No description available.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka eventuella skillnader i grundläggande kognitiva förmågor mellan högpresterande idrottare och amatörer. I denna kvantitativa tvärsnittsstudie samlades datan in från deltagare som rekryterades från ett idrottsgymnasium, en elitklubb och ett antal från personliga kontakter via ett bekvämlighetsurval. 39 deltagare deltog i studien i åldrarna 15-39, 21 högpresterande idrottare (M= 20.48, SD= 5.77) och 18 amatörer (M= 19.44, SD= 4.79). De grundläggande kognitiva förmågorna mättes med fyra kognitiva test: Trail Making Test, The Sustained Attention to Response Task, The Semantic And Phonemic Fluency Test och Digit Symbol Substitution Test. Dessa valdes ut för att mäta uppmärksamhet, bearbetningshastighet och exekutiva funktioner. Resultatet visade en statistisk signifikant skillnad mellan högpresterande idrottare och amatörer i den grundläggande kognitiva förmågan bearbetningshastighet där gruppen av högpresterande idrottare nådde högre värden i mätningarna. Inga signifikanta skillnader uppdagades i de grundläggande kognitiva förmågorna uppmärksamhet och exekutiva funktioner. Studiens resultat indikerar på att framtida forskning bör ta hänsyn till typ av idrott hos atleten i en urvalsprocess för en tydligare jämförelse. Frågan kring skillnader i grundläggande kognitiva förmågor är mer komplex än en uppdelning mellan högpresterande idrottare och amatörer. / The purpose of this study was to investigate possible differences in basic cognitive ability between high-performing and amateur athletes. In this quantitative cross-sectional study the data was collected from participants that were recruited from a highschool, an elite club and through personal contacts. 39 Participants participated in the study ages 15-39, 21 high-performing athletes (M= 20.48, SD= 5.77) and 18 amateur athletes (M=19.44, SD= 4.79). The basic cognitive abilities were measured with four tests: Trail Making Test, The Sustained Attention to Response Task, The Semantic And Phonemic Fluency Test and Digit Symbol Substitution Test. These were selected to measure attention, processing speed, and executive functions. The results showed a statistically significant difference between high-performing athletes and amateur athletes in the basic cognitive ability processing speed where the high-performing athletes showed a higher processing speed than amateur athletes. No significant differences were detected in the basic cognitive abilities of attention and executive functions. The results of the study indicate that future research should take into consideration the type of sport the athlete is involved in for a selection process with a clearer comparison. The differences in basic cognitive abilities is more complex than the comparison between high-performing and amateur athletes.

Introduction: Many studies have found an association between Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity and behavioral and cognitive changes in animal models and in humans. In addition, early findings have suggested an association between T. gondii seropositivity and Alzheimer's disease (AD). We sought to determine whether there is an association between T. gondii seropositivity and AD as well as cognitive functioning (including memory, working memory, processing speed, language functioning, executive functioning) in a large, well-characterized sample of subjects with AD and matched controls without dementia. Method: Using ELISA assays, we determined anti-T. gondii IgG antibody titers in 114 control subjects and in 105 subjects diagnosed with AD through an Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. We compared the seroprevalence between the two groups using propensity score matching (PSM). We also compared associations between T. gondii seropositivity and cognitive functioning using both PSM and linear regressions. Results: We found no differences between groups in age, ethnicity, or gender. Education and socioeconomic status was slightly higher in the control group. Using PSM, we did not find a significant difference in having AD due to T. gondii seropositivity between the two groups. Using PSM, we found T. gondii seropositivity was associated with worse performance on the WAIS-R Digit Symbol test. Within the AD group, we found T. gondii seropositivity was associated with worse performance on the WAIS Block Design and Trail Making B tests. Conclusion: In this sample, we found no evidence of an association between T. gondii seropositivity and AD in a larger study than previous studies. We found evidence of a negative association between processing speed and T. gondii seropositivity as well as a negative association between processing speed, executive functioning, and T. gondii seropositivity in those with AD.

Introduction: Many studies have found an association between Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity and behavioral and cognitive changes in animal models and in humans. In addition, early findings have suggested an association between T. gondii seropositivity and Alzheimer's disease (AD). We sought to determine whether there is an association between T. gondii seropositivity and AD as well as cognitive functioning (including memory, working memory, processing speed, language functioning, executive functioning) in a large, well-characterized sample of subjects with AD and matched controls without dementia. Method: Using ELISA assays, we determined anti-T. gondii IgG antibody titers in 114 control subjects and in 105 subjects diagnosed with AD through an Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. We compared the seroprevalence between the two groups using propensity score matching (PSM). We also compared associations between T. gondii seropositivity and cognitive functioning using both PSM and linear regressions. Results: We found no differences between groups in age, ethnicity, or gender. Education and socioeconomic status was slightly higher in the control group. Using PSM, we did not find a significant difference in having AD due to T. gondii seropositivity between the two groups. Using PSM, we found T. gondii seropositivity was associated with worse performance on the WAIS-R Digit Symbol test. Within the AD group, we found T. gondii seropositivity was associated with worse performance on the WAIS Block Design and Trail Making B tests. Conclusion: In this sample, we found no evidence of an association between T. gondii seropositivity and AD in a larger study than previous studies. We found evidence of a negative association between processing speed and T. gondii seropositivity as well as a negative association between processing speed, executive functioning, and T. gondii seropositivity in those with AD.

60 (44 in the final sample) full-time or part-time employed or full-time student participants at the University of Central Florida were recruited to see whether a break in virtual nature will help improve upon executive functioning (EF) processing speed; especially in an EF impaired population. The main interest is that if virtual nature breaks aid with mental performance, then the application of virtual nature break can prove beneficial to both normal and, most importantly, the cognitively impaired. The lack of methodological consistency and the limited research on the subject yields mixed results in previous literature. The present study tries to address some of these gaps. Participants had to fill out a demographics survey, perform a cognitive load (Mental Rotation Task) and processing speed task (Stroop Color-Word Task), and then engage in a simulated 15-minute break in nature (video & sounds). Afterwards, they performed the processing speed task again to measure for change. The results failed to demonstrate that a moderately short break consisting of a nature video helps boost EF performance in the normal group. Those who demonstrated impairment in EF in the treatment group had to small of a sample size to be tested on. Numerous limitations and weak statistical power, especially in the impaired group, calls into question the validity of the study. As a result, the study findings are inconclusive.

No description available.

La sclérose en plaques (SEP) est la maladie chronique la plus fréquente parmi les pathologies neurologiques invalidantes non-traumatiques de l’adulte jeune en France. Le phénotype le plus fréquent est la SEP récurrente-rémittente (SEP-RR). Le diagnostic de SEP-RR est fondé sur la démonstration de la dissémination des lésions dans l'espace et dans le temps après un premier événement clinique démyélinisant dénommé syndrome clinique isolé (SCI). Les 2 principaux objectifs de cette thèse étaient de déterminer des marqueurs prédictifs d'un diagnostic précoce de la SEP après un SCI typique, et de démontrer que l’atteinte cognitive pouvait être utilisée comme un marqueur pronostique dès les stades précoces de la maladie. Le premier article décrit les résultats d’une étude rétrospective de 114 patients atteints d'un SCI médullaire. Le diagnostic de la SEP a été prédit par 3 facteurs indépendants: âge ≤40 ans, présence de bandes oligoclonales surnuméraires dans le liquide céphalo-rachidien ou une élévation de l’index IgG, et ≥3 lésions périventriculaires lors du SCI. Ces 3 facteurs prédictifs ont été validés dans une étude prospective de 652 patients avec différentes topographies de SCI (article 2). Il a été retrouvé des performances égales ou supérieures à celles des critères de dissémination spatiale proposés par McDonald et coll. pour la prédiction du diagnostic de la SEP après un SCI. Une fois le diagnostic de SEP établi, le principal défi consiste à évaluer la gravité de la maladie. Il manque de marqueurs prédictifs du handicap à long-terme. La perte axonale représente le substrat anatomique du handicap accumulé dans la SEP. Par ailleurs, les troubles cognitifs sont fréquents dans la SEP, ont été détectés dès les stades précoces de la maladie, et ont été associés à des marqueurs d’imagerie reflétant l’atteinte diffuse cérébrale. Par conséquent, l’atteinte cognitive semble être un candidat intéressant comme marqueur pronostique aux stades précoces de la SEP. Dans le troisième article, la relation entre les troubles cognitifs et les paramètres d’IRM reflétant l’atteinte diffuse cérébrale a été confirmé dans une étude longitudinale sur 7 ans de 44 patients ayant une SEP-RR nouvellement diagnostiquée. Dans le quatrième article, il a été montré la capacité de l’atteinte cognitive détectée après le diagnostic de SEP-RR à prédire la progression du handicap physique au cours du temps, étayant la valeur pronostique des déficits cognitifs dans la SEP. Dans le cinquième article, les évaluations cognitives ont été effectuées chez des patients présentant 2 phénotypes cliniques de SEP aux pronostics différents: SEP-RR et SEP progressive primaire (SEP-PP). L'étendue et la sévérité des déficits cognitifs étaient plus élevées chez les 41 patients ayant une SEP-PP par rapport aux 60 patients atteints de SEP-RR. Dans le sixième article, la valeur pronostique de l’atteinte cognitive dans la SEP a été illustrée par les effets négatifs des déficits cognitifs sur la qualité de la vie et les statuts professionnels de 48 patients atteints de SEP suivis pendant 7 ans. Après avoir montré que les déficits cognitifs pouvaient prédire l'invalidité précoce chez les patients atteints de SEP, et sachant que le handicap précoce est un marqueur prédictif de l’invalidité à long terme, la détection des déficits cognitifs apparaît comme une priorité dans la gestion des patients ayant une SEP. Par ailleurs, la vitesse de traitement de l'information (VTI) est le principal domaine cognitif altéré dans la SEP. Dans le septième article, un nouvel outil cognitif développé dans notre unité de recherche appelé «computerised speed cognitive test» a été utilisé pour détecter un ralentissement de la VTI dans un échantillon de 101 patients atteints de SEP et 415 sujets sains. Ce test a été associé à une excellente fiabilité, une bonne validité écologique, et de bonnes performances pour détecter un ralentissement de la VTI chez les patients atteints de SEP. / Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most frequent chronic, disabling, non-traumatic neurologic disease of young adults in France. Relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) is the most frequent phenotype of this disease. The diagnosis of RRMS is based on the demonstration of the dissemination of lesions in space and time after a first typical clinical event, which is called a clinically isolated syndrome (CIS). The 2 main objectives of this thesis were, first, to investigate predictors of an early diagnosis of MS after a typical CIS and, second, to provide support for cognitive impairment as a potentially useful prognostic marker in the early stages of MS. The first article reported the results obtained in a retrospective study that included a homogeneous sample of 114 patients with a spinal cord CIS. The diagnosis of MS was predicted by 3 independent factors: ≤40 years of age, positive for oligoclonal bands in the cerebrospinal fluid or a raised IgG index, and ≥3 periventricular lesions at the time of the CIS. In the second article, a confirmation of the validity of these 3 predictive factors was provided through a large prospective study that included 652 patients with a CIS, regardless of the anatomical location of the lesions. Notably, these predictive factors achieved the same accuracy as the dissemination in space criteria which were proposed in the McDonald criteria for the prediction of the diagnosis of MS. Once an MS diagnosis is established, the main challenge is to assess the severity of the disease, and early clinical predictors of long-term disability are still lacking. The anatomical substrate of the disabilities that are accumulated in MS appears primarily to be cumulative axonal loss. Cognitive impairment is frequent in MS, even at the early stages of the disease, and has been associated with MRI markers of diffuse brain damage. Therefore, cognitive impairment appears to be an interesting candidate as a prognostic factor in the early stages of MS. In the third article, the relationship between cognitive impairment and MRI parameters reflecting early diffuse brain damage was confirmed in a 7-year longitudinal study of 44 newly diagnosed RRMS patients. In the fourth article, the ability of the cognitive impairment detected after RRMS diagnosis in this sample of patients to predict the progression of disability over time supported the prognostic value of cognitive deficits in early MS. In the fifth article, cognitive assessments were performed on patients with 2 clinical phenotypes of MS with different prognoses: RRMS and primary progressive MS (PPMS). The extent and the severity of cognitive deficits were greater in the 41 PPMS patients compared to the 60 RRMS patients; this finding supports the relationship between cognitive impairment and widespread brain damage. In the sixth article, the prognostic value of cognitive dysfunction in MS was illustrated through the negative impacts of cognitive deficits on the qualities of life and vocational statuses of 48 patients living with MS who were followed for 7 years. Finally, as cognitive deficits were shown to have the potential to predict early disability in patients with MS, and early disability is known to be relevant to predict long-term disability in MS, the detection of cognitive deficits appears to be a priority in managing patients with MS and adapting early-stage therapeutic strategies. Information processing speed (IPS) is the main cognitive domain impaired in MS that has clinical implications. In the seventh article, the ability of a new, in-house cognitive tool called the computerised speed cognitive test to detect lowered processing speed was assessed in a validation study using samples obtained from 101 patients with MS and 415 healthy subjects. This test was clinically relevant, and had excellent reliability, ecological validity, and predictive value for detecting IPS impairment in patients with MS.

<p>Årligen slutar 30 procent av eleverna gymnasieskolan utan betygsbehörighet. På individuella program (IV) är siffran 85 procent. För att kartlägga skolsituationen för en elevgrupp på IV-programmet intervjuades 24 elever. Utöver detta gjordes en kognitiv bedömning samt en självskattning av upplevd psykisk hälsa. Huvuddelen av eleverna presterade på en ojämn kognitiv nivå, inom normalvariationen. Arton elever bearbetade information långsamt. Eleverna skattade att de mådde psykiskt sämre än normgruppen. De rapporterade tidiga skolsvårigheter som i vissa fall uppmärksammats,men lämnats utan adekvat åtgärd. Elever med långvariga skolproblem,försvårande additiva faktorer kombinerat med ett begåvningsvärde i normalvariationens nedre spann samt långsamhet vid informationsbearbetning upplever negativa individuella konsekvenser. De negativa effekterna kan mildras med tidiga interventioner på en för eleverna adekvat nivå och beaktat elevernas relativa kognitiva styrkor.</p>

Nearly 80% of children treated for cancer are expected to survive, but not without cost. Survivors face unprecedented challenges associated with long-term consequences of treatment, also called late effects. Approximately half of children treated for cancer are at risk for experiencing cognitive late effects, which typically emerge several years post diagnosis. The nature and extent of cognitive late effects appear to be developmental and related to patient, disease, and treatment variables. However, the relationships between these variables is not well understood because there have been few prospective and longitudinal studies that report on the contributions of these variables over time. This dissertation examined the effects of patient, disease, and treatment variables, as well as their interactions over time on neurocognitive functioning in childhood cancer survivors. It comprises part of a large prospective, randomized clinical trial designed to examine changes in cognitive function over three years as a function of different levels of monitoring of school-based intervention based on individual educational plans (IEPs). This dissertation uniquely contributed a new measure (the Treatment Intensity Rating Scale) that was used to systematically classify treatment severity across different types of cancer and cancer treatments. Participants included 61 children ages 7 to 12 years at enrollment who were two to five years from completion of treatment for a brain tumor, leukemia, or lymphoma. Participants received yearly neuropsychological evaluations for a follow-up period of 3 years. Results of these evaluations were used to develop IEPs. Participants were randomized to have their IEPs monitored on a quarterly or annual basis for the duration of the study. Contrary to the progressive decline in neurocognitive functioning that is typically anticipated in pediatric cancer survivors, analyses revealed relative stability of performance on neurocognitive measures over time. Higher neurocognitive performance was noted in children whose IEPs were monitored more frequently versus less frequently. Results also supported gender-specific risk for late effects, with lower performance on select neurocognitive measures in females compared to males. Results of this study provide encouraging evidence of the positive effects of school-based interventions and their close monitoring. This has important implications for quality of life as these children survive well beyond childhood into adulthood.

Årligen slutar 30 procent av eleverna gymnasieskolan utan betygsbehörighet. På individuella program (IV) är siffran 85 procent. För att kartlägga skolsituationen för en elevgrupp på IV-programmet intervjuades 24 elever. Utöver detta gjordes en kognitiv bedömning samt en självskattning av upplevd psykisk hälsa. Huvuddelen av eleverna presterade på en ojämn kognitiv nivå, inom normalvariationen. Arton elever bearbetade information långsamt. Eleverna skattade att de mådde psykiskt sämre än normgruppen. De rapporterade tidiga skolsvårigheter som i vissa fall uppmärksammats,men lämnats utan adekvat åtgärd. Elever med långvariga skolproblem,försvårande additiva faktorer kombinerat med ett begåvningsvärde i normalvariationens nedre spann samt långsamhet vid informationsbearbetning upplever negativa individuella konsekvenser. De negativa effekterna kan mildras med tidiga interventioner på en för eleverna adekvat nivå och beaktat elevernas relativa kognitiva styrkor.