Vocabulary tests have long been used for estimating premorbid intelligence level in the neuropsychological assessment of dementia. However, doubts exist about the validity of such intelligence tests. The present study examines whether the Multiple-Choice Vocabulary Test – Version A (Mehrfachwahl-Wortschatz-Test – Version A, MWT-A) is valid for assessing premorbid intelligence level. Data from a total of 821 patients in a specialized outpatient clinic for dementia (memory clinic), covering the whole spectrum of cognitive impairment, were evaluated using analysis of variance with the dependent variable premorbid intelligence level (MWT-A) and the independent variable extent of global cognitive impairment (Mini-Mental-State Examination, MMSE: mean = 25.2, SD = 3.9). The latter was divided into six MMSE ranges or groups, respectively (29–30, 28–28, 27–27, 25–26, 22–24, 05–21). In the case of a pathologically relevant global cognitive impairment (24–26 MMSE points), the MWT-A underestimates the premorbid intelligence level. This effect is moderated neither by age nor education. Results indicate that the MWT-A is unsuitable for estimating premorbid intelligence level in neuropsychological assessments of cognitively impaired patients or demented patients.

The diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases leading to dementia is increasingly moving to the earlier stages in an effort to find the disease-modifying treatment for these diseases. Prodromal and preclinical stages of the diseases have become the primary research interests. Neuropsychology is specifically focused on early cognitive markers and development of methods that would be able to reliably assess these markers and to evaluate the risk of progression of cognitive decline in individual cases. The theoretical part of the thesis presents the current knowledge in the field of neurodegenerative diseases, it is specifically focused on Alzheimer's disease (AD) as the most common cause of dementia. We also present the current trends in neuropsychological diagnostics of early AD and the approach to subjective and objective evaluation of cognitive functioning. Building on that, we present the rationale for the empirical part of the thesis. The empirical part of the thesis extends the existing knowledge in the field of AD. We present and discuss seven original publications that follow three basic objectives: first, to characterize subjective cognitive complaints of individuals at risk of AD, second, to evaluate the potential of selected standard and experimental neuropsychological methods to detect...

Neuropsychological aspects of preclinical stages of neurodegenerative diseases are an extensively studied topic in neuropsychological research. Neuropsychological assessment can be helpful for the estimation of conversion risk in individual cases. The focus of neuropsychological research shifted from the evaluation of dementia to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or even to the detection of cognitive change before significant cognitive decline. In the theoretical part is presented a contemporary outline of preclinical stages of neurodegenerative diseases. The construct of MCI is the most studied topic in the prodromal stage of neurodegeneration and this part is dedicated to comprehensive analysis of MCI. The empirical research includes five studies on screening methods of cognitive abilities, memory and verbal fluency tests. We present normative and validity data in older adults and show their detection potential in MCI or preclinical stages of neurodegenerative diseases. Furthermore, we tried to show the detection potential of different memory measures in patients with MCI and estimate the relations between hippocampal atrophy and memory performance. Key words mild cognitive impairment, dementia syndrome, Alzheimer's Disease, neuropsychological assessment, diagnostic procedures

No description available.

[pt] Pacientes com lesões encefálicas adquiridas (LEA) apresentam prejuízos neuropsicológicos e funcionais. O presente estudo teve como objetivo identificar o perfil neuropsicológico destes pacientes atendidos em um serviço de neurocirurgia de um hospital público do Rio de Janeiro, avaliando as evidências de validade clínica da Bateria Breve de Rastreio Cognitivo (BBRC) no comprometimento cognitivo. Método: Participaram do estudo 30 pacientes submetidos a neurocirurgia de crânio e 30 de de coluna atendidos no ambulatório neurocirúrgico. Todos realizaram a BBRC que mostrou que o grupo crânio apresentou um comprometimento do funcionamento cognitivo global (MEEM- 35), memória incidental e imediata e no desenho do relógio. O resultado inicial mostrou prejuízo em alguns domínios das funções executivas, tais como memória operacional, estratégias de memória episódica e planejamento. A pesquisa sugere que a BBRC pode ser utilizada no contexto hospitalar para pacientes com LEA pós cirúrgicos. / [en] Patients with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) have neuropsychological and functional injuries. The present study aimed to identify the neuropsychological profile of these patients treated at a neurosurgical service of a public hospital in Rio de Janeiro, evaluating the evidence of clinical validity of the Battery Cognitive Screening brief (BCSB) in cognitive injuries. Method: Thirty patients who was submitted to brain s neurosurgery and 30 spinal s neurosurgeries attended at clinic participated in the study. All underwent the BCSB, which showed that the search group had impairment in global cognitive functioning (MMSE-35), memory and in clock drawing test. The initial result showed injuries in the domains of executive functions, such as working memory, episodic memory strategies and planning. Research suggests that BBRC can be used in the hospital setting for post-surgical ABI patients.

No description available.

The accuracy of neuropsychological assessment is critical in the diagnosis of cognitive impairments in older adults. However, existing neuropsychological tests may not be suitable for minority populations. This thesis aimed to address this issue by recruiting cognitively-healthy South Asian older adults and assessing cognitive function in this group. Results showed that typically used assessments, despite being translated, were not suitable for this cohort. Furthermore, skills required for test completion such as mathematics and writing/hand dexterity (which are related to education levels) influenced test scores. Therefore, new assessments of general cognitive function and associative memory were developed to improve the accuracy of neuropsychological test scores. The new tests were not affected by education and they achieved high internal and test re-test reliability. Time of day (TOD) that testing takes place is also known to affect cognition. Interestingly, no TOD effects were observed in this cohort. It was hypothesised that engagement in the daily five Islamic prayers may have contributed to this lack of a TOD effect. However, the results did not confirm this. The thesis then looked at overall prayer engagement and cognition. Results showed that engagement in the daily five prayers and Quran recitation significantly increased scores on assessments of processing speed. This thesis demonstrates that accurately assessing cognition in South Asian older adults is challenging and that the cognitive tests used must be suitable for this cohort. Interesting findings emerged for prayer engagement which may have wider implications for the field of cognitive reserve.

No description available.

Submitted by Viviane Lima da Cunha (viviane@biblioteca.ufpb.br) on 2016-05-06T13:20:07Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 2988550 bytes, checksum: bb61f478d61d75baec8e92e0e6b9470f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-06T13:20:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 2988550 bytes, checksum: bb61f478d61d75baec8e92e0e6b9470f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-24 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / It is known that ethanol present in the alcoholic beverages, of acute or chronic ingestion in its various levels, leave to a variety of organic alterations that can interfere with more basic behavioral and cognitive processes. In this sense, the present study aimed to evaluate the influence of acute and chronic ethanol intake in the auditory perception and neuropsychological functioning. Acute ingestion was experimentally manipulated in college students with 18 to 30 years old compared with themselves in two different sessions. In one of days, they had to ingest a quantity of alcohol proportional to their body weight and when they possessed 0.08% of ethanol in the blood they were evaluated. In another day, they drank just a placebo drink. The chronic ingestion of alcohol was evaluated in Alcoholics Anonymous participants, aged 40-60 years, who had 1-15 years of abstinence. They were evaluated in separate groups of three years of abstinence and were compared to a control group of first degree relatives. The auditory perception was evaluated by means of a test for discrimination of musical notes corresponding to standard Western scale sound frequencies. Cognitive functioning was evaluated by means of neuropsychological tests for the processes of memory, attention, and executive functioning. The results showed that both forms of alcohol intake cause perceptual hearing loss as well as the some neuropsychological subfunctions evaluated, suggesting that the use of ethanol may be a path of some cognitive impairment. / Sabe-se que o etanol, presente nas bebidas alcoólicas, ingerido de forma aguda ou crônica, em seus vários níveis, leva a uma série de alterações orgânicas que podem interferir em processos cognitivos e comportamentais básicos. Nesse sentido, o presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a influência da ingestão aguda e crônica de etanol na percepção auditiva e no funcionamento neuropsicológico. Manipulou-se a ingestão aguda em estudantes universitários, de 18 a 30 anos, os comparando consigo mesmos em duas condições diferentes. Em uma delas, solicitava-se que os participantes ingerissem uma quantidade de álcool proporcional ao seu peso corporal para que no momento dos testes possuíssem 0,08 % de etanol no sangue. Na outra, ingeriam apenas uma bebida placebo. Avaliou-se a ingestão crônica do álcool em participantes de Alcoólicos Anônimos, com idades de 40 a 60 anos, que possuíam de 1 a 15 anos de abstinência, sendo que se avaliaram estes em grupos separados pelo tempo de três anos de abstinência em comparação a um grupo controle formado por parentes em primeiro grau. Avaliou-se a percepção auditiva por meio de um teste de discriminação de frequências sonoras correspondentes às notas musicais de um escala ocidental padrão. Já o funcionamento cognitivo avaliou-se por meio de testes neuropsicológicos relativos aos processos de memorização, atenção, e de funcionamento executivo. Os resultados mostraram que ambas as formas de ingestão do álcool ocasionam prejuízos perceptivos na audição, bem como em algumas das subfunções neuropsicológicas avaliadas, sugerindo que o uso do etanol pode ser um demarcador de determinadas deficiências cognitivas.

[pt] O consumo de álcool durante gravidez pode alterar o desenvolvimento neural do feto, causando defeitos ao longo da vida. As consequências são diversas e compõe o termo coletivo: Transtorno do Espectro Alcoólico Fetal (TEAF). Esse transtorno é considerado a causa mais comum de deficiência cognitiva evitável no mundo. Estimativas apontam que no Brasil entre 1 e 1,5% das crianças nascem com alterações no sistema nervoso devido à exposição ao álcool in útero. O consumo do álcool é frequente entre mulheres grávidas muitas vezes por desconhecimento dos seus efeitos adversos no desenvolvimento do feto. Outra droga comumente utilizada por mulheres grávidas é a maconha com intuito de amenizar o enjoo durante a gestação. A presente dissertação explora os efeitos da exposição pré-natal ao álcool no feto (em conjunto ou não do uso da maconha) em estudos pré-clínicos e clínicos. Dois artigos foram gerados para a realização deste trabalho. O primeiro artigo relata os mecanismos e as consequências do consumo simultâneo de álcool e maconha durante gravidez, cujo efeito é ainda mais nocivo ao desenvolvimento do feto do que apenas a exposição ao álcool. Dados recentes demonstram a interação do etanol e da maconha com o sistema Endocanabinoide, que tem um papel importante no neurodesenvolvimento. Depois do fechamento do tubo neural, que acontece durante a terceira semana da gestação humana, os olhos e o cérebro se desenvolvem do neuroepitélio. Ambos, o álcool e maconha interferem sinergicamente nesse processo via receptores canabinóides, alterando assim a sinalização “sonichedgehog”, que por sua vez, resulta em alterações morfológicas e comportamentais em modelos animais. Além disso, o artigo relata os mais recentes achados de estudos clínicos sobre a combinação da dose e tipo de constituintes químicos da machonha, bem como os desfechos morfológicos e neurocomportamentais da exposição conjunta do álcool e da maconha. O segundo artigo é uma revisão sistemática que investiga as pesquisas realizadas no Brasil sobre o TEAF, com ênfase nos instrumentos usados para a avaliação neuropsicológica de indivíduos com TEAF. Enquanto países desenvolvidos têm décadas de pesquisa sobre o TEAF, no Brasil, inúmeros fatores comprometem o progresso nesta e outras áreas de pesquisa. Entre esses fatores podemos citar, divergências socioeconômicas, culturais e geopolíticas, que dificultam o desenvolvimento, adaptação e validação de instrumentos utilizados no diagnóstico e na avaliação neuropsicológica do TEAF. Além disso, vale ressaltar que a vulnerabilidade socioeconômica da população brasileira é um fator importante no aumento da ocorrência de formas mais graves de TEAF. A revisão sistemática aponta para a necessidade da validação das ferramentas neuropsicológicas de diagnóstico e avaliação cognitiva de pessoas com TEAF e da participação de uma equipe multidisciplinar no diagnóstico do TEAF. / [en] Alcohol consumption during pregnancy may damage the development of the fetus, resulting in the most common preventable cause of neurodevelopmental disability in the world: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). The present dissertation aims to discuss the effects of alcohol on the developing CNS through two articles. The first article elucidates the mechanisms and outcomes of the combined alcohol and cannabis exposure in the offspring through preclinical studies. Alcohol teratogenesis is more potent when administered with cannabis and has more negative effects on the fetus than alcohol alone. Recent data demonstrate the interaction of ethanol and cannabis with the Endocannabinoid system, which plays an important role in neurodevelopment and explains the morphological and behavioral changes seen in preclinical studies. The second article is a systematic review that investigates Brazilian research on FASD, focusing on the instruments used for the neuropsychological assessment of individuals with FASD. While developed countries have decades of research on FASD, in Brazil numerous factors slow down the progress of in this and other areas of research. Socioeconomic status, cultural, and geopolitical divergences are some of these factors, which hinder the development, adaptation, and validation of instruments used in the diagnosis and neuropsychological assessment of FASD. In addition, it is worth noting that the socioeconomic vulnerability of the Brazilian population is an important factor in the increase in the occurrence of more severe forms of FASD. The systematic review points to the need to validate neuropsychological tools for the diagnosis and cognitive assessment of individuals with FASD in Brazil, and the participation of a multidisciplinary team in the diagnosis of FASD.