Adams HF, Blasey CM, Bigler ED.
Stanford Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of
Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine,
Palo Alto, California, USA, USA.
Cognitive
reserve theories have been postulated in an attempt to explain individual
differences in functional outcome following cerebral insult or disease. These
theories suggest that higher education and psychometric intelligence may
preserve functional capacity regardless of injury or disease severity. This
study investigated cognitive reserve in 25 participants with traumatic brain
injury (TBI) using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) analyses.
We examined the relationships between total intracranial volume (TICV),
ventricle-tobrain ratio (VBR), education level, and standardized testing
obtained prior to injury with post-injury cognitive outcome. Participants with
lower post-injury IQ scores had significantly lower TICV values, irrespective
of injury severity, and experienced significantly greater change in IQ from
pre- to post-injury. TICV and education correctly predicted participants'
post-injury IQ category ( Y 90 or < 90). However, premorbid standardized
testing (PST) scores did not predict cognitive outcome. The results of this
study suggest that larger premorbid brain volume and higher education level may
decrease vulnerability to cognitive deficits following TBI, consistent with the
notion of a cognitive reserve.
Archives of Clinical
18 (2003) 643–
Preliminary examination
of cognitive reserve theory in closed head injury
Michael T. Ropacki a,*, Jeffrey W. Elias b
This investigation was designed to provide preliminary
support for cognitive reserve theory in closed head injury (CHI), and
demonstrate the effectiveness of using the
NeuroImage
Volume 19, Issue 3 , July 2003, Pages 1215-1227
Cognitive reserve modulates functional brain responses
during memory tasks: a PET study in healthy young and elderly subjects
Nikolaos Scarmeas, Eric Zarahn, Karen E. Anderson, John
Hilton, Joseph Flynn, Ronald L. Van Heertum, Harold A. Sackeim and Yaakov Stern
Cognitive
reserve (CR) is the ability of an individual to cope with advancing brain
pathology so that he remains free of symptoma
J Head Trauma Rehabil. 2003 Mar-Apr;18(2):148-63.
Demographic, medical, and psychiatric factors in work
and marital status after mild head injury.
Vanderploeg RD, Curtiss G, Duchnick JJ, Luis CA.
The James A. Haley Veterans Affairs Medical Center,
Defense and Veterans Head Injury Program, Psychology Service 116B, Tampa, FL
33612, USA. Rodney.Vanderploeg@med.va.gov
OBJECTIVE:
To explore factors associated with long-term outcomes of work and marital
status in individuals who had experienced a mild head injury (MHI), as well as
those who had not. DESIGN: Population-based study using logistical regression
analyses to investigate the impact of preinjury characteristics on work and
marital status. PARTICIPANTS: Two groups of Vietnam-era Army veterans: 626 who
had experienced a MHI an average of 8 years before examination, and 3,896 who
had not. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Demographic characteristics, concurrent medical
conditions, early life psychiatric problems, loss of consciousness (LOC), and
interactions among these variables were used to predict current work and
marital status. RESULTS: Multiple variables were associated with work and
marital status in the sample with MHI, accounting for approximately 23% and 17%
of the variance in these two outcome variables, respectively. In contrast, the
same factors accounted for significantly less variance in outcome in the sample
without a head injury-13.3% and 9.4% for work and marital status, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest a more potent role for and increased
vulnerability to the influence of demographic, medical, and psychiatric factors
on outcomes after a MHI. That is, MHI itself moderates the influence of
preinjury characteristics on work and marital status. In addition, in those who
had a MHI, moderator relationships were found between education and LOC for
both work and marital status. Similarly, complex moderator relationships among
race, region of residence, and LOC were found for both work and marital status
outcomes.
The Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, March-April
2003 v18 i2 p201(3)
Traumatic brain injury: depression, neurogenesis, and
medication management.
Recent
research suggests that depression and chronic stress may not only interfere
with rehabilitation in the obvious ways, but also may cause further cerebral
damage or slow the recovery process. Antidepressants not only effectively
reduce depression, but may also protect against cell death and promote
neurogenesis in that region of the brain linked to memory, a very common
long-term deficit in brain injury. Reports of complications have been few, but
future research needs to clarify the long term effects of antidepressants,
particularly when used with individuals who sustained brain injury.
Mol Pathol. 2003 Jun;56(3):132-6.
Genetic vulnerability following traumatic brain injury:
the role of apolipoprotein E.
Nathoo N, Chetty R, van Dellen JR, Barnett GH;
nathoon@ccf.org
Apolipoprotein
E (APOE) is thought to be responsible for the transportation of lipids within
the brain, maintaining structural integrity of the microtubule within the
neurone, and assisting with neural transmission. Possession of the APOE
epsilon4 allele has also been shown to influence neuropathological findings in
patients who die from traumatic brain injury, including the accumulation of
amyloid beta protein. Previous clinical studies reporting varying outcome
severities of traumatic brain injury, including cognitive and functional
recovery, all support the notion that APOE epsilon4 allele possession is
associated with an unfavourable outcome. Evidence from experimental and
clinical brain injury studies confirms that APOE plays an important role in the
response of the brain to injury.
European Psychiatry
Volume 18, Issue 5 , August 2003, Pages 241-248
Neuropsychological function in obsessive-compulsive
disorder: effects of comorbid conditions on task performance
Ayse Aycicegia, Wayne M. Dinn, , b,
Background.
– Neuropsychological testing reveals a pattern of impairment among patients
with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) which implicates the orbitofrontal
region. Studies of neuropsychological function in OCD differ regarding
performance deficits on classical tests of frontal executive function. In
some studies, OCD patients did not demonstrate impaired performance on tests of
executive function. However, other researchers have documented performance
deficits among OCD patients on measures of executive function. Patients with
OCD also exhibit performance deficits on tests of visual/spatial memory and
verbal memory. Again, in some studies, OCD patients did not demonstrate
impaired performance on tests of memory function. How can we account for the
conflicting findings? One possibility is that performance deficits on tests of
cognitive function are associated with comorbid conditions. In prior work,
we observed that OCD patients who did poorly on executive function tasks
obtained high scores on a measure of schizotypal personality. A second
possibility is that executive function deficits among patients with OCD are
associated with comorbid depressive symptoms. Method. – In the present study, a
comprehensive neuropsychological test battery was administered to patients with
OCD and matched healthy control subjects. We also administered dimensional
measures of schizotypal personality and depression to patients with OCD and
controls. We conducted analyses of covariance (ANCOVA), with scores on measures
of schizotypal personality and depression used as covariates. Results. – OCD
patients demonstrated performance deficits on measures of delayed memory,
response inhibition, alternation learning, and obtained significantly higher
scores on measures of disinhibition, impulsivity, and temporolimbic symptoms;
however, OCD patients did not exhibit impaired performance on tests of
executive function and verbal fluency, and did not report a significantly
greater number of dysexecutive symptoms, when coexistent depressive and
schizotypal symptoms were taken into account. Conclusion. – Findings are consistent with
the contention that dysfunction of an orbitofrontal-limbic network underlies
OCD.
The Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, March-April
2003 v18 i2 p128(11)
Moderating factors in return to work and job stability
after traumatic brain injury.
Objective:
To examine job stability moderating variables and develop a postinjury work
stability prediction model. Design: Multicenter analysis of individuals with
traumatic brain injury (TBI) who returned for follow-up at 1, 2, and 3, or 4
years postinjury, were of working age (between 18 and 62 years of age at
injury), and were working preinjury. Setting: Six National Institute on
Disability and Rehabilitation Research TBI Model System centers for coordinated
acute and rehabilitation care. Participants: A total of 186 adults with TBI
were included in the study. Main outcome measures: Job stability was
categorized as stably employed (employed at all 3 follow-up intervals);
unstably employed (employed at one or two of all three follow-up intervals);
and unemployed (unemployed at all three follow-up intervals). Results: After
injury, 34% were stably employed, 27% were unstably employed, and 39% were
unemployed at all three follow-up intervals. Minority group members, people who
did not complete high school, and unmarried people were more likely to be
unemployed. Driving independence was highly influential and significantly
related to employment stability. A discriminant function analysis, which
included age, length of unconsciousness and Disability Rating Scale scores at 1
year postinjury, accurately predicted job stability groupings. Conclusion: Data
analysis provided evidence that employment stability is predictable with a
combination of functional, demographic, and injury severity variables.
Identification of people at risk for poor employment outcomes early on can
facilitate rehabilitation planning and intervention.
Journal of Clinical and Experimental
2003, Vol.25, No.5, pp. 594-613
Genetic Evidence for Cognitive Reserve: Variations in
Memory and Related Cognitive Functions
Joseph H. Lee 1
1 G. H. Sergievsky Center, Taub Institute for Research on
Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, Department of Epidemiology, School of
Public Health, Columbia University, New York, USA
Variations
in cognitive functions across individuals are observed universally, and such
observations serve as the basis of cognitive reserve (CR). Broadly, cognitive
reserve refers to the inconsistency between neuropathology and clinical
severity. The causes of such individual variations are likely to be
multi-factorial. In this review, I present studies which suggest that genes are
likely to be the contributing causes, and these genes interact with
environmental factors to produce even greater variations in cognitive
functions. A number of animal and human studies are beginning to reveal the
role of genetic contributions to cognitive functions like memory, memory
decline, general intelligence, and language. Twin studies suggest that there is
a substantial heritable component for memory and related cognitive functions,
such as general intelligence and language, but not for others. Thus,
heritability estimates vary by cognitive domain. Animal studies and some
human studies have identified genes or candidate loci that contribute to memory
as well as other related cognitive phenotypes. Yet, our current understanding
is limited. It will require interdisciplinary efforts from a number of
different fields to better define the neuropsychological phenotype. At the same
time, it is necessary to take into account both genetic and environmental
factors to understand the complex network underlying CR.
Journal of Clinical and Experimental
2003, Vol.25, No.5, pp. 614-624
Lifetime Antecedents of Cognitive Reserve
Marcus Richards 1 and Amanda Sacker
We used
path analysis on data from the British 1946 birth cohort to model lifetime
antecedents of cognitive reserve, represented by the NART at 53 years, and
compared this model for verbal memory and psychomotor function at this age,
cognitive outcomes that are sensitive to age-associated decline. We showed
independent paths from childhood cognition, educational attainment and adult
occupation to cognitive reserve, with that from childhood cognition the
strongest, and that from adult occupation the weakest. A similar pattern was
found for the verbal memory and psychomotor outcomes, although the pathways
were weaker than those to the NART. The pattern was also mirrored by the paths
from paternal occupation to childhood cognition, educational attainment and
adult occupation, with that to childhood cognition the strongest, and that to
adult occupation the weakest. The direct influence of paternal occupation on
cognitive reserve was negligible, and almost entirely mediated by childhood
cognitive ability and educational attainment.
Journal of Clinical and Experimental
2003, Vol.25, No.5, pp. 625-633
Cognitive Reserve and Lifestyle
Nikolaos Scarmeas 1 and Yaakov Stern
The
concept of cognitive reserve (CR) suggests that innate intelligence or aspects
of life experience like educational or occupational attainments may supply
reserve, in the form of a set of skills or repertoires that allows some people
to cope with progressing Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology better than others.
There is epidemiological evidence that lifestyle characterized by engagement
in leisure activities of intellectual and social nature is associated with
slower cognitive decline in healthy elderly and may reduce the risk of incident
dementia. There is also evidence from functional imaging studies that subjects
engaging in such leisure activities can clinically
Journal of Clinical and Experimental
2003, Vol.25, No.5, pp. 634-642
Assessment of Lifetime Participation in Cognitively
Stimulating Activities
Cognitively
stimulating experience is thought to contribute to cognitive reserve. We
constructed a questionnaire consisting of 25 items about frequency of
participation in cognitive activities across the life span and administered it
to two groups of older persons. The total score on the scale had high internal
consistency (coefficient alpha=0.88) and temporal stability over a 4-week
re-test interval (r=.79), and it was positively correlated with education. In
analyses controlling for age, sex, and education, more frequent cognitive
activity was related to better perceptual speed, visuospatial ability, and
semantic memory but not to episodic memory or working memory. The results
suggest that the scale provides a psychometrically sound measure of frequency of
cognitive activity across the life spa
Jurnal of Clinical and Experimental
2003, Vol.25, No.5, pp. 643-653
Early Life Physical Activity and Cognition at Old Age
Miranda G. Dik, Dorly J.H. Deeg, Marjolein Visser and Cees
Jonker
Physical
activity has shown to be inversely associated with cognitive decline in older
people. Whether this association is already present in early life has not been
investigated previously. The association between early life physical activity
and cognition was studied in 1,241 subjects aged 62-85 years, in a prospective
population-based study. Physical activity between ages 15 and 25 years was
asked retrospectively. The findings suggest a positive association between
regular physical activity early in life and level of information processing
speed at older age in men, not in women. The association could not be explained
by current physical activity or other lifestyle factors. This finding
supports the cognitive reserve hypothesis, and might suggest that early life
physical activity may delay late-life cognitive deficits.
Journal of Clinical and Experimental
2003, Vol.25, No.5, pp. 654-670
Psychosocial Risk Factors of HIV Morbidity and
Mortality: Findings from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS)
Roxanna Farinpour 1 , Eric N. Miller 1 , Paul Satz 1 , Ola
A. Selnes 2 , Bruce A. Cohen 3 , James T. Becker 4 , Richard L. Skolasky 2 and
Barbara R. Visscher 5
Despite
the use of laboratory markers in estimating HIV prognosis, significant
variation in the natural history of HIV-1 infection remains unexplained. Recent
studies suggest psychosocial risk factors have important prognostic
significance in HIV disease. The objective of the present study was to examine
the prognostic influence of age, general intellectual functioning, and
emotional distress across the spectrum of HIV disease progression. The study
sample was drawn from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS), a 13-year,
prospective study of HIV-seropositive men recruited from four study centers
across the country. The participants were 1,231 HIV-seropositive MACS
participants, followed from baseline (median 8/15/87) to the end of the
observation period (12/15/98). HIV disease progression was evaluated with
respect to three outcome measures: (1) number of years from baseline testing to
the first AIDS defining illness (progression to AIDS), (2) years from baseline
to HIV-dementia (progression to dementia), and (3) years from baseline to death
(survival). The influence of psychosocial risk factors on outcome measures was
evaluated using survival analyses. General intellectual functioning, age, and
somatic symptoms of depression, were found to be significant predictors of HIV
disease progression and survival. Older age at baseline was associated with a
more rapid progression to dementia and death. Lower Shipley IQ estimates were
associated with a more rapid disease progression (AIDS and dementia) and
shortened survival. Somatic symptoms of depression were associated with
shortened survival. In addition, age, IQ, and somatic symptoms of depression,
had an additive effect with an increase in the number of risk factors
associated with accelerated disease progression and shortened time to death.
These findings remained consistent, despite controlling for baseline CD4 and
HIV medication use. Psychosocial cofactors are important in understanding HIV
disease progression. Methods for estimating HIV prognosis may become more
reliable if psychosocial factors are considered. Future research will
clarify if psychosocial risk factors reflect central nervous system integrity,
brain reserve capacity or mediate morbidity and mortality through social
economic status, access to health care and other social correlates.
Journal of Clinical and Experimental
2003, Vol.25, No.5, pp. 671-679
Head Circumference, Education and Risk of Dementia:
Findings from the Nun Study
James A. Mortimer 1 , David A. Snowdon 2 and William R.
Markesbery 3
To
examine the prevalence of dementia associated with having a smaller brain,
lower education or both of these characteristics, 294 Catholic sisters were
assessed annually for dementia. Sixty participants died and their brains were
evaluated to determine fulfillment of neuropathological criteria for
Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Lower educational attainment and the interaction of
smaller head circumference with lower education were associated with the
presence of dementia, controlling for age and the presence of one or more
apolipoprotein E-?4 alleles. By contrast, neither low educational attainment
nor head circumference was significantly associated with fulfillment of
neuropathological criteria for AD. Individuals having both low education and
small head circumference were four times as likely to be demented as the rest
of the sample. The findings suggest that higher education and larger head size,
alone or in combination, may reduce the risk of expressing dementia in late
life.
Journal of Clinical and Experimental
2003, Vol.25, No.5, pp. 680-690
Literacy and Memory Decline Among Ethnically Diverse
Elders
Jennifer J. Manly, Pegah Touradji, Ming-Xin Tang and Yaakov Stern
Literacy
may be a more powerful indicator of brain reserve than years of education.
Literacy level may be a proxy for native intellectual capacity or life
experience that can compensate for brain damage or provide brain reserve.
Alternately, the experience of acquiring literacy skills may in itself change
the organization of the brain and increase protection against cognitive decline.
However, because people with low levels of literacy obtain poor scores on most
cognitive measures, only longitudinal studies can elucidate the role of reading
ability in reserve. We determined whether literacy skills could predict
cognitive change in a sample of 136 English-speaking African American,
Caucasian, and Hispanic elders selected from a longitudinal aging study in New
York City. According to a physician’s independent examination, all participants
were nondemented throughout the four longitudinal assessments. Literacy level
was assessed using the WRAT-3 reading subtest. After accounting for age at
baseline and years of education, GEE analyses showed that elders with low
levels of literacy had a steeper decline in both immediate and delayed recall
of a word list over time as compared to high literacy elders. Our findings
suggest that literacy skills are protective against memory decline among
nondemented elders.
Journal of Clinical and Experimental
2003, Vol.25, No.5, pp. 691-701
Exploring the Neural Basis of Cognitive Reserve
Yaakov Stern 1 , Eric Zarahn 1 , H. John Hilton 1 , Joseph
Flynn 1 ,
There is
epidemiologic and imaging evidence for the presence of cognitive reserve, but
the neurophysiologic substrate of CR has not been established. In order to test
the hypothesis that CR is related to aspects of neural processing, we used fMRI
to image 19 healthy young adults while they performed a nonverbal recognition
test. There were two task conditions. A low demand condition required encoding
and recognition of single items and a titrated demand condition required the
subject to encode and then recognize a larger list of items, with the study
list size for each subject adjusted prior to scanning such that recognition
accuracy was 75%. We hypothesized that individual differences in cognitive
reserve are related to changes in neural activity as subjects moved from the
low to the titrated demand task. To test this, we examined the correlation between
subjects’ fMRI activation and NART scores. This analysis was implemented
voxel-wise in a whole brain fMRI dataset. During both the study and test phases
of the recognition memory task we noted areas where, across subjects, there
were significant positive and negative correlations between change in
activation from low to titrated demand and the NART score. These
correlations support our hypothesis that neural processing differs across
individuals as a function of CR. This differential processing may help explain
individual differences in capacity, and may underlie reserve against
age-related or other pathologic changes
Journal of Clinical and Experimental
2003, Vol.25, No.5, pp. 702-720
Cognition and Aging: A Highly Selective Overview of
Event-Related Potential (ERP) Data
David Friedman
New York State Psychiatric Institute, Cognitive
Electrophysiology Laboratory, New York, USA
An
overview of highly selected cognitive aging investigations of deviance
detection, episodic memory and working memory reveals two primary themes: (1)
when variability in elderly samples has been assessed, it has proven useful in
understanding age-related changes in cognition; and (2) there is a frontal lobe
contribution to at least some age-related changes in cognition. However,
there are too few ERP age-related investigations of individual differences to
determine whether the changes in patterns of ERP responding can be deemed
?compensatory? or ?inefficient.? It is suggested that, to the extent possible,
future electrophysiological investigations of cognitive aging (as well as other
physiological measurement techniques) include individual difference measures
that will enable the determination of the implication of a given neural pattern
in the genesis of a given, age-related behavioral outcome pattern.
Journal of Clinical and Experimental
2003, Vol.25, No.5, pp. 721-732
Adult Neurogenesis: A Mechanism for Brain Repair?
Yevgenia Kozorovitskiy 1 and Elizabeth Gould
It is now
generally accepted that new neurons are added to the adult mammalian brain.
This raises the possibility that naturally occurring neurogenesis may be useful
for repairing the damaged adult brain. Indeed, several studies have shown that
damage to the adult brain can stimulate reparative neurogenesis. However, the
production of new neurons is only one of several steps necessary to restore
damaged neural circuits to their original state. Studies carried out on intact
animals have identified several conditions that affect the production and
survival of new neurons in adult brains. This review considers the evidence
for compensatory neurogenesis in the adult mammalian brain with a view toward
applying information from the undamaged brain to studies of regeneration.
Psychological Medicine (2003), 33:793-801
Genetic and environmental influences on psychological
distress in the population: General Health Questionnaire analyses in UK twins
F. V. RIJSDIJK a1c1, H. SNIEDER a1, J. ORMEL a1, P. SHAM
a1, D. P. GOLDBERG a1 and T. D. SPECTOR a1
Background.
The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) is the most popular screening instrument
for detecting psychiatric disorders in community samples. Using longitudinal
data of a large sample of UK twin pairs, we explored (i) heritabilities of the
four scales and the total score; (ii) the genetic stability over time; and
(iii) the existence of differential heritable influences at the high (ill) and
low (healthy) tail of the distribution.
Method. At baseline we assessed the GHQ in 627 MZ and 1323
DZ female pairs and at a second occasion (3·5 years later) for a small
subsample (90 MZ and 270 DZ pairs). Liability threshold models and raw ordinal
maximum likelihood were used to estimate twin correlations and to fit
longitudinal genetic models. We estimated extreme group heritabilities of the
GHQ distribution by using a model-fitting implementation of the DeFries–Fulker
regression method for selected twin data.
Results. Heritabilities for Somatic Symptoms, Anxiety, Social Dysfunction,
Depression and total score were 0·37, 0·40, 0·20, 0·42 and 0·44, respectively.
The contribution of shared genetic factors to the correlations between time
points is substantial for the total score (73%). Group heritabilities of
0·48 and 0·43 were estimated for the top and bottom 10% of the total GHQ score
distribution, respectively. Conclusion.
The overall heritability of the GHQ as a measure of psychosocial distress was
substantial (44%), with all scales having significant additive genetic influences
that persisted across time periods. Extreme group analyses suggest that the
genetic control of resilience is as important as the genetic control of
vulnerability.
NeuroImage
In Press, Corrected Proof , Available online 8 October
2003
Relation of cognitive reserve and task performance to
expression of regional covariance networks in an event-related fMRI study of
nonverbal memory
Christian Habeck, H. John Hiltona, Eric Zarahna, Joseph
Flynna, James Moeller, Yaakov Stern
Cognitive
reserve (CR) has been established as a mechanism that can explain individual
differences in the clinical manifestation of neural changes associated with
aging or neurodegenerative diseases. CR may represent individual differences in
how tasks are processed (i.e., differences in the component processes), or in
the underlying neural circuitry (of the component processes). CR may be a
function of innate differences or differential life experiences. To investigate
to what extent CR can account for individual differences in brain activation
and task performance, we used fMRI to image healthy young individuals while
performing a nonverbal memory task. We used IQ estimates as a proxy for CR.
During both study and test phase of the task, we identified regional covariance
patterns whose change in subject expression across two task conditions
correlated with performance and CR. Common brain regions in both activation
patterns were suggestive of a brain network previously found to underlie overt
and covert shifts of spatial attention. After partialing out the influence of
task performance variables, this network still showed an association with the
CR, i.e., there were reserve-related physiological differences that presumably
would persist were there no subject differences in task performance. This
suggests that this network may represent a neural correlate of CR.
Archives of Clinical
Article in Press, Corrected Proof
Relationship between plasticity, mild cognitive
impairment and cognitive decline
M. Dolores Calero, and
Elena Navarro
A topic
of great interest in geron
Journal of Clinical and Experimental
2003, Vol.25, No.8, pp. 1090-1101
Social Support Moderates Caregiver Life Satisfaction
Following Traumatic Brain Injury
Tanya C. Ergh,
Social
support is an important determinant of adjustment following traumatic brain
injury (TBI) sustained by a family member. The present study examined the
extent to which social support moderates the influence of characteristics of
the person with injury on caregiver subjective well-being. Sixty pairs of
individuals who had sustained a moderate to severe TBI and their caregivers
(N=120) participated. Years postinjury ranged from 0.3 to 9.9 (M=4.8, SD=2.6).
Cognitive, functional, and neurobehavioral functioning of participants with TBI
were assessed using neuropsychological tests and rating scales. Caregiver life
satisfaction and perceived social support were assessed using self-report
questionnaires. Results indicated that time since injury was unrelated to life
satisfaction. Neurobehavioral disturbances showed an inverse relation with life
satisfaction. Social support emerged as an important moderator of life
satisfaction. Only among caregivers with low social support was cognitive
dysfunction adversely related to life satisfaction. Similarly, a trend
suggested that patient unawareness of deficit was associated with caregiver
life dissatisfaction only among caregivers with low social support. In
contrast, these characteristics were unrelated to life satisfaction among
caregivers with adequate social support.
****OTHER
Journal of
Consulting & Clinical Psychology. 2003 Dec Vol 71(6) 973-979
Establishing
Specificity in Psychotherapy: A Meta-Analysis of Structural Equivalence of
Placebo Controls.
Baskin, Thomas W.;
Tierney, Sandy Callen; Minami, Takuya; Wampold, Bruce E.
Placebo treatments in
psychotherapy cannot adequately control for all common factors, which thereby
attenuates their effects vis-a-vis active treatments. In this study, the
authors used meta-analytic procedures to test one possible
factor contributing to the attenuation of effects: structural inequalities
between placebo and active treatments. Structural aspects of the placebo
included number and duration of sessions, training of therapist, format of
therapy, and restriction of topics. Results indicate that
comparisons between active treatments and structurally inequivalent
placebos produced larger effects than comparisons between active treatments
and structurally equivalent placebos: moreover, the latter comparison produced
negligible effects, indicating that active treatments
were not demonstrably superior to well-designed placebos.
Brain Lesion Volume and Neuropsychological Function
Predict Efficacy of Treatment for Depression in Multiple Sclerosis
Mohr, David C.; Epstein, Lucy; Luks, Tracy L.; Goodkin,
Donald; Cox, Darcy; Goldberg, Alison; Chin, Cynthia; Nelson, Sarah
Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology.
71(6):1017-1024, December 2003.
This
study examined the effects of brain lesions and neuropsychological impairment
on the efficacy of treatment for depression in patients with comorbid diagnoses
of multiple sclerosis (MS) and major depressive disorder (MDD). Thirty patients
meeting criteria for MS and MDD received 1 of 3 16-week treatments for
depression and were followed for 6 months following treatment cessation.
T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging and neuropsychological evaluations were
also obtained. End-of-treatment Beck Depression Inventory (BDI; A. T. Beck, C.
H. Ward, M. Mendelson, J. Mock, & J. Erbaugh, 1961) results residualized
for baseline BDI were related to right temporal periventricular lesion volume
(R2 = .32, p = .002) and left temporal grey-white junction lesion volume (R2 =
.19, p = .02) but were not statistically related to lesion volume in any other
brain region or to neuropsychological function. BDI results at 6-month
follow-up, residualized for end-of-treatment BDI, were predicted by total
lesion volume (R2 = .22, p = .005), lesion volume in many discrete areas, and
neuropsychological functioning (R2 = .29, p = .0009). The effect of total
lesion volume on 6-month follow-up BDI results was fully mediated by
neuropsychological function.