Assessment of the effect of welding fumes on welders' cognitive failure and health-related quality of life.

PubMed

Rahmani, Abdolrasoul; Golbabaei, Farideh; Dehghan, Somayeh Farhang; Mazlomi, Adel; Akbarzadeh, Arash

2016-09-01

This study examined whether cognitive symptoms and health-related quality of life can be affected by welding fume exposure. Participants consisted of welders (n = 40) and welder assistants (n = 25) from welding units as the exposed group, and office workers (n = 44) as the non-exposed group. All participants were studied using ambient air monitoring and two types of questionnaires: the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) and the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Welders and welder assistants were exposed to higher concentrations of all airborne metals than office employees, except for aluminum and chromium (p < 0.05). Mean (95% confidence interval) CFQ score was higher in welders (26.42 (12.74)) compared with welder assistants (22.68 (14.37)) and the non-exposed group (21.38 (8.75)), although these differences were not statistically significant. Mean total score of the SF-36 significantly differed among the three groups (p < 0.05) and welders had the lowest score (M (SD) = 54.84 (17.88)). The relationships between total CFQ score and the measured concentration of nickel at peak work rate was significant for welders. Cognitive symptoms and health-related quality of life were not related to the measures of welding fume exposure and further research should be performed to find other influencing factors.

Double jeopardy: the influence of excessive daytime sleepiness and impaired cognition on health-related quality of life in adults with heart failure

PubMed Central

Riegel, Barbara; Ratcliffe, Sarah J.; Weintraub, William S.; Sayers, Steven L.; Goldberg, Lee R.; Potashnik, Sheryl; Weaver, Terri E.; Pressler, Susan J.

2012-01-01

Aims To determine how excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and impaired cognition contribute to health-related quality of life (HRQL) in heart failure (HF). Methods and results Adults with chronic HF were enrolled into a prospective cohort study. Data were obtained from 280 subjects enrolled from three sites in the northeastern USA; 242 completed the 6-month study. At baseline, cohorts with and without EDS were identified using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Each EDS group was further subdivided into those with and without impaired cognition using a battery of five neuropsychological tests. Two disease-specific measures, the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) and the Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire (FOSQ), were used to measure HRQL. General linear modelling of square-transformed variables was used to test the hypothesis that cohort membership was a significant predictor of HRQL. At 6 months the remaining sample was 62.5 [standard deviation (SD) 12] years old, mostly male (63%), white (65%), and functionally compromised [72% New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III/IV]. The cohort with both EDS and impaired cognition had the lowest KCCQ overall summary score (60.5 ± 22.5) compared with the cohort without EDS or impaired cognition (74.6 ± 17.4, P ≤ 0.001). A similar effect was seen on the FOSQ (16.0 ± 2.8 vs. 18.5 ± 2.2, P < 0.001). Conclusion Impaired cognition alone did not explain poor HRQL, but the addition of EDS poses a significant risk for poor HRQL. Interventions designed to influence EDS may improve HRQL in this population. PMID:22510422

Cognitive complaints correlate with depression rather than concurrent objective cognitive impairment in the SAGE baseline sample

PubMed Central

Zlatar, Zvinka Z.; Moore, Raeanne C.; Palmer, Barton W.; Thompson, Wesley K.; Jeste, Dilip V.

2014-01-01

Objective Whether subjective cognitive complaints are suggestive of depression or concurrent cognitive impairment in older adults without dementia remains unclear. The current study examined this question in a large (N=1,000), randomly-selected community-based sample of adults ages 51-99 without a formal diagnosis of dementia (Successful AGing Evaluation study-SAGE). Methods The modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS-m) measured objective cognitive function, the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) measured subjective cognitive complaints, and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) measured depression. Spearman rho correlations and linear regression models were conducted to examine the relationship among variables in the baseline SAGE sample. Results There was a weak association between TICS-m and CFQ scores (rho= -.12); however a moderate to large association was observed for CFQ and PHQ-9 (rho= .44). Scores on the CFQ were not associated with TICS-m scores (β=-.03, p=.42) after controlling for PHQ-9 and variables of interest, such as age, gender, ethnicity, and physical functioning, while PHQ-9 was significantly associated with CFQ scores (β=.46, p<.001) after controlling for variables of interest. Conclusions Subjective cognitive complaints are more likely related to symptoms of depression rather than concurrent cognitive impairment in a large cross-section of community-dwelling adults without a formal diagnosis of dementia. PMID:24614203

Embedding Patient Education in Mobile Platform for Patients With Heart Failure: Theory-Based Development and Beta Testing.

PubMed

Athilingam, Ponrathi; Osorio, Richard E; Kaplan, Howard; Oliver, Drew; O'neachtain, Tara; Rogal, Philip J

2016-02-01

Health education is an important component of multidisciplinary disease management of heart failure. The educational information given at the time of discharge after hospitalization or at initial diagnosis is often overwhelming to patients and is often lost or never consulted again. Therefore, the aim of this developmental project was to embed interactive heart failure education in a mobile platform. A patient-centered approach, grounded on several learning theories including Mayer's Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning, Sweller's Cognitive Load, Instructional Design Approach, and Problem-Based Learning, was utilized to develop and test the mobile app. Ten heart failure patients, who attended an outpatient heart failure clinic, completed beta testing. A validated self-confidence questionnaire was utilized to assess patients' confidence in using the mobile app. All participants (100%) reported moderate to extreme confidence in using the app, 95% were very likely to use the app, 100% reported the design was easy to navigate, and content on heart failure was appropriate. Having the information accessible on their mobile phone was reported as a positive, like a health coach by all patients. Clinicians and nurses validated the content. Thus, embedding health education in a mobile app is proposed in promoting persistent engagement to improve health outcomes.

Repetition-lag training to improve recollection memory in older people with amnestic mild cognitive impairment. A randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Finn, Maurice; McDonald, Skye

2015-01-01

The results of a randomized controlled trial of repetition-lag training in older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) are reported. A modified repetition-lag training procedure with extended encoding time and strategy choice was used. The training required discriminating studied words from non-studied lures that were repeated at varying intervals during the test phase. Participants were assessed pre/post using untrained measures of cognition and self-report questionnaires. Primary outcome measures were recall of unrelated word pairs both immediately following presentation and following a delay. Secondary outcomes were a measure of attention, cognitive flexibility, and visual working memory. Participants were also asked to report on the frequency of cognitive failures and mood before and after training. Participants (N = 31) were randomized into either the treatment or a no-contact control group and attended the clinic twice per week over a four week period. Twenty-four participants completed the study (twelve in each group). Results indicated that the training group improved at recalling unrelated word pairs after a delay. There were no significant effects of training on other outcomes, self-reported cognitive failures or mood. The results are discussed along with suggestions for future research.

A systematic review of cognitive failures in daily life: Healthy populations.

PubMed

Carrigan, Nicole; Barkus, Emma

2016-04-01

Cognitive failures are minor errors in thinking reported by clinical and non-clinical individuals during everyday life. It is not yet clear how subjectively-reported cognitive failures relate to objective neuropsychological ability. We aimed to consolidate the definition of cognitive failures, outline evidence for the relationship with objective cognition, and develop a unified model of factors that increase cognitive failures. We conducted a systematic review of cognitive failures, identifying 45 articles according to the PRISMA statement. Failures were defined as reflecting proneness to errors in 'real world' planned thought and action. Vulnerability to failures was not consistently associated with objective cognitive performance. A range of stable and variable factors were linked to increased risk of cognitive failures. We conclude that cognitive failures measure real world cognitive capacity rather than pure 'unchallenged' ability. Momentary state may interact with predisposing trait factors to increase the likelihood of failures occurring. Inclusion of self-reported cognitive failures in objective cognitive research will increase the translational relevance of ability into more ecologically valid aspects of real world functioning. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of Age and Ability on Self-Reported Memory Functioning and Knowledge of Memory Aging

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reese, Celinda M.; Cherry, Katie E.

2006-01-01

The authors examined the effects of age and ability (as measured by education and verbal ability) on self-reported memory functioning in adulthood. In Study 1, the age and ability groups responded similarly to the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (D. E. Broadbent, P. F. Cooper, P. Fitzgerald, & K. R. Parkes, 1982), but differences emerged when the…

Cognitive problems in patients in a cardiac rehabilitation program after an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

PubMed

Boyce-van der Wal, L W; Volker, W G; Vliet Vlieland, T P M; van den Heuvel, D M J; van Exel, H J; Goossens, P H

2015-08-01

Estimate prevalence of cognitive problems due to hypoxic brain injury in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survivors referred for cardiac rehabilitation and association with quality of life as well as autonomy and participation. Prospective cohort study. Consecutive OHCA patients. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) and Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE) were administered 4 weeks after the OHCA. Cognitive problems were defined if MMSE <28, CFQ >32 or IQCODE >3.6. The Impact on Participation and Autonomy Questionnaire (IPAQ) (participation/autonomy), the SF-36 Health Survey (SF-36) (quality of life) and the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS) (anxiety/depression) were administered. Correlations between cognitive problems and participation/autonomy and quality of life were calculated. 63 of 77 patients were male (82%), median age 59 years (range 15-84). MMSE median 29 (interquartile range 28-30), CFQ mean 20.9 (SD 9.4) and IQCODE mean 3.1 (SD 0.2). Eighteen patients (23%) scored positive for cognitive problems. Significant correlations were found between MMSE and IPAQ: autonomy inside (r = -0.38), family role (r = -0.26), autonomy outside (r = -0.32), social relations (r = -0.38) and social functioning (r = 0.32). MMSE was related to SF-36: social functioning (r = 0.32). The CFQ was related to IPAQ: autonomy outdoors (r = 0.29) and SF-36: bodily pain (r = -0.37), vitality (r = -0.25), mental health (r = -0.35) and role emotional (r = -0.40). The IQCODE was related to IPAQ: autonomy indoors (r = 0.26) and to SF-36: vitality (r = -0.33) and social functioning (r = -0.41). Twenty-three percent of the patients referred for cardiac rehabilitation showed cognitive problems. Associations were found between cognitive problems and several aspects of participation/autonomy and perceived quality of life. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The impact of sepsis, delirium, and psychological distress on self-rated cognitive function in ICU survivors-a prospective cohort study.

PubMed

Brück, Emily; Schandl, Anna; Bottai, Matteo; Sackey, Peter

2018-01-01

Many intensive care unit (ICU) survivors develop psychological problems and cognitive impairment. The relation between sepsis, delirium, and later cognitive problems is not fully elucidated, and the impact of psychological symptoms on cognitive function is poorly studied in ICU survivors. The primary aim of this study was to examine the relationship between sepsis, ICU delirium, and later self-rated cognitive function. A second aim was to investigate the association between psychological problems and self-rated cognitive function 3 months after the ICU stay. Patients staying more than 24 h at the general ICU at the Karolinska University Hospital Solna, Stockholm, Sweden, were screened for delirium with the Confusion Assessment Method-ICU (CAM-ICU) during their ICU stay. Sepsis incidence and severity were recorded. Three months later, 216 patients received the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms-10 (PTSS-10) questionnaires via postal mail. One hundred twenty-five patients (60%) responded to all questionnaires. Among respondents, the incidence of severe sepsis or septic shock was 42%. The overall incidence of delirium was 34%. Patients with severe sepsis/septic shock had a higher incidence of delirium, with an odds ratio (OR) of 3.7 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.7-8.1). Self-rated cognitive problems 3 months post-ICU were found in 58% of the patients. We did not find any association between sepsis or delirium and late self-rated cognitive function. However, there was a correlation between psychological symptoms and self-rated cognitive function, with the strongest correlation between PTSS-10 scores and CFQ scores ( r  = 0.53; p  < 0.001). ICU delirium is more common in severely septic/septic shock patients. In our cohort, neither severe sepsis nor ICU delirium was associated with self-rated cognitive function 3 months after the ICU stay. Ongoing psychological symptoms, particularly post-traumatic stress was associated with worse self-rated cognitive function. Psychological symptoms need to be taken into account when assessing cognitive function in ICU survivors.

[Validation of a cognitive complaints questionnaire for young adults: the relation between subjective memory complaints, prefrontal symptoms and perceived stress].

PubMed

Lozoya-Delgado, Paz; Ruiz-Sánchez de León, José M; Pedrero-Pérez, Eduardo J

2012-02-01

Although subjective memory complaints are one of the most common causes behind visits to health services, there are hardly any validated instruments in Spanish for evaluating their magnitude. Since memory complaint questionnaires usually include items referring to attentional and executive aspects, it has been hypothesised that they may well be related with other processes that depend on the integrity of the prefrontal cortex. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of an instrument based on the Memory Failures in Everyday (MFE) questionnaire, thus providing a valuation over a broad sample of the Spanish population. A second aim of the study was to analyse the relations that exist between the appearance of the complaints, the symptoms of a prefrontal origin and perceived stress. The MFE-30 (a modified version of the MFE), the dysexecutive questionnaire and the perceived stress scale were administered to a sample of young adults from a non-clinical general population (n = 900). The analyses show that the MFE-30 is a single-factor questionnaire that evaluates a single construct called 'cognitive complaints'. Moreover, an intense pattern of correlations among these complaints, the symptoms of a prefrontal origin and perceived stress is observed. The resulting scores show that the MFE-30 is a useful instrument in clinical practice. Findings are in line with those from previous studies, thus suggesting that there is a close relation among the appearance of cognitive complaints, the presence of prefrontal symptoms and perceived stress.

Influence of early maladaptive schemas, depression, and anxiety on the intensity of self-reported cognitive complaint in older adults with subjective cognitive decline.

PubMed

Tandetnik, Caroline; Hergueta, Thierry; Bonnet, Philippe; Dubois, Bruno; Bungener, Catherine

2017-10-01

Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) designates a self-reported cognitive decline despite preserved cognitive abilities. This study aims to explore, in older adults with SCD, the association between intensity of self-reported cognitive complaint and psychological factors including Young's early maladaptive schemas (EMSs) (i.e. enduring cognitive structures giving rise to beliefs about oneself and the world), as well as depression and anxiety. Seventy-six subjects (69.22 years ± 6.1) with intact cognitive functioning were recruited through an advertisement offering free participation in an intervention on SCD. After undergoing a neuropsychological examination (including global cognition (MMSE) and episodic memory (FCSRT)) and a semi-structured interview to assess depressive symptoms (MADRS), they completed a set of online self-reported questionnaires on SCD (McNair questionnaire), Young's EMSs (YSQ-short form), depression (HADS-D), and anxiety (HADS-A and trait-STAI-Y). The McNair score did not correlate with the neuropsychological scores. Instead, it was highly (r > 0.400; p < 0.005) correlated with trait anxiety and three EMSs belonging to the "Impaired autonomy and performance" domain: Dependence/incompetence, Failure to achieve and Vulnerability to harm or illness. Our final regression model comprising depression, anxiety, and these three EMSs as predictors (while controlling for age, gender, and objective cognition) accounted for 38.5% of the observed variance in SCD intensity. The level of cognitive complaint is significantly associated with Young's EMSs in the category of "Impaired autonomy and performance". We assume that SCD may primarily be driven by profound long-term inner beliefs about oneself that do not specifically refer to self-perceived memory abilities.

Relationship between Work Ability Index and Cognitive Failure among Nurses.

PubMed

Abbasi, Milad; Zakerian, Abolfazl; Kolahdouzi, Malihe; Mehri, Ahmad; Akbarzadeh, Arash; Ebrahimi, Mohammad Hossein

2016-03-01

Frequent nursing errors are considered as factors that affect the quality of healthcare of patients. Capable nurses who are compatible with work conditions are more focused on their tasks, and this reduces their errors and cognitive failures. Therefore, this study was conducted with the aim of investigating the relationship between work ability index (WAI) and cognitive failures (CFs) as well as some factors that affect them in nurses working in the ICU, CCU, and emergency wards. This descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study was conducted with 750 nurses at educational hospitals affiliated with the Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2015. A questionnaire of work ability index and cognitive failures was used to collect data. The data were analyzed using SPSS 20 and the Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients, chi-squared, ANOVA, and the Kruskal-Wallis tests. Using the Pearson correlation test, the results of this study showed that there is a significant, inverse relationship between WAI, personal prognosis of work ability, and mental resources with CFs along with all its subscales in nurses (p < 0.05). In addition, there was an inverse and significant relationship between the total score of CFs and the estimated work impairment due to diseases (p < 0.05). There was a significant positive correlation of CFs with age and experience, while WAI was inversely related to age, work experience, and body mass index (BMI) (p < 0.05). WAI and CFs were related significantly to working units (p < 0.05). Considering the results obtained in this study, WAI and the cognitive status of nurses were lower than the specified limit. It is suggested that the work ability of nurses be improved and that their CFs be reduced through various measures, including pre-employment examinations, proper management of work-shift conditions, and using engineering and administrative strategies to ensure the safety of hospitalized patients.

Variation in Cognitive Failures: An Individual Differences Investigation of Everyday Attention and Memory Failures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Unsworth, Nash; Brewer, Gene A.; Spillers, Gregory J.

2012-01-01

The present study examined individual differences in everyday cognitive failures assessed by diaries. A large sample of participants completed various cognitive ability measures in the laboratory. Furthermore, a subset of these participants also recorded everyday cognitive failures (attention, retrospective memory, and prospective memory failures)…

'Hearts and minds': association, causation and implication of cognitive impairment in heart failure.

PubMed

Cannon, Jane A; McMurray, John Jv; Quinn, Terry J

2015-01-01

The clinical syndrome of heart failure is one of the leading causes of hospitalisation and mortality in older adults. An association between cognitive impairment and heart failure is well described but our understanding of the relationship between the two conditions remains limited. In this review we provide a synthesis of available evidence, focussing on epidemiology, the potential pathogenesis, and treatment implications of cognitive decline in heart failure. Most evidence available relates to heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and the syndromes of chronic cognitive decline or dementia. These conditions are only part of a complex heart failure-cognition paradigm. Associations between cognition and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and between acute delirium and heart failure also seem evident and where data are available we will discuss these syndromes. Many questions remain unanswered regarding heart failure and cognition. Much of the observational evidence on the association is confounded by study design, comorbidity and insensitive cognitive assessment tools. If a causal link exists, there are several potential pathophysiological explanations. Plausible underlying mechanisms relating to cerebral hypoperfusion or occult cerebrovascular disease have been described and it seems likely that these may coexist and exert synergistic effects. Despite the prevalence of the two conditions, when cognitive impairment coexists with heart failure there is no specific guidance on treatment. Institution of evidence-based heart failure therapies that reduce mortality and hospitalisations seems intuitive and there is no signal that these interventions have an adverse effect on cognition. However, cognitive impairment will present a further barrier to the often complex medication self-management that is required in contemporary heart failure treatment.

Poor quality of life, depressed mood, and memory impairment may be mediated by sleep disruption in patients with Addison's disease

PubMed Central

Henry, Michelle; Wolf, Pedro S.A.; Ross, Ian L.; Thomas, Kevin G.F.

2015-01-01

Standard replacement therapy for Addison's disease (AD) does not restore a normal circadian rhythm. In fact, hydrocortisone replacement in AD patients likely induces disrupted sleep. Given that healthy sleep plays an important role in improving quality of life, optimizing cognition, and ensuring affect regulation, the aim of this study was to investigate whether poor quality of life, mood alterations, and memory complaints reported by AD patients are associated with their disrupted sleep patterns. Sixty patients with AD and 60 matched healthy controls completed a battery of self-report questionnaires assessing perceived physical and mental health (Short-Form 36), mood (Beck Depression Inventory—II), sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), and cognition (Cognitive Failures Questionnaire). A latent variable model revealed that although AD had a significant direct effect on quality of life, the indirect effect of sleep was significantly greater. Furthermore, although AD had no direct effect on cognitive functioning, the indirect effect of sleep was significant. The overall model showed a good fit (comparative fit index = 0.91, root mean square of approximation = 0.09, and standardized root mean square residual = 0.05). Our findings suggest that disrupted sleep, and not the disease per se, may induce poor quality of life, memory impairment, and affect dysregulation in patients with AD. We think that improving sleep architecture may improve cognitive, affective, and physical functioning. PMID:26256520

Job characteristics in nursing and cognitive failure at work.

PubMed

Elfering, Achim; Grebner, Simone; Dudan, Anna

2011-06-01

Stressors in nursing put high demands on cognitive control and, therefore, may increase the risk of cognitive failures that put patients at risk. Task-related stressors were expected to be positively associated with cognitive failure at work and job control was expected to be negatively associated with cognitive failure at work. Ninety-six registered nurses from 11 Swiss hospitals were investigated (89 women, 7 men, mean age = 36 years, standard deviation = 12 years, 80% supervisors, response rate 48%). A new German version of the Workplace Cognitive Failure Scale (WCFS) was employed to assess failure in memory function, failure in attention regulation, and failure in action exertion. In linear regression analyses, WCFS was related to work characteristics, neuroticism, and conscientiousness. The German WCFS was valid and reliable. The factorial structure of the original WCF could be replicated. Multilevel regression task-related stressors and conscientiousness were significantly related to attention control and action exertion. The study sheds light on the association between job characteristics and work-related cognitive failure. These associations were unique, i.e. associations were shown even when individual differences in conscientiousness and neuroticism were controlled for. A job redesign in nursing should address task stressors.

Cognitive structures in women with sexual dysfunction: the role of early maladaptive schemas.

PubMed

Oliveira, Cátia; Nobre, Pedro J

2013-07-01

Cognitive schemas are often related to psychological problems. However, the role of these structures within sexual problems is not yet well established. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence and importance of early maladaptive schemas on women's sexual functioning and cognitive schemas activated in response to negative sexual events. A total of 228 women participated in the study: a control sample of 167 women without sexual problems, a subclinical sample of 37 women with low sexual functioning, and a clinical sample of 24 women with sexual dysfunction. Participants completed several self-reported measures: the Schema Questionnaire, the Questionnaire of Cognitive Schema Activation in Sexual Context, the Brief Symptom Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Female Sexual Function Index. Findings indicated that women with sexual dysfunction presented significantly more early maladaptive schemas from the Impaired Autonomy and Performance domain, particularly failure (P < 0.001, η(2) = 0.08), dependence/incompetence (P < 0.05, η(2) = 0.03), and vulnerability to danger (P < 0.05, η(2) = 0.04). Additionally, in response to negative sexual events, women with sexual dysfunction presented significantly higher scores on incompetence (P < 0.001, η(2) = 0.16), self-depreciation (P < 0.01, η(2) = 0.05), and difference/loneliness (P < 0.01, η(2) = 0.05) schemas. Results supported differences between women with and without sexual problems regarding cognitive factors. This may have implications for the knowledge, assessment, and treatment of sexual dysfunction in women. © 2012 International Society for Sexual Medicine.

Poor quality of life, depressed mood, and memory impairment may be mediated by sleep disruption in patients with Addison's disease.

PubMed

Henry, Michelle; Wolf, Pedro S A; Ross, Ian L; Thomas, Kevin G F

2015-11-01

Standard replacement therapy for Addison's disease (AD) does not restore a normal circadian rhythm. In fact, hydrocortisone replacement in AD patients likely induces disrupted sleep. Given that healthy sleep plays an important role in improving quality of life, optimizing cognition, and ensuring affect regulation, the aim of this study was to investigate whether poor quality of life, mood alterations, and memory complaints reported by AD patients are associated with their disrupted sleep patterns. Sixty patients with AD and 60 matched healthy controls completed a battery of self-report questionnaires assessing perceived physical and mental health (Short-Form 36), mood (Beck Depression Inventory-II), sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), and cognition (Cognitive Failures Questionnaire). A latent variable model revealed that although AD had a significant direct effect on quality of life, the indirect effect of sleep was significantly greater. Furthermore, although AD had no direct effect on cognitive functioning, the indirect effect of sleep was significant. The overall model showed a good fit (comparative fit index = 0.91, root mean square of approximation = 0.09, and standardized root mean square residual = 0.05). Our findings suggest that disrupted sleep, and not the disease per se, may induce poor quality of life, memory impairment, and affect dysregulation in patients with AD. We think that improving sleep architecture may improve cognitive, affective, and physical functioning. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cognitive Training Program to Improve Working Memory in Older Adults with MCI.

PubMed

Hyer, Lee; Scott, Ciera; Atkinson, Mary Michael; Mullen, Christine M; Lee, Anna; Johnson, Aaron; Mckenzie, Laura C

2016-01-01

Deficits in working memory (WM) are associated with age-related decline. We report findings from a clinical trial that examined the effectiveness of Cogmed, a computerized program that trains WM. We compare this program to a Sham condition in older adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Older adults (N = 68) living in the community were assessed. Participants reported memory impairment and met criteria for MCI, either by poor delayed memory or poor performance in other cognitive areas. The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS, Delayed Memory Index) and the Clinical Dementia Rating scale (CDR) were utilized. All presented with normal Mini Mental State Exams (MMSE) and activities of daily living (ADLs). Participants were randomized to Cogmed or a Sham computer program. Twenty-five sessions were completed over five to seven weeks. Pre, post, and follow-up measures included a battery of cognitive measures (three WM tests), a subjective memory scale, and a functional measure. Both intervention groups improved over time. Cogmed significantly outperformed Sham on Span Board and exceeded in subjective memory reports at follow-up as assessed by the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ). The Cogmed group demonstrated better performance on the Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ), a measure of adjustment and far transfer, at follow-up. Both groups, especially Cogmed, enjoyed the intervention. Results suggest that WM was enhanced in both groups of older adults with MCI. Cogmed was better on one core WM measure and had higher ratings of satisfaction. The Sham condition declined on adjustment.

Psychometric properties of the Greek TCI-R and its clinical correlates: schizotypy and the self-regulation of affective and cognitive functioning.

PubMed

Giakoumaki, Stella G; Karagiannopoulou, Leda; Rózsa, Sándor; Zouraraki, Chrysoula; Karamaouna, Penny; Cloninger, C Robert

2016-01-01

Background. The revised Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI-R) measures Cloninger's psychobiological model of personality. The average effects of individual temperament and character traits have been associated with schizotypy and with impaired regulation of affect and cognition. We extended prior research by testing predictions about the association of specific multidimensional configurations of temperament and character traits on schizotypy, affect balance, and self-perceived cognitive functioning. Method. A well-educated sample of native Greeks (N = 483), completed a new Greek translation of the TCI-R, as well as the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ), the Positive/Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ). The factor structure of the TCI-R was examined with exploratory and confirmatory tests. Associations between reported measures were examined with correlational and regression analyses. Results. The TCI-R had good psychometric properties as expected from studies in other countries. As predicted, specific configurations of temperament and character were associated with schizotypy, negative affect balance, and cognitive lapses. The "Borderline/Explosive temperament" (high Novelty Seeking, high Harm Avoidance, low Reward Dependence), "Schizotypal/Disorganized character" (low Self-directedness, low Cooperativeness, high Self-transcendence), and "Low Ego Strength/Fragile" profile (high Harm Avoidance, low Persistence, low Self-Directedness) were each strongly associated with higher stereotypy, negative affect balance (low positive affect and high negative affect), and subjective cognitive lapses compared to their contrast groups. Discussion. Multidimensional TCI profiles are strongly related to individual differences in schizotypy and self-reported regulation of affect and cognition. The Greek translation of the TCI-R is psychometrically sound and useful for clinical assessment and research.

Psychometric properties of the Greek TCI-R and its clinical correlates: schizotypy and the self-regulation of affective and cognitive functioning

PubMed Central

Karagiannopoulou, Leda; Rózsa, Sándor; Zouraraki, Chrysoula; Karamaouna, Penny; Cloninger, C. Robert

2016-01-01

Background. The revised Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI-R) measures Cloninger’s psychobiological model of personality. The average effects of individual temperament and character traits have been associated with schizotypy and with impaired regulation of affect and cognition. We extended prior research by testing predictions about the association of specific multidimensional configurations of temperament and character traits on schizotypy, affect balance, and self-perceived cognitive functioning. Method. A well-educated sample of native Greeks (N = 483), completed a new Greek translation of the TCI-R, as well as the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ), the Positive/Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ). The factor structure of the TCI-R was examined with exploratory and confirmatory tests. Associations between reported measures were examined with correlational and regression analyses. Results. The TCI-R had good psychometric properties as expected from studies in other countries. As predicted, specific configurations of temperament and character were associated with schizotypy, negative affect balance, and cognitive lapses. The “Borderline/Explosive temperament” (high Novelty Seeking, high Harm Avoidance, low Reward Dependence), “Schizotypal/Disorganized character” (low Self-directedness, low Cooperativeness, high Self-transcendence), and “Low Ego Strength/Fragile” profile (high Harm Avoidance, low Persistence, low Self-Directedness) were each strongly associated with higher stereotypy, negative affect balance (low positive affect and high negative affect), and subjective cognitive lapses compared to their contrast groups. Discussion. Multidimensional TCI profiles are strongly related to individual differences in schizotypy and self-reported regulation of affect and cognition. The Greek translation of the TCI-R is psychometrically sound and useful for clinical assessment and research. PMID:27019787

Irrational beliefs at work and their implications for workaholism.

PubMed

van Wijhe, Corine; Peeters, Maria; Schaufeli, Wilmar

2013-09-01

This study examined the associations between work-related irrational cognitions and workaholism. For this purpose, a 16-item work-related irrational beliefs questionnaire (WIB-Q) was developed. Employees (n = 913) completed an online survey that included, besides the irrational cognitions scale, measures of negative affect and workaholism. The results show that four factors could be distinguished, which represent irrational beliefs concerning (1) performance demands, (2) co-workers' approval (3) failure and (4) control. All scales showed good internal consistency. Furthermore, it was found that, after controlling for negative affect, performance demands were associated with workaholism, whereas the remaining types of irrationality were unrelated to workaholism. In other words, the findings suggest that interventions for workaholism should target irrational self-oriented performance demands and negative emotions. As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy focuses on identifying and replacing irrational cognitions, it appears a useful intervention technique for the treatment of workaholics.

Safety evaluation of driver cognitive failures and driving errors on right-turn filtering movement at signalized road intersections based on Fuzzy Cellular Automata (FCA) model.

PubMed

Chai, Chen; Wong, Yiik Diew; Wang, Xuesong

2017-07-01

This paper proposes a simulation-based approach to estimate safety impact of driver cognitive failures and driving errors. Fuzzy Logic, which involves linguistic terms and uncertainty, is incorporated with Cellular Automata model to simulate decision-making process of right-turn filtering movement at signalized intersections. Simulation experiments are conducted to estimate the relationships between cognitive failures and driving errors with safety performance. Simulation results show Different types of cognitive failures are found to have varied relationship with driving errors and safety performance. For right-turn filtering movement, cognitive failures are more likely to result in driving errors with denser conflicting traffic stream. Moreover, different driving errors are found to have different safety impacts. The study serves to provide a novel approach to linguistically assess cognitions and replicate decision-making procedures of the individual driver. Compare to crash analysis, the proposed FCA model allows quantitative estimation of particular cognitive failures, and the impact of cognitions on driving errors and safety performance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Cognitive and quality of life trajectory after either surgical or transcatheter aortic valve replacement in high-risk patients].

PubMed

Ciuca, Cristina; Fortuna, Daniela; Ferrari, Susy; Salizzoni, Stefano; Grisoglio, Enrica; Punta, Giuseppe; Del Ponte, Stefano; Aranzulla, Tiziana Claudia; Gabbieri, Davide; Gandolfo, Caterina; Dispensa, Flavia; Vecchio Verderame, Lavinia; Tamburino, Corrado; Caruso, Cinzia; Grossi, Claudio; Mikus, Elisa; Guiducci, Vincenzo; Violini, Roberto; Rongoni, Silvia; Pandolfi, Claudia; Moretti, Carolina; De Palma, Rossana; Chattat, Rabih; Savini, Carlo; Marzocchi, Antonio; Saia, Francesco

2016-12-01

The impact of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) or surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR) on cognitive status and quality of life in high-risk patients has been incompletely investigated. We conducted a prospective, multicenter study including all patients treated with TAVI and high-risk patients undergoing AVR (age ≥80 years or logistic EuroSCORE ≥15%) at participating centers. Multidimensional geriatric evaluation including Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), EuroQol 5D (EQ5D) and Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) were performed at baseline and at 3- and 12-month follow-up. A total of 518 patients (151 AVR and 367 TAVI) were enrolled in 10 Italian institutions. Patients receiving AVR were older (82.7 ± 2.4 years), with a lower logistic EuroSCORE (12.5 ± 7.1%) as compared with TAVI patients (81.5 ± 6.2 years and 19.6 ± 14.0%, respectively, p=0.001 and p<0.001). Overall, 35.5% of patients showed some degree of cognitive impairment at baseline, with no differences between groups. No significant changes in the cognitive status were observed between baseline and follow-up and between groups at any time point. TAVI patients had a lower quality of life at baseline as compared with AVR patients. Generic and heart failure-related quality of life improved significantly after either procedure. In high-risk patients, both TAVI and AVR are associated with a significant improvement of quality of life up to 1 year without a detrimental effect on cognitive function.

Confirmatory Factor Analysis of a Questionnaire Measure of Managerial Stigma Towards Employee Depression.

PubMed

Martin, Angela J; Giallo, Rebecca

2016-12-01

Managers' attitudes play a key role in how organizations respond to employees with depression. We examine the measurement properties of a questionnaire designed to assess managerial stigma towards employees with depression. Using data from a sample of 469 Australian managers representing a wide range of industries and work settings, we conducted a confirmatory factor analysis to assess three proposed subscales representing affective, cognitive and behavioural forms of stigma. Results were equivocal indicating acceptable fit for two-factor (affective and cognitive + behavioural), three-factor (affective, cognitive and behavioural) and higher order models. Failure to demonstrate the discriminant validity of the cognitive and behavioural dimensions, even though they are theoretically distinct, suggests that further work on the scale is warranted. These results provide an extension to the psychometric profile of this measure (exploratory factor analysis; Martin, ). Development of strategies to operationalize this construct will benefit occupational health research and practice, particularly in interventions that aim to reduce the stigma of mental health issues in the workplace or where managers' attitudes are a key mechanism in intervention efficacy. We encourage future research on this measure pertaining in particular to further enhancing all aspects of its construct validity. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Coexisting Frailty, Cognitive Impairment, and Heart Failure: Implications for Clinical Care

PubMed Central

Butts, Brittany; Gary, Rebecca

2015-01-01

Objective To review some of the proposed pathways that increase frailty risk in older persons with heart failure and to discuss tools that may be used to assess for changes in physical and cognitive functioning in this population in order to assist with appropriate and timely intervention. Methods Review of the literature. Results Heart failure is the only cardiovascular disease that is increasing by epidemic proportions, largely due to an aging society and therapeutic advances in disease management. Because heart failure is largely a cardiogeriatric syndrome, age-related syndromes such as frailty and cognitive impairment are common in heart failure patients. Compared with age-matched counterparts, older adults with heart failure 4 to 6 times more likely to be frail or cognitively impaired. The reason for the high prevalence of frailty and cognitive impairment in this population is not well known but may likely reflect the synergistic effects of heart failure and aging, which may heighten vulnerability to stressors and accelerate loss of physiologic reserve. Despite the high prevalence of frailty and cognitive impairment in the heart failure population, these conditions are not routinely screened for in clinical practice settings and guidelines on optimal assessment strategies are lacking. Conclusion Persons with heart failure are at an increased risk for frailty, which may worsen symptoms, impair self-management, and lead to worse heart failure outcomes. Early detection of frailty and cognitive impairment may be an opportunity for intervention and a key strategy for improving clinical outcomes in older adults with heart failure. PMID:26594103

A Daily Diary Approach to the Examination of Chronic Stress, Daily Hassles and Safety Perceptions in Hospital Nursing.

PubMed

Louch, Gemma; O'Hara, Jane; Gardner, Peter; O'Connor, Daryl B

2017-12-01

Stress is a significant concern for individuals and organisations. Few studies have explored stress, burnout and patient safety in hospital nursing on a daily basis at the individual level. This study aimed to examine the effects of chronic stress and daily hassles on safety perceptions, the effect of chronic stress on daily hassles experienced and chronic stress as a potential moderator. Utilising a daily diary design, 83 UK hospital nurses completed three end-of-shift diaries, yielding 324 person days. Hassles, safety perceptions and workplace cognitive failure were measured daily, and a baseline questionnaire included a measure of chronic stress. Hierarchical multivariate linear modelling was used to analyse the data. Higher chronic stress was associated with more daily hassles, poorer perceptions of safety and being less able to practise safely, but not more workplace cognitive failure. Reporting more daily hassles was associated with poorer perceptions of safety, being less able to practise safely and more workplace cognitive failure. Chronic stress did not moderate daily associations. The hassles reported illustrate the wide-ranging hassles nurses experienced. The findings demonstrate, in addition to chronic stress, the importance of daily hassles for nurses' perceptions of safety and the hassles experienced by hospital nurses on a daily basis. Nurses perceive chronic stress and daily hassles to contribute to their perceptions of safety. Measuring the number of daily hassles experienced could proactively highlight when patient safety threats may arise, and as a result, interventions could usefully focus on the management of daily hassles.

Cognitive impairment in heart failure: issues of measurement and etiology.

PubMed

Riegel, Barbara; Bennett, Jill A; Davis, Andra; Carlson, Beverly; Montague, John; Robin, Howard; Glaser, Dale

2002-11-01

Clinicians need easy methods of screening for cognitive impairment in patients with heart failure. If correlates of cognitive impairment could be identified, more patients with early cognitive impairment could be treated before the problem interfered with adherence to treatment. To describe cognitive impairment in patients with heart failure, to explore the usefulness of 4 measures of cognitive impairment, and to assess correlates of cognitive impairment. A descriptive, correlational design was used. Four screening measures of cognition were assessed in 42 patients with heart failure: Commands subtest and Complex Ideational Material subtest of the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination, Mini-Mental State Examination, and Draw-a-Clock Test. Cognitive impairment was defined as performance less than the standardized (T-score) cutoff point on at least 1 of the 4 measures. Possible correlates of cognitive impairment included age, education, hypotension, fluid overload (serum osmolality < 269 mOsm/kg), and dehydration (serum osmolality > or = 295 mOsm/kg). Cognitive impairment was detected in 12 (28.6%) of 42 participants. The 4 screening tests varied in effectiveness, but the Draw-a-Clock Test indicated impairment in 50% of the 12 impaired patients. A summed standardized score for the 4 measures was not significantly associated with age, education, hypotension, fluid overload, or dehydration in this sample. Cognitive impairment is relatively common in patients with heart failure. The Draw-a-Clock Test was most useful in detecting cognitive impairment, although it cannot be used to detect problems with verbal learning or delayed recall and should not be used as the sole screening method for patients with heart failure. Correlates of cognitive impairment require further study.

Peer Victimization and Harsh Parenting Predict Cognitive Diatheses for Depression in Children and Adolescents.

PubMed

Cole, David A; Sinclair-McBride, Keneisha R; Zelkowitz, Rachel; Bilsk, Sarah A; Roeder, Kathryn; Spinelli, Tawny

2016-01-01

The current study examined peer victimization and harsh parenting as longitudinal predictors of broadband and narrowband cognitions associated with the etiology of depression in children and adolescents. The sample consisted of 214 elementary and middle school students. At the start of the study, their average age was 12.2 years (SD = 1.0). The sex ratio was 112 girls to 102 boys. The sample was ethnically diverse (58.9% Caucasian, 34.1% African American, 10.7% Hispanic, 3.3% Asian, and 5.2% other). Children and their parents completed measures of peer victimization and harsh parenting. At two waves 1 year apart, children also completed questionnaire measures of negative and positive broadband cognitive style (e.g., personal failure, global self-worth) and narrowband self-perceptions (e.g., perceived social threat, social acceptance). Every Wave 2 cognitive variable was predicted by peer victimization or harsh parenting or both, even after controlling for a Wave 1 measure of the same cognitive variable. Peer victimization more consistently predicted narrowband social/interpersonal cognitions, whereas harsh parenting more consistently predicted broadband positive and negative cognitions. Furthermore, controlling for positive and negative self-cognitions eliminated a statistically significant effect of harsh parenting and peer victimization on depressive symptoms. Support emerged for the social learning of negative self-cognitions. Support also emerged for negative self-cognitions as a mediator of depressive symptoms. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Neurodevelopmental and Cognitive Outcomes in Children With Intestinal Failure.

PubMed

Chesley, Patrick M; Sanchez, Sabrina E; Melzer, Lilah; Oron, Assaf P; Horslen, Simon P; Bennett, F Curt; Javid, Patrick J

2016-07-01

Recent advances in medical and surgical management have led to improved long-term survival in children with intestinal failure. Yet, limited data exist on their neurodevelopmental and cognitive outcomes. The aim of the present study was to measure neurodevelopmental outcomes in children with intestinal failure. Children enrolled in a regional intestinal failure program underwent prospective neurodevelopmental and psychometric evaluation using a validated scoring tool. Cognitive impairment was defined as a mental developmental index <70. Neurodevelopmental impairment was defined as cerebral palsy, visual or hearing impairment, or cognitive impairment. Univariate analyses were performed using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Data are presented as median (range). Fifteen children with a remnant bowel length of 18 (5-85) cm were studied at age 17 (12-67) months. Thirteen patients remained dependent on parenteral nutrition. Twelve (80%) subjects scored within the normal range on cognitive testing. Each child with cognitive impairment was noted to have additional risk factors independent of intestinal failure including cardiac arrest and extreme prematurity. On univariate analysis, cognitive impairment was associated with longer inpatient hospital stays, increased number of surgical procedures, and prematurity (P < 0.02). In total, 4 (27%) children demonstrated findings consistent with neurodevelopmental impairment. A majority of children with intestinal failure demonstrated normal neurodevelopmental and cognitive outcomes on psychometric testing. These data suggest that children with intestinal failure without significant comorbidity may be at low risk for long-term neurodevelopmental impairment.

Construct Validity and Reliability of a New Spanish Empathy Questionnaire for Children and Early Adolescents

PubMed Central

Richaud, Maria C.; Lemos, Viviana N.; Mesurado, Belen; Oros, Laura

2017-01-01

Empathy is a basic socio-emotional process of human development that involves the ability to perceive, share, and understand the emotional states of others. This process is essential to successful social functioning. However, despite its significance, empathy has been difficult to define and measure, particularly when incorporating both its emotional and cognitive aspects. The purpose of this study was to develop an Empathy Questionnaire for children aged 9–12 years based on a model of social cognitive neuroscience and to analyze its construct validity and reliability. This questionnaire aimed to integrate the following aspects: emotional contagion, self-other awareness, perspective-taking, emotional regulation, and empathic action. Three studies were conducted. Study 1 evaluated the discriminative power of the items and studied the underlying structure of the instrument using exploratory factor analysis. In Study 2, confirmatory factor analysis was performed to test the model obtained. Finally, the goal of Study 3 was to analyze the convergent and discriminant validity of the questionnaire and the internal consistency of its dimensions. The final version of the instrument contained 15 items that operationalized the previously listed dimensions. The results of the 3 studies indicated that the questionnaire had good validity and reliability. This study has important implications for research and clinical practice. Given its simplicity and brevity, this new self-report scale may work well as a screening method to evaluate the key psychological issues underlying numerous child behaviors that predict the success or failure of social relationships, individual quality of life, and mental well-being. PMID:28659848

Construct Validity and Reliability of a New Spanish Empathy Questionnaire for Children and Early Adolescents.

PubMed

Richaud, Maria C; Lemos, Viviana N; Mesurado, Belen; Oros, Laura

2017-01-01

Empathy is a basic socio-emotional process of human development that involves the ability to perceive, share, and understand the emotional states of others. This process is essential to successful social functioning. However, despite its significance, empathy has been difficult to define and measure, particularly when incorporating both its emotional and cognitive aspects. The purpose of this study was to develop an Empathy Questionnaire for children aged 9-12 years based on a model of social cognitive neuroscience and to analyze its construct validity and reliability. This questionnaire aimed to integrate the following aspects: emotional contagion, self-other awareness, perspective-taking, emotional regulation , and empathic action. Three studies were conducted. Study 1 evaluated the discriminative power of the items and studied the underlying structure of the instrument using exploratory factor analysis. In Study 2, confirmatory factor analysis was performed to test the model obtained. Finally, the goal of Study 3 was to analyze the convergent and discriminant validity of the questionnaire and the internal consistency of its dimensions. The final version of the instrument contained 15 items that operationalized the previously listed dimensions. The results of the 3 studies indicated that the questionnaire had good validity and reliability. This study has important implications for research and clinical practice. Given its simplicity and brevity, this new self-report scale may work well as a screening method to evaluate the key psychological issues underlying numerous child behaviors that predict the success or failure of social relationships, individual quality of life, and mental well-being.

Individually tailored internet-based cognitive behaviour therapy for older adults with anxiety and depression: a randomised controlled trial.

PubMed

Silfvernagel, Kristin; Westlinder, Anna; Andersson, Stina; Bergman, Kajsa; Diaz Hernandez, Rosario; Fallhagen, Line; Lundqvist, Ida; Masri, Nicole; Viberg, Linda; Forsberg, Marie-Louise; Lind, Maria; Berger, Thomas; Carlbring, Per; Andersson, Gerhard

2018-07-01

Mixed anxiety and depression is common among older adults. The aim of the study was to compare the effects of an eight-week-long tailored internet-supported cognitive behaviour therapy (ICBT) programme and to compare against the provision of weekly general support. A second aim was to investigate if pre-treatment cognitive flexibility and self-reported cognitive problems would predict outcome. We included 66 older adults (aged over 60 years) with mixed anxiety/depression following media recruitment and randomised them into treatment and control groups. We also included a one-year follow-up. As a measure of executive function, we used the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (perseverative errors) and the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire during the pre-treatment phase. Results showed a moderate between-group effect on the main outcome measure, the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) (d= .50), favouring the treatment group. Nearly half (45.5%) of that group were classified as responders. One person (3%) in the treatment group deteriorated. There were significant correlations between perseverative errors and outcome (on the BAI r = -.45), but not among self-reported cognitive function. We conclude that guided, tailored ICBT may be effective for some older adults and that the role of cognitive function needs to be investigated further.

The Study of Cognitive Function and Related Factors in Patients With Heart Failure

PubMed Central

Ghanbari, Atefeh; Moaddab, Fatemeh; Salari, Arsalan; Kazemnezhad Leyli, Ehsan; Sedghi Sabet, Mitra; Paryad, Ezzat

2013-01-01

Background: Cognitive impairment is increasingly recognized as a common adverse consequence of heart failure. Both Heart failure and cognitive impairment are associated with frequent hospitalization and increased mortality, particularly when they occur simultaneously. Objectives: To determine cognitive function and related factors in patients with heart failure. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, we assessed 239 patients with heart failure. Data were collected by Mini Mental status Examination, Charlson comorbidity index and NYHA classification system. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, chi-square test, t-test and logistic regression analysis. Results: The mean score of cognitive function was 21.68 ± 4.51. In total, 155 patients (64.9%) had cognitive impairment. Significant associations were found between the status of cognitive impairment and gender (P < 0.002), education level (P < 0.000), living location (P < 0.000), marital status (P < 0.03), living arrangement (P < 0.001 ), employment status (P < 0.000), income (P < 0.02), being the head of family (P < 0.03), the family size (P < 0.02), having a supplemental insurance (P < 0.003) and the patient’s comorbidities (P < 0.02). However, in logistic regression analysis, only education and supplementary insurance could predict cognitive status which indicates that patients with supplementary insurance and higher education levels were more likely to maintain optimal cognitive function. Conclusions: More than a half of the subjects had cognitive impairment. As the level of patients cognitive functioning affects their behaviors and daily living activities, it is recommended that patients with heart failure should be assessed for their cognitive functioning. PMID:25414874

Cognitive symptoms and welding fume exposure.

PubMed

Ross, John A S; Macdiarmid, Jennifer I; Semple, Sean; Watt, Stephen J; Moir, Gill; Henderson, George

2013-01-01

Prevalence of moderate to severe cognitive symptoms is markedly higher in UK professional divers who have also worked as a welder (28%) than in either divers who have not welded (18%) or offshore workers who have worked neither as a diver nor as a welder (6%). To determine whether cognitive symptoms are related to welding fume exposure or diving. Three age-matched groups of male workers were studied using postal questionnaire: professional divers who had worked as a welder (PDW, n = 361), professional welders who had not dived (NDW, n = 352), and offshore oil field workers who had neither dived nor welded (NDNW, n =503). Health-related quality of life was assessed by the Short Form 12 questionnaire (SF12). Cognitive symptomatology was assessed using the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ). A single variable for welding fume exposure (mg m(-3) days) was calculated, incorporating welding experience in different environments and using different welding techniques and respiratory protective equipment. The level of fume exposure during hyperbaric welding operations was measured during such work as ambient PM(10) (particles of 10 µm or less). Diving exposure was assessed as the number of dives performed plus the number of days spent working during saturation diving. Questionnaires were returned by 153 PDW, 108 NDW, and 252 NDNW. SF12 scores were the same in all groups and fell within normative values. Mean (95% CI) CFQ scores were higher in PDW [40.3 (37.7-42.9)] than in both NDW [34.6 (31.6-37.7)] and NDNW [32.1 (30.4-33.9)], but the scores in no groups fell outside the normative range. The mean PM(10) exposure during hyperbaric welding operations was 2.58 mg m(-3). The geometric mean mg m(-3) days (95% CI) for welding fume exposure in NDW [33 128 (24 625-44 567) n = 85] was higher than for that in PDW [10 904 (8103-14 673) n = 112]. For PDW the geometric mean (95% CI) diving exposure was 1491 [(1192-1866) n = 94] dives and days in saturation. In the general linear model regression analyses adjusted for age, alcohol consumption, and somatization, there was no signification association of CFQ score with either welding fume exposure (F = 0.072, P = 0.79, n = 152) or diving exposure (F = 0.042, P = 0.84, n = 74). In conclusion, cognitive sympomatology was not related to retrospectively assessed measures of welding fume exposure or diving experience. In addition, the levels of cognitive symptomatology, even in PDW, did not exceed normative values.

Free will and paranormal beliefs

PubMed Central

Mogi, Ken

2014-01-01

Free will is one of the fundamental aspects of human cognition. In the context of cognitive neuroscience, various experiments on time perception, sensorimotor coordination, and agency suggest the possibility that it is a robust illusion (a feeling independent of actual causal relationship with actions) constructed by neural mechanisms. Humans are known to suffer from various cognitive biases and failures, and the sense of free will might be one of them. Here I report a positive correlation between the belief in free will and paranormal beliefs (UFO, reincarnation, astrology, and psi). Web questionnaires involving 2076 subjects (978 males, 1087 females, and 11 other genders) were conducted, which revealed significant positive correlations between belief in free will (theory and practice) and paranormal beliefs. There was no significant correlation between belief in free will and knowledge in paranormal phenomena. Paranormal belief scores for females were significantly higher than those for males, with corresponding significant (albeit weaker) difference in belief in free will. These results are consistent with the view that free will is an illusion which shares common cognitive elements with paranormal beliefs. PMID:24765084

Free will and paranormal beliefs.

PubMed

Mogi, Ken

2014-01-01

Free will is one of the fundamental aspects of human cognition. In the context of cognitive neuroscience, various experiments on time perception, sensorimotor coordination, and agency suggest the possibility that it is a robust illusion (a feeling independent of actual causal relationship with actions) constructed by neural mechanisms. Humans are known to suffer from various cognitive biases and failures, and the sense of free will might be one of them. Here I report a positive correlation between the belief in free will and paranormal beliefs (UFO, reincarnation, astrology, and psi). Web questionnaires involving 2076 subjects (978 males, 1087 females, and 11 other genders) were conducted, which revealed significant positive correlations between belief in free will (theory and practice) and paranormal beliefs. There was no significant correlation between belief in free will and knowledge in paranormal phenomena. Paranormal belief scores for females were significantly higher than those for males, with corresponding significant (albeit weaker) difference in belief in free will. These results are consistent with the view that free will is an illusion which shares common cognitive elements with paranormal beliefs.

The influence of computer-based cognitive flexibility training on subjective cognitive well-being after stroke: A multi-center randomized controlled trial

PubMed Central

Murre, Jaap M. J.; Buitenweg, Jessika I. V.; Veltman, Dick J.; Aaronson, Justine A.; Nijboer, Tanja C. W.; Kruiper-Doesborgh, Suzanne J. C.; van Bennekom, Coen A. M.; Ridderinkhof, K. Richard; Schmand, Ben

2017-01-01

Background Stroke can result in cognitive complaints that can have a large impact on quality of life long after its occurrence. A number of computer-based training programs have been developed with the aim to improve cognitive functioning. Most studies investigating their efficacy used only objective outcome measures, whereas a reduction of subjective cognitive complaints may be equally important for improving quality of life. A few studies used subjective outcome measures but were inconclusive, partly due to methodological shortcomings such as lack of proper active and passive control groups. Objective The aim of the current study was to investigate whether computer-based cognitive flexibility training can improve subjective cognitive functioning and quality of life after stroke. Methods We performed a randomized controlled double blind trial (RCT). Adults (30–80 years old) who had a stroke 3 months to 5 years ago, were randomly assigned to either an intervention group (n = 38), an active control group (i.e., mock training; n = 35), or a waiting list control group (n = 24). The intervention and mock training consisted of 58 half-hour sessions within 12 weeks. The primary subjective outcome measures were cognitive functioning (Cognitive Failure Questionnaire), executive functioning (Dysexecutive Functioning Questionnaire), quality of life (Short Form Health Survey), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL; Lawton & Brody IADL scale), and participation in society (Utrecht Scale for Evaluation of Rehabilitation-Participation). Secondary subjective outcome measures were recovery after stroke, depressive symptoms (Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale—depression subscale), fatigue (Checklist Individual Strength—Fatigue subscale), and subjective cognitive improvement (exit list). Finally, a proxy of the participant rated the training effects in subjective cognitive functioning, subjective executive functioning, and IADL. Results and conclusions All groups improved on the two measures of subjective cognitive functioning and subjective executive functioning, but not on the other measures. These cognitive and executive improvements remained stable 4 weeks after training completion. However, the intervention group did not improve more than the two control groups. This suggests that improvement was due to training-unspecific effects. The proxies did not report any improvements. We, therefore, conclude that the computer-based cognitive flexibility training did not improve subjective cognitive functioning or quality of life after stroke. PMID:29145410

The influence of computer-based cognitive flexibility training on subjective cognitive well-being after stroke: A multi-center randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

van de Ven, Renate M; Murre, Jaap M J; Buitenweg, Jessika I V; Veltman, Dick J; Aaronson, Justine A; Nijboer, Tanja C W; Kruiper-Doesborgh, Suzanne J C; van Bennekom, Coen A M; Ridderinkhof, K Richard; Schmand, Ben

2017-01-01

Stroke can result in cognitive complaints that can have a large impact on quality of life long after its occurrence. A number of computer-based training programs have been developed with the aim to improve cognitive functioning. Most studies investigating their efficacy used only objective outcome measures, whereas a reduction of subjective cognitive complaints may be equally important for improving quality of life. A few studies used subjective outcome measures but were inconclusive, partly due to methodological shortcomings such as lack of proper active and passive control groups. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether computer-based cognitive flexibility training can improve subjective cognitive functioning and quality of life after stroke. We performed a randomized controlled double blind trial (RCT). Adults (30-80 years old) who had a stroke 3 months to 5 years ago, were randomly assigned to either an intervention group (n = 38), an active control group (i.e., mock training; n = 35), or a waiting list control group (n = 24). The intervention and mock training consisted of 58 half-hour sessions within 12 weeks. The primary subjective outcome measures were cognitive functioning (Cognitive Failure Questionnaire), executive functioning (Dysexecutive Functioning Questionnaire), quality of life (Short Form Health Survey), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL; Lawton & Brody IADL scale), and participation in society (Utrecht Scale for Evaluation of Rehabilitation-Participation). Secondary subjective outcome measures were recovery after stroke, depressive symptoms (Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale-depression subscale), fatigue (Checklist Individual Strength-Fatigue subscale), and subjective cognitive improvement (exit list). Finally, a proxy of the participant rated the training effects in subjective cognitive functioning, subjective executive functioning, and IADL. All groups improved on the two measures of subjective cognitive functioning and subjective executive functioning, but not on the other measures. These cognitive and executive improvements remained stable 4 weeks after training completion. However, the intervention group did not improve more than the two control groups. This suggests that improvement was due to training-unspecific effects. The proxies did not report any improvements. We, therefore, conclude that the computer-based cognitive flexibility training did not improve subjective cognitive functioning or quality of life after stroke.

Does Experience of Failure Decrease Executive, Regulatory Abilities and Increase Aggression?

PubMed Central

Pahlavan, Farzaneh; Mouchiroud, Christophe; Nemlaghi-Manis, Emna

2012-01-01

Recent advances in the study of affective-cognitive regulation of aggressive behavior suggest positive correlations between poor executive capacities (ECF) and dispositional negative reactivity (Posner & Rothbart, 2000). If the global assumption is correct what are the likely implications of predicted relation? The central issue in present research was to verify this assumption and examine how situational characteristics could alter executive performance in persons with Dysexecutive Syndrome (DES, Baddeley, 1998) and healthy adults (students, health workers) to explore some of the consequences of those modifications for aggressive tendencies. Precisely, we expected the positive correlations between poor executive performances and high aggressive tendencies at dispositional as well situational levels, except for health workers, given their professional duties. In order to assess cognitive capacities and dispositional as well as situational aggressive tendencies, during two studies (First study: N=60 students; Second study: N= 60 students, N= 24 patient with Dysexecutive Syndrome, N= 45 health care workers) right-handed French-speakers participants completed twice, during an initial phase of the study and one week after, a series of standard executive functions neuropsychological tests and aggression questionnaires. During second phase, participants executed a task introducing the experimental feedbacks (success, neutral, failure) before completion of neuropsychological tests and questionnaires. The results provided evidence of a dispositional relationship between poor executive functioning and aggressive tendencies, and extended it to situational level. For all participants, it showed that increases in impulsiveness (negative emotionality and aggressive choices) due to a negative feedback were concomitant with an inability to focus individuals’ attention on ongoing tasks. PMID:23121744

Evaluation of 2 cognitive abilities tests in a dual-task environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vidulich, M. A.; Tsang, P. S.

1986-01-01

Most real world operators are required to perform multiple tasks simultaneously. In some cases, such as flying a high performance aircraft or trouble shooting a failing nuclear power plant, the operator's ability to time share or process in parallel" can be driven to extremes. This has created interest in selection tests of cognitive abilities. Two tests that have been suggested are the Dichotic Listening Task and the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire. Correlations between these test results and time sharing performance were obtained and the validity of these tests were examined. The primary task was a tracking task with dynamically varying bandwidth. This was performed either alone or concurrently with either another tracking task or a spatial transformation task. The results were: (1) An unexpected negative correlation was detected between the two tests; (2) The lack of correlation between either test and task performance made the predictive utility of the tests scores appear questionable; (3) Pilots made more errors on the Dichotic Listening Task than college students.

Reaction Times to Consecutive Automation Failures: A Function of Working Memory and Sustained Attention.

PubMed

Jipp, Meike

2016-12-01

This study explored whether working memory and sustained attention influence cognitive lock-up, which is a delay in the response to consecutive automation failures. Previous research has demonstrated that the information that automation provides about failures and the time pressure that is associated with a task influence cognitive lock-up. Previous research has also demonstrated considerable variability in cognitive lock-up between participants. This is why individual differences might influence cognitive lock-up. The present study tested whether working memory-including flexibility in executive functioning-and sustained attention might be crucial in this regard. Eighty-five participants were asked to monitor automated aircraft functions. The experimental manipulation consisted of whether or not an initial automation failure was followed by a consecutive failure. Reaction times to the failures were recorded. Participants' working-memory and sustained-attention abilities were assessed with standardized tests. As expected, participants' reactions to consecutive failures were slower than their reactions to initial failures. In addition, working-memory and sustained-attention abilities enhanced the speed with which participants reacted to failures, more so with regard to consecutive than to initial failures. The findings highlight that operators with better working memory and sustained attention have small advantages when initial failures occur, but their advantages increase across consecutive failures. The results stress the need to consider personnel selection strategies to mitigate cognitive lock-up in general and training procedures to enhance the performance of low ability operators. © 2016, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Differential focal and nonfocal prospective memory accuracy in a demographically diverse group of nondemented community-dwelling older adults.

PubMed

Chi, Susan Y; Rabin, Laura A; Aronov, Avner; Fogel, Joshua; Kapoor, Ashu; Wang, Cuiling

2014-11-01

Although prospective memory (PM) is compromised in mild cognitive impairment (MCI), it is unclear which specific cognitive processes underlie these PM difficulties. We investigated older adults' performance on a computerized event-based focal versus nonfocal PM task that made varying demands on the amount of attentional control required to support intention retrieval. Participants were nondemented individuals (mean age=81.8 years; female=66.1%) enrolled in a community-based longitudinal study, including those with amnestic MCI (aMCI), nonamnestic MCI (naMCI), subjective cognitive decline (SCD), and healthy controls (HC). Participants included in the primary analysis (n=189) completed the PM task and recalled and/or recognized both focal and nonfocal PM cues presented in the task. Participants and their informants also completed a questionnaire assessing everyday PM failures. Relative to HC, those with aMCI and naMCI were significantly impaired in focal PM accuracy (p<.05). In a follow-up analysis that included 13 additional participants who successfully recalled and/or recognized at least one of the two PM cues, the naMCI group showed deficits in nonfocal PM accuracy (p<.05). There was a significant negative correlation between informant reports of PM difficulties and nonfocal PM accuracy (p<.01). PM failures in aMCI may be primarily related to impairment of spontaneous retrieval processes associated with the medial temporal lobe system, while PM failures in naMCI potentially indicate additional deficits in executive control functions and prefrontal systems. The observed focal versus nonfocal PM performance profiles in aMCI and naMCI may constitute specific behavioral markers of PM decline that result from compromise of separate neurocognitive systems.

Peer Victimization and Harsh Parenting Predict Cognitive Diatheses for Depression in Children and Adolescents

PubMed Central

Cole, David A.; Sinclair-McBride, Keneisha R.; Zelkowitz, Rachel; Bilsky, Sarah A.; Roeder, Kathryn; Spinelli, Tawny

2015-01-01

Objective The current study examined peer victimization and harsh parenting as longitudinal predictors of broadband and narrowband cognitions associated with the etiology of depression in children and adolescents. Method The sample consisted of 214 elementary and middle school students. At the start of the study, their average age was 12.2 years (SD = 1.0). The sex ratio was 112 girls to 102 boys. The sample was ethnically diverse (58.9% Caucasian, 34.1% African American, 10.7% Hispanic, 3.3% Asian, and 5.2% other). Children and their parents completed measures of peer victimization and harsh parenting. At two waves one year apart, children also completed questionnaire measures of negative and positive broadband cognitive style (e.g., personal failure, global self-worth) and narrowband self-perceptions (e.g., perceived social threat, social acceptance). Results Every wave 2 cognitive variable was predicted by peer victimization or harsh parenting or both, even after controlling for a wave 1 measure of the same cognitive variable. Peer victimization more consistently predicted narrowband social/interpersonal cognitions, whereas harsh parenting more consistently predicted broadband positive and negative cognitions. Furthermore, controlling for positive and negative self-cognitions eliminated a statistically significant effect of harsh parenting and peer victimization on depressive symptoms. Conclusions Support emerged for the social learning of negative self-cognitions. Support also emerged for negative self-cognitions as a mediator of depressive symptoms. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. PMID:25751612

Personality impairment in male pedophiles.

PubMed

Cohen, Lisa J; McGeoch, Pamela G; Watras-Gans, Sniezyna; Acker, Sara; Poznansky, Olga; Cullen, Ken; Itskovich, Yelena; Galynker, Igor

2002-10-01

Despite the large body of literature on the psychological sequelae of childhood sexual abuse, the literature on the psychopathology of pedophiles is surprisingly underdeveloped. The present article explores the hypothesis that pedophiles evidence deficits in interpersonal functioning (lack of assertiveness and empathy, passive-aggressiveness) and in self-concept, which might contribute to the motivation for pedophilic acts, as well as elevated sociopathy, impulsivity, and propensity for cognitive distortions, which might underlie the inhibitory failure. Twenty male heterosexual pedophiles (DSM-IV criteria) recruited from an outpatient clinic for sex offenders were compared with 24 demographically similar, healthy male controls using 3 personality instruments: the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-II, the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Impairment-Questionnaire, and the Temperament and Character Inventory. The data suggested that pedophiles have impaired interpersonal functioning, specifically, reduced assertiveness and elevated passive-aggressiveness, as well as impaired self-concept. Regarding disinhibitory traits, pedophiles demonstrated elevated sociopathy and propensity for cognitive distortions. Our data are consistent with previous reports of pathologic personality traits in pedophiles and lend support to a hypothesis that such pathology is related to both motivation for and failure to inhibit pedophilic behavior. Such information could potentially have important treatment implications.

Self-care confidence may be the key: A cross-sectional study on the association between cognition and self-care behaviors in adults with heart failure.

PubMed

Vellone, Ercole; Fida, Roberta; D'Agostino, Fabio; Mottola, Antonella; Juarez-Vela, Raul; Alvaro, Rosaria; Riegel, Barbara

2015-11-01

Self-care, a key element of heart failure care, is challenging for patients with impaired cognition. Mechanisms through which cognitive impairment affects self-care are not currently well defined but evidence from other patient populations suggests that self-efficacy, or task-specific confidence, mediates the relationship between cognitive functioning and patient behaviors such as self-care. The aim of this study was to test the mediating role of self-care confidence in the relationship between cognition and self-care behaviors. A secondary analysis of data from a cross-sectional study. Outpatient heart failure clinics in 28 Italian provinces. 628 Italian heart failure patients. We used the Self-Care of Heart Failure Index v.6.2 to measure self-care maintenance, self-care management, and self-care confidence. Cognition was assessed with the Mini Mental State Examination. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Participants were 73 years old on average (SD=11), mostly (58%) male and mostly (77%) in New York Heart Association functional classes II and III. The mediation model showed excellent fit (comparative fit index=1.0; root mean square error of approximation=0.02): Self-care confidence totally mediated the relationship between cognition and self-care maintenance and management. Cognition affects self-care behaviors indirectly, through self-care confidence. Interventions aimed at improving self-care confidence may improve self-care, even in heart failure patients with impaired cognition. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Validation of the Chinese version of the CogState computerised cognitive assessment battery in Taiwanese patients with heart failure.

PubMed

Chou, Cheng-Chen; Pressler, Susan J; Giordani, Bruno; Fetzer, Susan Jane

2015-11-01

To evaluate the validity of the Chinese version of the CogState battery, a computerised cognitive testing among patients with heart failure in Taiwan. Cognitive deficits are common in patients with heart failure and a validated Chinese measurement is required for assessing cognitive change for this population. The CogState computerised battery is a measurement of cognitive function and has been validated in many languages, but not Chinese. A cross-sectional study. A convenience sample consisted of 76 women with heart failure and 64 healthy women in northern Taiwan. Women completed the Chinese version of the CogState battery and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. Construct validity of the Chinese version of the battery was evaluated by exploratory factor analysis and known-group comparisons. Convergent validity of the CogState tasks was examined by Pearson correlation coefficients. Principal components factor analysis with promax rotation showed two factors reflecting the speed and memory dimensions of the tests. Scores for CogState battery tasks showed significant differences between the heart failure and healthy control group. Examination of convergent validity of the CogState found a significant association with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. The Chinese CogState Battery has satisfactory construct and convergent validity to measure cognitive deficits in patients with heart failure in Taiwan. The Chinese CogState battery is a valid instrument for detecting cognitive deficits that may be subtle in the early stages, and identifying changes that provide insights into patients' abilities to implement treatment accurately and consistently. Better interventions tailored to the needs of the cognitive impaired population can be developed. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Bloodstream Amyloid-beta (1-40) Peptide, Cognition, and Outcomes in Heart Failure.

PubMed

Bayes-Genis, Antoni; Barallat, Jaume; de Antonio, Marta; Domingo, Mar; Zamora, Elisabet; Vila, Joan; Subirana, Isaac; Gastelurrutia, Paloma; Pastor, M Cruz; Januzzi, James L; Lupón, Josep

2017-11-01

In the brain, amyloid-beta generation participates in the pathophysiology of cognitive disorders; in the bloodstream, the role of amyloid-beta is uncertain but may be linked to sterile inflammation and senescence. We explored the relationship between blood levels of amyloid-beta 1-40 peptide (Aβ40), cognition, and mortality (all-cause, cardiovascular, and heart failure [HF]-related) in ambulatory patients with HF. Bloodstream Aβ40 was measured in 939 consecutive patients with HF. Cognition was evaluated with the Pfeiffer questionnaire (adjusted for educational level) at baseline and during follow-up. Multivariate Cox regression analyses and measurements of performance (discrimination, calibration, and reclassification) were used, with competing risk for specific causes of death. Over 5.1 ± 2.9 years, 471 patients died (all-cause): 250 from cardiovascular causes and 131 HF-related. The median Aβ40 concentration was 519.1 pg/mL [Q1-Q3: 361.8-749.9 pg/mL]. The Aβ40 concentration correlated with age, body mass index, renal dysfunction, and New York Heart Association functional class (all P < .001). There were no differences in Aβ40 in patients with and without cognitive impairment at baseline (P = .97) or during follow-up (P = .20). In multivariable analysis, including relevant clinical predictors and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide, Aβ40 remained significantly associated with all-cause death (HR, 1.22; 95%CI, 1.10-1.35; P < .001) and cardiovascular death (HR, 1.18; 95%CI, 1.03-1.36; P = .02), but not with HF-related death (HR, 1.13; 95%CI, 0.93-1.37; P = .22). Circulating Aβ40 improved calibration and patient reclassification. Blood levels of Aβ40 are not associated with cognitive decline in HF. Circulating Aβ40 was predictive of mortality and may indicate systemic aging. Copyright © 2017 Sociedad Española de Cardiología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Associations of Subjective Sleep Quality and Daytime Sleepiness With Cognitive Impairment in Adults and Elders With Heart Failure.

PubMed

Byun, Eeeseung; Kim, Jinyoung; Riegel, Barbara

2017-01-01

This study examined the association of subjective nighttime sleep quality and daytime sleepiness with cognitive impairment in 105 adults (< 60 years old) and 167 elders (≥ 60 years old) with heart failure. Nighttime sleep quality and daytime sleepiness were measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Cognitive impairment was assessed using a neuropsychological battery measuring attention, memory, and processing speed. Multivariate logistic regression was used. In adults, daytime sleepiness was associated with cognitive impairment, whereas poor nighttime sleep quality was associated with cognitive impairment in elders. Age may play an important role in how sleep impacts cognition in persons with heart failure. Improving nighttime sleep quality and daytime sleepiness in this population may improve cognition.

Cognitive Dysfunction in Patients with Renal Failure Requiring Hemodialysis

PubMed Central

Thimmaiah, Rohini; Murthy, K. Krishna; Pinto, Denzil

2012-01-01

Background and Objectives: Renal failure patients show significant impairment on measures of attention and memory, and consistently perform significantly better on neuropsychological measures of memory and attention, approximately 24 hours after hemodialysis treatment. The objectives are to determine the cognitive dysfunction in patients with renal failure requiring hemodialysis. Materials and Methods: A total of 60 subjects comprising of 30 renal failure patients and 30 controls were recruited. The sample was matched for age, sex, and socioeconomic status. The tools used were the Standardized Mini-Mental State Examination and the Brief Cognitive Rating Scale. Results: The patients showed high cognitive dysfunction in the pre-dialysis group, in all the five dimensions (concentration, recent memory, past memory, orientation and functioning, and self-care), and the least in the 24-hour post dialysis group. This difference was found to be statistically significant (P=0.001). Conclusion: Patients with renal failure exhibited pronounced cognitive impairment and these functions significantly improved after the introduction of hemodialysis. PMID:23439613

76 FR 12979 - Submission for OMB Review: Comment Request; Questionnaire Cognitive Interviewing and Pretesting...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-09

... cognitive interviews, focus groups, Pilot household interviews, and experimental research in laboratory and field settings, both for applied questionnaire evaluation and more basic research on response errors in surveys. The most common evaluation method is the cognitive interview, in which a questionnaire design...

Estimate of survival of patients admitted to a palliative care unit: a prospective study.

PubMed

Bruera, E; Miller, M J; Kuehn, N; MacEachern, T; Hanson, J

1992-02-01

In a prospective open study, 61 consecutive patients with advanced cancer admitted to a Palliative Care Unit underwent survival estimation by two independent physicians after a complete medical exam performed during the first day of admission. An independent research nurse also assessed each patient during the first day of admission. The assessment included activity, pain, nausea, depression, anxiety, anorexia, dry mouth, dyspnea, dysphagia, weight loss, and cognitive status. After the assessment was completed, patients were followed until discharge or death. In 47 evaluable patients, logistic regression showed a significant correlation between survival and dysphagia, cognitive failure, and weight loss. Accordingly, an "indicator of poor prognosis" was considered to exist in any patient who demonstrated weight loss of 10 kg or more plus cognitive failure (Mini-Mental State Questionnaire less than 24) plus dysphagia to solids or liquids. This indicator had a similar level of sensitivity, specificity, and overall accuracy, and a higher level of significance as compared with the assessment by physician #1 and physician #2, respectively. Our data suggest that three simple determinations, which may be performed by a nurse, can predict survival more or less than 4 wk as well as the assessments of two skilled physicians. These results need to be confirmed in other trials with large numbers of patients. Perhaps confirmation of these results and identification of other prognostic factors will result in staging systems for survival estimation of terminally ill cancer patients.

Self-care confidence may be more important than cognition to influence self-care behaviors in adults with heart failure: Testing a mediation model.

PubMed

Vellone, Ercole; Pancani, Luca; Greco, Andrea; Steca, Patrizia; Riegel, Barbara

2016-08-01

Cognitive impairment can reduce the self-care abilities of heart failure patients. Theory and preliminary evidence suggest that self-care confidence may mediate the relationship between cognition and self-care, but further study is needed to validate this finding. The aim of this study was to test the mediating role of self-care confidence between specific cognitive domains and heart failure self-care. Secondary analysis of data from a descriptive study. Three out-patient sites in Pennsylvania and Delaware, USA. A sample of 280 adults with chronic heart failure, 62 years old on average and mostly male (64.3%). Data on heart failure self-care and self-care confidence were collected with the Self-Care of Heart Failure Index 6.2. Data on cognition were collected by trained research assistants using a neuropsychological test battery measuring simple and complex attention, processing speed, working memory, and short-term memory. Sociodemographic data were collected by self-report. Clinical information was abstracted from the medical record. Mediation analysis was performed with structural equation modeling and indirect effects were evaluated with bootstrapping. Most participants had at least 1 impaired cognitive domain. In mediation models, self-care confidence consistently influenced self-care and totally mediated the relationship between simple attention and self-care and between working memory and self-care (comparative fit index range: .929-.968; root mean squared error of approximation range: .032-.052). Except for short-term memory, which had a direct effect on self-care maintenance, the other cognitive domains were unrelated to self-care. Self-care confidence appears to be an important factor influencing heart failure self-care even in patients with impaired cognition. As few studies have successfully improved cognition, interventions addressing confidence should be considered as a way to improve self-care in this population. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Severe Heart Failure Questionnaire: Italian translation and linguistic validation.

PubMed

Scarinzi, C; Berchialla, P; Ghidina, M; Rozbowsky, P; Pilotto, L; Albanese, M C; Fioretti, P M; Gregori, D

2008-12-01

The quality of life (QoL) is an important outcome indicator for heart failure management. As the use of a validate questionnaire in a different cultural context can affect data interpretation our main objective is the Italian translation and linguistic validation of the Severe Heart Failure Questionnaire (SHF) and its comparison with the MLHF (Minnesota Living with Heart Failure) Questionnaire. The SHF and "The Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire" were translated. A consensus involving parallel back-translations was established among a group of cardiologists, psychologists and biostatisticians. SHF and MLHF were both administrated to a sample of 50 patients. The patients' median age was 63 years. Ace inhibitors therapy was administered in 88% of cases and betablockers in 56% of cases. Finally the Italian version of SHF correlates well with MLHF for all domains, except life satisfaction SHF domain. The Italian version of the SHF correlates well with MLHF for almost all domains and it represents a valid alternative for quality of life assessment in heart failure patients.

Cognitive Impairment Questionnaire (CIMP-QUEST): reported topographic symptoms in MCI and dementia.

PubMed

Astrand, R; Rolstad, S; Wallin, A

2010-06-01

The Cognitive Impairment Questionnaire (CIMP-QUEST) is an instrument based on information obtained by key informants to identify symptoms of dementia and dementia-like disorders. The questionnaire consists of three subscales reflecting impairment in parietal-temporal (PT), frontal (F) and subcortical (SC) brain regions. The questionnaire includes a memory scale and lists non-cognitive symptoms. The reliability and validity of the questionnaire were examined in 131 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild dementia at a university-based memory unit. Cronbach alpha for all subscales was calculated at r = 0.90. Factor analysis supported the tri-dimensionality of CIMP-QUEST's brain region-oriented construct. Test-retest reliability for a subgroup of cognitively stable MCI-patients (n = 25) was found to be r = 0.83 (P = 0.0005). The correlation between the score on the cognitive subscales (PT + F + M) and Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly was r = 0.83 (P = 0.0005, n = 123). The memory subscale correlated significantly with episodic memory tests, the PT subscale with visuospatial and language-oriented tests, and the SC and F subscales with tests of attention, psychomotor tempo and executive function. CIMP-QUEST has high reliability and validity, and provides information about cognitive impairment and brain region-oriented symptomatology in patients with MCI and mild dementia.

Cognitive influences on self-care decision making in persons with heart failure.

PubMed

Dickson, Victoria V; Tkacs, Nancy; Riegel, Barbara

2007-09-01

Despite advances in management, heart failure is associated with high rates of hospitalization, poor quality of life, and early death. Education intended to improve patients' abilities to care for themselves is an integral component of disease management programs. True self-care requires that patients make decisions about symptoms, but the cognitive deficits documented in 30% to 50% of the heart failure population may make daily decision making challenging. After describing heart failure self-care as a naturalistic decision making process, we explore cognitive deficits known to exist in persons with heart failure. Problems in heart failure self-care are analyzed in relation to neural alterations associated with heart failure. As a neural process, decision making has been traced to regions of the prefrontal cortex, the same areas that are affected by ischemia, infarction, and hypoxemia in heart failure. Resulting deficits in memory, attention, and executive function may impair the perception and interpretation of early symptoms and reasoning and, thereby, delay early treatment implementation. There is compelling evidence that the neural processes critical to decision making are located in the same structures that are affected by heart failure. Because self-care requires the cognitive ability to learn, perceive, interpret, and respond, research is needed to discern how neural deficits affects these abilities, decision-making, and self-care behaviors.

Is Media Multitasking Good for Cybersecurity? Exploring the Relationship Between Media Multitasking and Everyday Cognitive Failures on Self-Reported Risky Cybersecurity Behaviors.

PubMed

Hadlington, Lee; Murphy, Karen

2018-03-01

The current study focused on how engaging in media multitasking (MMT) and the experience of everyday cognitive failures impact on the individual's engagement in risky cybersecurity behaviors (RCsB). In total, 144 participants (32 males, 112 females) completed an online survey. The age range for participants was 18 to 43 years (M = 20.63, SD = 4.04). Participants completed three scales which included an inventory of weekly MMT, a measure of everyday cognitive failures, and RCsB. There was a significant difference between heavy media multitaskers (HMM), average media multitaskers (AMM), and light media multitaskers (LMM) in terms of RCsB, with HMM demonstrating more frequent risky behaviors than LMM or AMM. The HMM group also reported more cognitive failures in everyday life than the LMM group. A regression analysis showed that everyday cognitive failures and MMT acted as significant predictors for RCsB. These results expand our current understanding of the relationship between human factors and cybersecurity behaviors, which are useful to inform the design of training and intervention packages to mitigate RCsB.

Do complaints of everyday cognitive failures in high schizotypy relate to emotional working memory deficits in the lab?

PubMed

Carrigan, Nicole; Barkus, Emma; Ong, Adriel; Wei, Maryann

2017-10-01

Individuals high on schizotypy complain of increased cognitive failures in everyday life. However, the neuropsychological performance of this group does not consistently indicate underlying ability deficits. It is possible that current neuropsychological tests lack ecological validity. Given the increased affective reactivity of high schizotypes, they may be more sensitive to emotional content interfering with cognitive ability. This study sought to explore whether an affective n-back working memory task would elicit impaired performance in schizotypy, echoing complaints concerning real world cognition. 127 healthy participants completed self-report measures of schizotypy and cognitive failures and an affective n-back working memory task. This task was varied across three levels of load (1- to 3-back) and four types of stimulus emotion (neutral, fearful, happy, sad). Differences between high (n=39) and low (n=48) schizotypy groups on performance outcomes of hits and false alarms were examined, with emotion and load as within-groups variables. As expected, high schizotypes reported heightened vulnerability to cognitive failures. They also demonstrated a relative working memory impairment for emotional versus neutral stimuli, whereas low schizotypes did not. High schizotypes performed most poorly in response to fearful stimuli. For false alarms, there was an interaction between schizotypy, load, and emotion, such that high schizotypy was associated with deficits in response to fearful stimuli only at higher levels of task difficulty. Inclusion of self-reported cognitive failures did not account for this. These findings suggest that the "gap" between subjective and objective cognition in schizotypy may reflect the heightened emotional demands associated with cognitive functioning in the real world, although other factors also seem to play a role. There is a need to improve the ecological validity of objective assessments, whilst also recognizing that self-reported cognitive failures tap into a range of factors difficult to assess in the lab, including emotion. Cognitive interventions for at-risk individuals will likely be more beneficial if they address emotional processing alongside other aspects of cognition. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cognitive-Affective Dimensions of Female Orgasm: The Role of Automatic Thoughts and Affect During Sexual Activity.

PubMed

Tavares, Inês M; Laan, Ellen T M; Nobre, Pedro J

2017-06-01

Cognitive-affective factors contribute to female sexual dysfunctions, defined as clinically significant difficulties in the ability to respond sexually or to experience sexual pleasure. Automatic thoughts and affect presented during sexual activity are acknowledged as maintenance factors for these difficulties. However, there is a lack of studies on the influence of these cognitive-affective dimensions regarding female orgasm. To assess the role of automatic thoughts and affect during sexual activity in predicting female orgasm occurrence and to investigate the mediator role of these variables in the relation between sexual activity and orgasm occurrence. Nine hundred twenty-six sexually active heterosexual premenopausal women reported on frequency of sexual activities and frequency of orgasm occurrence, cognitive factors, and social desirability. Participants completed the Sexual Modes Questionnaire-Automatic Thoughts Subscale, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, and the Socially Desirable Response Set. Multiple linear regressions and mediation analyses were performed, controlling for the effect of covariates such as social desirability, sociodemographic and medical characteristics, and relationship factors. The main outcome measurement was orgasm frequency as predicted and mediated by automatic thoughts and affect experienced during sexual activities. The presence of failure thoughts and lack of erotic thoughts during sexual activity significantly and negatively predicted female orgasm, whereas positive affect experienced during sexual activity significantly and positively predicted female orgasm. Moreover, negative automatic thoughts and positive affect during sexual activity were found to mediate the relation between sexual activity and female orgasm occurrence. These data suggest that the cognitive aspects of sexual involvement are critical to enhancing female orgasm experience and can aid the development of strategies that contemplate the central role of automatic thoughts and of positive emotions experienced during sexual activity. Data were not collected face to face, which constitutes a strength of this study, because it is known that social desirability is lower in self-administered online questionnaires compared with traditional paper-and-pencil questionnaires, particularly for more sensitive sexual issues. The fact that the sample was composed of heterosexual, premenopausal, and relatively young women demands some caution regarding generalization of the present results. The findings support the contribution of cognitive and affective factors to female orgasmic functioning. It is recommended that future research confirm these findings with other samples, particularly clinical samples of women with orgasmic difficulties. Tavares IM, Laan ETM, Nobre PJ. Cognitive-Affective Dimensions of Female Orgasm: The Role of Automatic Thoughts and Affect During Sexual Activity. J Sex Med 2017;14:818-828. Copyright © 2017 International Society for Sexual Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A mid-layer model for human reliability analysis : understanding the cognitive causes of human failure events.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shen, Song-Hua; Chang, James Y. H.; Boring,Ronald L.

2010-03-01

The Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) at the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) is sponsoring work in response to a Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM) directing an effort to establish a single human reliability analysis (HRA) method for the agency or guidance for the use of multiple methods. As part of this effort an attempt to develop a comprehensive HRA qualitative approach is being pursued. This paper presents a draft of the method's middle layer, a part of the qualitative analysis phase that links failure mechanisms to performance shaping factors. Starting with a Crew Response Tree (CRT) that has identifiedmore » human failure events, analysts identify potential failure mechanisms using the mid-layer model. The mid-layer model presented in this paper traces the identification of the failure mechanisms using the Information-Diagnosis/Decision-Action (IDA) model and cognitive models from the psychological literature. Each failure mechanism is grouped according to a phase of IDA. Under each phase of IDA, the cognitive models help identify the relevant performance shaping factors for the failure mechanism. The use of IDA and cognitive models can be traced through fault trees, which provide a detailed complement to the CRT.« less

An Analysis of Learned Helplessness: Continuous Changes in Performance, Strategy, and Achievement Cognitions Following Failure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Diener, Carol I.; Dweck, Carol S.

1978-01-01

Two studies examined the cognitive-motivational differences between helpless and mastery-oriented children by analyzing the effects of failure feedback on problem solving strategies during testing and identifying semantic differences in children's verbalizations following failure on task. Subjects were fifth graders of both sexes. (CM)

How Do Cognitive Function and Knowledge Affect Heart Failure Self-Care?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dickson, Victoria Vaughan; Lee, Christopher S.; Riegel, Barbara

2011-01-01

Despite extensive patient education, few heart failure (HF) patients master self-care. Impaired cognitive function may explain why patient education is ineffective. A concurrent triangulation mixed methods design was used to explore how knowledge and cognitive function influence HF self-care. A total of 41 adults with HF participated in interviews…

How Do Persons with Mild Acquired Cognitive Impairment Use Information and Communication Technology and E-Services? Results from a Swedish National Survey.

PubMed

Eghdam, Aboozar; Bartfai, Aniko; Oldenburg, Christian; Koch, Sabine

2016-01-01

Mild acquired cognitive impairment is a term used to describe a sub-group of persons with mild cognitive impairment who are expected to reach a stable cognitive level over time. One tactic that can be considered for further developing treatment for this group is the use of information and communication technology and e-services. The purpose of this study was to investigate the current use of regular e-services and social media by this group as well as their user experiences. Data were collected through a self-administered survey and analyzed using quantitative methods. The questionnaire included questions regarding the participants' use of and experience with e-services. Categorization of e-services was based on and cross-validated with the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). To estimate participants' degree and type of impairment, the Cognitive Failure Questionnaire (CFQ), measuring cognitive difficulties in performing everyday tasks, was added. In total, 282 persons with acquired brain injury participated in the survey. The participants' CFQ scores showed that they were suffering from mild to moderate cognitive impairments, most often acquired from traumatic brain injuries (40%). The majority (89%) used e-services in different categories whereof the most popular and essential ones were communication services (59%) and banking (39%) services. Participants with higher total CFQ scores (>58) used more e-services in most of the categories compared to participants with lower scores (<31). Although participants were interested in social media, they were annoyed by advertisements and the Internet speed in general. Some participants reported privacy concerns and addictive behavior. However, they mostly considered e-services to be trustworthy and supportive in different contexts. The usage of electronic devices decreased by age with the exception of electronic tablets that were used by older participants approximately as frequently as by other age groups. Although persons with mild to moderate acquired brain injury used various e-services that are not customized for them, very few participants used self-care health services (apps) and readers (e-readers). Further studies are needed on utilizing these identified aspects for this group to support them with their chronic condition.

Self-Reported Sleep Disturbances in Patients with Dissociative Identity Disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and How They Relate to Cognitive Failures and Fantasy Proneness

PubMed Central

van Heugten – van der Kloet, Dalena; Huntjens, Rafaele; Giesbrecht, Timo; Merckelbach, Harald

2014-01-01

Sleep disturbances, fantasy proneness, cognitive failures, and dissociative symptoms are related to each other. However, the co-occurrence of these phenomena has been primarily studied in non-clinical samples. We investigated the correlations between these phenomena in dissociative identity disorder (DID) patients, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients, and healthy controls. Both patient groups reported more sleep problems and lower sleep quality and displayed higher levels of fantasy proneness and cognitive failures than controls. However, the two patient groups did not differ with regard to these variables. Moreover, a higher level of unusual sleep experiences tended to predict participants belonging to the DID group, while specifically a lower sleep quality and more cognitive failures tended to predict participants belonging to the PTSD group. PMID:24600412

Self-reported sleep disturbances in patients with dissociative identity disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder and how they relate to cognitive failures and fantasy proneness.

PubMed

van Heugten-van der Kloet, Dalena; Huntjens, Rafaele; Giesbrecht, Timo; Merckelbach, Harald

2014-01-01

Sleep disturbances, fantasy proneness, cognitive failures, and dissociative symptoms are related to each other. However, the co-occurrence of these phenomena has been primarily studied in non-clinical samples. We investigated the correlations between these phenomena in dissociative identity disorder (DID) patients, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients, and healthy controls. Both patient groups reported more sleep problems and lower sleep quality and displayed higher levels of fantasy proneness and cognitive failures than controls. However, the two patient groups did not differ with regard to these variables. Moreover, a higher level of unusual sleep experiences tended to predict participants belonging to the DID group, while specifically a lower sleep quality and more cognitive failures tended to predict participants belonging to the PTSD group.

Ethnic Minority Status, Depression, and Cognitive Failures in Relation to Marital Adjustment in Ethnically Diverse Older Women.

PubMed

Laganá, Luciana; Spellman, Therese; Wakefield, Jennifer; Oliver, Taylor

2011-04-01

The authors investigated the relationship between marital adjustment and ethnic minority status, depressive symptomatology, and cognitive failures among 78 married, community-dwelling, and predominantly non-European-American older women (ages 57-89). Respondents were screened to rule out dementia. Level of depressive symptoms, self-report of cognitive failures, and marital adjustment were obtained. As hypothesized, higher depressive symptomatology and cognitive failures were associated with worse marital adjustment ( p < .05 for both). The same was true for membership in a non-dominant ethnic group, albeit only when ethnic status was considered outside the context of the other two independent variables. These results have clinical implications and fit within the theoretical framework of the socioemotional selectivity theory (Carstensen, 1992) applied to marriage in older age, a conceptualization formulated by Bookwala and Jacobs in 2004.

Medication self-management skills and cognitive impairment in older adults hospitalized for heart failure: A cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Howell, Erik H; Senapati, Alpana; Hsich, Eileen; Gorodeski, Eiran Z

2017-01-01

Cognitive impairment is highly prevalent among older adults (aged ≥65 years) hospitalized for heart failure and has been associated with poor outcomes. Poor medication self-management skills have been associated with poor outcomes in this population as well. The presence and extent of an association between cognitive impairment and poor medication self-management skills in this population has not been clearly defined. We assessed the cognition of consecutive older adults hospitalized for heart failure, in relation to their medication self-management skills. We conducted a cross-sectional study of older adults (aged ≥65 years) who were hospitalized for heart failure and were being discharged home. Prior to discharge, we assessed cognition using the Mini-Cog. We also tested patients' ability to read a pill bottle label, open a pill bottle safety cap, and allocate mock pills to a pill box. Pill allocation performance was assessed quantitatively (counts of errors of omission and commission) and qualitatively (patterns suggestive of knowledge-based mistakes, rule-based mistakes, or skill-based slips). Of 55 participants, 22% were found to have cognitive impairment. Patients with cognitive impairment tended to be older as compared to those without cognitive impairment (mean age = 81 vs 76 years, p = NS). Patients with cognitive impairment had a higher prevalence of inability to read pill bottle label (prevalence ratio = 5.8, 95% confidence interval = 3.2-10.5, p = 0.001) and inability to open pill bottle safety cap (prevalence ratio = 3.3, 95% confidence interval = 1.3-8.4, p = 0.03). While most patients (65%) had pill-allocation errors regardless of cognition, those patients with cognitive impairment tended to have more errors of omission (mean number of errors = 48 vs 23, p = 0.006), as well as more knowledge-based mistakes (75% vs 40%, p = 0.03). There is an association between cognitive impairment and poor medication self-management skills. Medication taking failures due to poor medication self-management skills may be part of the pathway linking cognitive impairment to poor post-discharge outcomes among patients with heart failure transitioning from hospital to home.

Is Media Multitasking Good for Cybersecurity? Exploring the Relationship Between Media Multitasking and Everyday Cognitive Failures on Self-Reported Risky Cybersecurity Behaviors

PubMed Central

Murphy, Karen

2018-01-01

Abstract The current study focused on how engaging in media multitasking (MMT) and the experience of everyday cognitive failures impact on the individual's engagement in risky cybersecurity behaviors (RCsB). In total, 144 participants (32 males, 112 females) completed an online survey. The age range for participants was 18 to 43 years (M = 20.63, SD = 4.04). Participants completed three scales which included an inventory of weekly MMT, a measure of everyday cognitive failures, and RCsB. There was a significant difference between heavy media multitaskers (HMM), average media multitaskers (AMM), and light media multitaskers (LMM) in terms of RCsB, with HMM demonstrating more frequent risky behaviors than LMM or AMM. The HMM group also reported more cognitive failures in everyday life than the LMM group. A regression analysis showed that everyday cognitive failures and MMT acted as significant predictors for RCsB. These results expand our current understanding of the relationship between human factors and cybersecurity behaviors, which are useful to inform the design of training and intervention packages to mitigate RCsB. PMID:29638157

Kidney Transplantation Is Superior to Hemodialysis and Peritoneal Dialysis in Terms of Cognitive Function, Anxiety, and Depression Symptoms in Chronic Kidney Disease.

PubMed

Ozcan, H; Yucel, A; Avşar, U Z; Cankaya, E; Yucel, N; Gözübüyük, H; Eren, F; Keles, M; Aydınlı, B

2015-06-01

Cognitive impairment, anxiety and depression are important problems for patients with chronic kidney failure. Cognitive impairment, anxiety, and depression may be related to various factors, such as complications of hemo/peritoneal dialysis, uremic encephalopathy, psychosocial burden of the disease, and various comorbidities in patients with chronic kidney failure. Successful kidney transplantation (KT) improves kidney, endocrine, metabolic, and vascular systems, mental functions, and the quality of life of the patients. A total of 181 patients with chronic kidney failure were studied: 54 currently on hemodialysis, 58 on peritoneal dialysis, and 69 with KT. All participants were given a detailed sociodemographic form, including data about the reason of kidney failure, duration of treatment (hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, and KT), and comorbid illnesses. Participants were evaluated with the use of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) for evaluating depressive and anxiety symptoms and the Brief Cognitive State Examination (BCSE) for detecting possible cognitive impairment. Patients with KT had lower levels of anxiety and depression symptoms than patients with hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. The KT group scored better than the hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis groups on the BCSE. The peritoneal dialysis group scored higher on the BCSE than the hemodialysis group. The hemodialysis group scored higher on the HADS than the peritoneal dialysis group. In this study it was found that KT patients have better cognitive and mood regulation outcomes than hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients with chronic kidney failure. With this knowledge we suggest that patients with kidney failure should have KT for having better cognitive functions and mood state as soon as possible. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sleep-disordered breathing, brain volume, and cognition in older individuals with heart failure.

PubMed

Moon, Chooza; Melah, Kelsey E; Johnson, Sterling C; Bratzke, Lisa C

2018-06-19

Sleep-disordered breathing is common in individuals with heart failure and may contribute to changes in the brain and decreased cognition. However, limited research has explored how the apnea-hypopnea index contributes to brain structure and cognition in this population. The aims of this study were to explore how the apnea-hypopnea index is associated with brain volume and cognition in heart failure patients. Data of 28 heart failure patients (mean age = 67.93; SD = 5.78) were analyzed for this cross-sectional observational study. We evaluated the apnea-hypopnea index using a portable multichannel sleep-monitoring device. All participants were scanned using 3.0 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging and neuropsychological tests. Brain volume was evaluated using a voxel-based morphometry method with T1-weighted images. We used multiple regressions to analyze how the apnea-hypopnea index is associated with brain volume and cognition. We found an inverse association between apnea-hypopnea index scores and white matter volume (β = -0.002, p = 0.026), but not in gray matter volume (β = -0.001, p = 0.237). Higher apnea-hypopnea index was associated with reduced regional gray and white matter volume (p < 0.001, uncorrected). Cognitive scores were not associated with the apnea-hypopnea index (p-values were >0.05). Findings from this study provide exploratory evidence that higher apnea-hypopnea index may be associated with greater brain volume reduction in heart failure patients. Future studies are needed to establish the relationship between sleep-disordered breathing, brain volume, and cognition in heart failure samples. © 2018 The Authors. Brain and Behavior published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Ethnic Minority Status, Depression, and Cognitive Failures in Relation to Marital Adjustment in Ethnically Diverse Older Women

PubMed Central

Laganá, Luciana; Spellman, Therese; Wakefield, Jennifer; Oliver, Taylor

2014-01-01

The authors investigated the relationship between marital adjustment and ethnic minority status, depressive symptomatology, and cognitive failures among 78 married, community-dwelling, and predominantly non-European-American older women (ages 57–89). Respondents were screened to rule out dementia. Level of depressive symptoms, self-report of cognitive failures, and marital adjustment were obtained. As hypothesized, higher depressive symptomatology and cognitive failures were associated with worse marital adjustment (p < .05 for both). The same was true for membership in a non-dominant ethnic group, albeit only when ethnic status was considered outside the context of the other two independent variables. These results have clinical implications and fit within the theoretical framework of the socioemotional selectivity theory (Carstensen, 1992) applied to marriage in older age, a conceptualization formulated by Bookwala and Jacobs in 2004. PMID:25632173

Cognitive Coping Strategies and Stress in Parents of Children with Down Syndrome: A Prospective Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van der Veek, Shelley M. C.; Kraaij, Vivian; Garnefski, Nadia

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the cross-sectional and prospective relationships between cognitive coping strategies and parental stress in parents of children with Down syndrome. A total of 621 participants filled out questionnaires, including the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire to measure cognitive coping and the Nijmeegse…

Health literacy and global cognitive function predict e-mail but not internet use in heart failure patients.

PubMed

Schprechman, Jared P; Gathright, Emily C; Goldstein, Carly M; Guerini, Kate A; Dolansky, Mary A; Redle, Joseph; Hughes, Joel W

2013-01-01

Background. The internet offers a potential for improving patient knowledge, and e-mail may be used in patient communication with providers. However, barriers to internet and e-mail use, such as low health literacy and cognitive impairment, may prevent patients from using technological resources. Purpose. We investigated whether health literacy, heart failure knowledge, and cognitive function were related to internet and e-mail use in older adults with heart failure (HF). Methods. Older adults (N = 119) with heart failure (69.84 ± 9.09 years) completed measures of health literacy, heart failure knowledge, cognitive functioning, and internet use in a cross-sectional study. Results. Internet and e-mail use were reported in 78.2% and 71.4% of this sample of patients with HF, respectively. Controlling for age and education, logistic regression analyses indicated that higher health literacy predicted e-mail (P < .05) but not internet use. Global cognitive function predicted e-mail (P < .05) but not internet use. Only 45% used the Internet to obtain information on HF and internet use was not associated with greater HF knowledge. Conclusions. The majority of HF patients use the internet and e-mail, but poor health literacy and cognitive impairment may prevent some patients from accessing these resources. Future studies that examine specific internet and email interventions to increase HF knowledge are needed.

Fear of Fear and Broad Dimensions of Psychopathology over the Course of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia in Japan.

PubMed

Ogawa, S; Kondo, M; Ino, K; Ii, T; Imai, R; Furukawa, T A; Akechi, T

2017-12-01

To examine the relationship of fear of fear and broad dimensions of psychopathology in panic disorder with agoraphobia over the course of cognitive behavioural therapy in Japan. A total of 177 Japanese patients with panic disorder with agoraphobia were treated with group cognitive behavioural therapy between 2001 and 2015. We examined associations between the change scores in Agoraphobic Cognitions Questionnaire or Body Sensations Questionnaire and the changes in subscales of Symptom Checklist-90 Revised during cognitive behavioural therapy controlling the change in panic disorder severity using multiple regression analysis. Reduction in Agoraphobic Cognitions Questionnaire score was related to a decrease in all Symptom Checklist-90 Revised (SCL-90-R) subscale scores. Reduction in Body Sensations Questionnaire score was associated with a decrease in anxiety. Reduction in Panic Disorder Severity Scale score was not related to any SCL-90-R subscale changes. Changes in fear of fear, especially maladaptive cognitions, may predict broad dimensions of psychopathology reductions in patients of panic disorder with agoraphobia over the course of cognitive behavioural therapy. For the sake of improving a broader range of psychiatric symptoms in patients of panic disorder with agoraphobia, more attention to maladaptive cognition changes during cognitive behavioural therapy is warranted.

A Mid-Layer Model for Human Reliability Analysis: Understanding the Cognitive Causes of Human Failure Events

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stacey M. L. Hendrickson; April M. Whaley; Ronald L. Boring

The Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) is sponsoring work in response to a Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM) directing an effort to establish a single human reliability analysis (HRA) method for the agency or guidance for the use of multiple methods. As part of this effort an attempt to develop a comprehensive HRA qualitative approach is being pursued. This paper presents a draft of the method’s middle layer, a part of the qualitative analysis phase that links failure mechanisms to performance shaping factors. Starting with a Crew Response Tree (CRT) that has identified human failure events, analysts identify potential failuremore » mechanisms using the mid-layer model. The mid-layer model presented in this paper traces the identification of the failure mechanisms using the Information-Diagnosis/Decision-Action (IDA) model and cognitive models from the psychological literature. Each failure mechanism is grouped according to a phase of IDA. Under each phase of IDA, the cognitive models help identify the relevant performance shaping factors for the failure mechanism. The use of IDA and cognitive models can be traced through fault trees, which provide a detailed complement to the CRT.« less

Limitations of subjective cognitive load measures in simulation-based procedural training.

PubMed

Naismith, Laura M; Cheung, Jeffrey J H; Ringsted, Charlotte; Cavalcanti, Rodrigo B

2015-08-01

The effective implementation of cognitive load theory (CLT) to optimise the instructional design of simulation-based training requires sensitive and reliable measures of cognitive load. This mixed-methods study assessed relationships between commonly used measures of total cognitive load and the extent to which these measures reflected participants' experiences of cognitive load in simulation-based procedural skills training. Two groups of medical residents (n = 38) completed three questionnaires after participating in simulation-based procedural skills training sessions: the Paas Cognitive Load Scale; the NASA Task Load Index (TLX), and a cognitive load component (CLC) questionnaire we developed to assess total cognitive load as the sum of intrinsic load (how complex the task is), extraneous load (how the task is presented) and germane load (how the learner processes the task for learning). We calculated Pearson's correlation coefficients to assess agreement among these instruments. Group interviews explored residents' perceptions about how the simulation sessions contributed to their total cognitive load. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and subjected to qualitative content analysis. Total cognitive load scores differed significantly according to the instrument used to assess them. In particular, there was poor agreement between the Paas Scale and the TLX. Quantitative and qualitative findings supported intrinsic cognitive load as synonymous with mental effort (Paas Scale), mental demand (TLX) and task difficulty and complexity (CLC questionnaire). Additional qualitative themes relating to extraneous and germane cognitive loads were not reflected in any of the questionnaires. The Paas Scale, TLX and CLC questionnaire appear to be interchangeable as measures of intrinsic cognitive load, but not of total cognitive load. A more complete understanding of the sources of extraneous and germane cognitive loads in simulation-based training contexts is necessary to determine how best to measure and assess their effects on learning and performance outcomes. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Subjective memory complaints, depressive symptoms and instrumental activities of daily living in mild cognitive impairment.

PubMed

Ryu, Seon Young; Lee, Sang Bong; Kim, Tae Woo; Lee, Taek Jun

2016-03-01

The diagnostic relevance of subjective memory complaints (SMCs) in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) remains to be unresolved. The aim of this study is to determine clinical correlates of SMCs in MCI. Furthermore, we examined whether there are the differences due to different aspects of complaints (i.e. prospective memory (PM) versus retrospective memory (RM) complaints). We examined the cross-sectional associations between SMCs and depressive symptoms, instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), and cognitive measures in sixty-six individuals with MCI (mean age: 65.7 ± 8.01 years). The criteria for MCI included SMCs, objective cognitive impairment, normal general cognitive function, largely intact functional activities, and absence of dementia. SMCs were assessed using the Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ), which contains 16 items describing everyday memory failure of both PM and RM. SMC severity (i.e. PRMQ total score) was associated with stronger depressive symptoms and worse IADL performance. SMCs were not related to cognitive measures. For PM and RM subscores, both depressive symptoms and IADL were related to the PRMQ-PM and -RM scores. The main contributors to these PM and RM scores were depressive symptoms and IADL impairment, respectively. This study suggests that SMCs are more associated with depressive symptoms and IADL problems than with cognitive performance in individuals with MCI. Furthermore, while PM and RM complaints are related to both depressive symptoms and IADL, the differences between these main contributors suggest that RM complaints based on IADL could be more associated with the organically driven pathological features of MCI.

[Action-oriented versus state-oriented reactions to experimenter-induced failures].

PubMed

Brunstein, J C

1989-01-01

The present study assessed different effects of action-oriented versus state-oriented styles of coping with failure on achievement-related performance and cognition. In a learned helplessness experiment, students were exposed to an academic failure situation and were then tested on a series of problem-solving tasks, either immediately after the pretreatment or after a delay of 24 hours. Performance and cognitive concomitants were measured during both experimental periods. Results demonstrated that action orientation was associated with self-immunizing cognitions during helplessness training. Action-oriented participants improved their performance level even after repeated failure feedbacks. Moreover, action-oriented students assigned to the delayed test condition responded with increased striving for success and showed performance increments, even in comparison with control subjects. In contrast, state-oriented participants developed symptoms of helplessness and showed impaired performance during failure inductions. In later tests on problem-solving tasks, state-oriented groups responded with increased fear of failure. Independent of immediate or delayed test conditions, they soon lapsed into new performance decrements.

Sustained attention failures are primarily due to sustained cognitive load not task monotony.

PubMed

Head, James; Helton, William S

2014-11-01

We conducted two studies using a modified sustained attention to response task (SART) to investigate the developmental process of SART performance and the role of cognitive load on performance when the speed-accuracy trade-off is controlled experimentally. In study 1, 23 participants completed the modified SART (target stimuli location was not predictable) and a subjective thought content questionnaire 4 times over the span of 4 weeks. As predicted, the influence of speed-accuracy trade-off was significantly mitigated on the modified SART by having target stimuli occur in unpredictable locations. In study 2, 21 of the 23 participants completed an abridged version of the modified SART with a verbal free-recall memory task. Participants performed significantly worse when completing the verbal memory task and SART concurrently. Overall, the results support a resource theory perspective with concern to errors being a result of limited mental resources and not simply mindlessness per se. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

The development and validation of the clinicians' awareness towards cognitive errors (CATChES) in clinical decision making questionnaire tool.

PubMed

Chew, Keng Sheng; Kueh, Yee Cheng; Abdul Aziz, Adlihafizi

2017-03-21

Despite their importance on diagnostic accuracy, there is a paucity of literature on questionnaire tools to assess clinicians' awareness toward cognitive errors. A validation study was conducted to develop a questionnaire tool to evaluate the Clinician's Awareness Towards Cognitive Errors (CATChES) in clinical decision making. This questionnaire is divided into two parts. Part A is to evaluate the clinicians' awareness towards cognitive errors in clinical decision making while Part B is to evaluate their perception towards specific cognitive errors. Content validation for both parts was first determined followed by construct validation for Part A. Construct validation for Part B was not determined as the responses were set in a dichotomous format. For content validation, all items in both Part A and Part B were rated as "excellent" in terms of their relevance in clinical settings. For construct validation using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) for Part A, a two-factor model with total variance extraction of 60% was determined. Two items were deleted. Then, the EFA was repeated showing that all factor loadings are above the cut-off value of >0.5. The Cronbach's alpha for both factors are above 0.6. The CATChES questionnaire tool is a valid questionnaire tool aimed to evaluate the awareness among clinicians toward cognitive errors in clinical decision making.

The Association between Daytime Napping and Cognitive Functioning in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

PubMed Central

Gotts, Zoe M.; Ellis, Jason G.; Deary, Vincent; Barclay, Nicola; Newton, Julia L.

2015-01-01

Objectives The precise relationship between sleep and physical and mental functioning in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) has not been examined directly, nor has the impact of daytime napping. This study aimed to examine self-reported sleep in patients with CFS and explore whether sleep quality and daytime napping, specific patient characteristics (gender, illness length) and levels of anxiety and depression, predicted daytime fatigue severity, levels of daytime sleepiness and cognitive functioning, all key dimensions of the illness experience. Methods 118 adults meeting the 1994 CDC case criteria for CFS completed a standardised sleep diary over 14 days. Momentary functional assessments of fatigue, sleepiness, cognition and mood were completed by patients as part of usual care. Levels of daytime functioning and disability were quantified using symptom assessment tools, measuring fatigue (Chalder Fatigue Scale), sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale), cognitive functioning (Trail Making Test, Cognitive Failures Questionnaire), and mood (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale). Results Hierarchical Regressions demonstrated that a shorter time since diagnosis, higher depression and longer wake time after sleep onset predicted 23.4% of the variance in fatigue severity (p <.001). Being male, higher depression and more afternoon naps predicted 25.6% of the variance in objective cognitive dysfunction (p <.001). Higher anxiety and depression and morning napping predicted 32.2% of the variance in subjective cognitive dysfunction (p <.001). When patients were classified into groups of mild and moderate sleepiness, those with longer daytime naps, those who mainly napped in the afternoon, and those with higher levels of anxiety, were more likely to be in the moderately sleepy group. Conclusions Napping, particularly in the afternoon is associated with poorer cognitive functioning and more daytime sleepiness in CFS. These findings have clinical implications for symptom management strategies. PMID:25575044

The association between daytime napping and cognitive functioning in chronic fatigue syndrome.

PubMed

Gotts, Zoe M; Ellis, Jason G; Deary, Vincent; Barclay, Nicola; Newton, Julia L

2015-01-01

The precise relationship between sleep and physical and mental functioning in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) has not been examined directly, nor has the impact of daytime napping. This study aimed to examine self-reported sleep in patients with CFS and explore whether sleep quality and daytime napping, specific patient characteristics (gender, illness length) and levels of anxiety and depression, predicted daytime fatigue severity, levels of daytime sleepiness and cognitive functioning, all key dimensions of the illness experience. 118 adults meeting the 1994 CDC case criteria for CFS completed a standardised sleep diary over 14 days. Momentary functional assessments of fatigue, sleepiness, cognition and mood were completed by patients as part of usual care. Levels of daytime functioning and disability were quantified using symptom assessment tools, measuring fatigue (Chalder Fatigue Scale), sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale), cognitive functioning (Trail Making Test, Cognitive Failures Questionnaire), and mood (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale). Hierarchical Regressions demonstrated that a shorter time since diagnosis, higher depression and longer wake time after sleep onset predicted 23.4% of the variance in fatigue severity (p <.001). Being male, higher depression and more afternoon naps predicted 25.6% of the variance in objective cognitive dysfunction (p <.001). Higher anxiety and depression and morning napping predicted 32.2% of the variance in subjective cognitive dysfunction (p <.001). When patients were classified into groups of mild and moderate sleepiness, those with longer daytime naps, those who mainly napped in the afternoon, and those with higher levels of anxiety, were more likely to be in the moderately sleepy group. Napping, particularly in the afternoon is associated with poorer cognitive functioning and more daytime sleepiness in CFS. These findings have clinical implications for symptom management strategies.

Cognitive Distortions Associated with Imagination of the Thin Ideal: Validation of the Thought-Shape Fusion Body Questionnaire (TSF-B)

PubMed Central

Wyssen, Andrea; Debbeler, Luka J.; Meyer, Andrea H.; Coelho, Jennifer S.; Humbel, Nadine; Schuck, Kathrin; Lennertz, Julia; Messerli-Bürgy, Nadine; Biedert, Esther; Trier, Stephan N.; Isenschmid, Bettina; Milos, Gabriella; Whinyates, Katherina; Schneider, Silvia; Munsch, Simone

2017-01-01

Thought-shape fusion (TSF) describes the experience of body-related cognitive distortions associated with eating disorder (ED) pathology. In the laboratory TSF has been activated by thoughts about fattening/forbidden foods and thin ideals. This study aims at validating a questionnaire to assess the trait susceptibility to TSF (i.e., body-related cognitive distortions) associated with the imagination of thin ideals, and developing an adapted version of the original TSF trait questionnaire, the Thought-Shape Fusion Body Questionnaire (TSF-B). Healthy control women (HC, n = 317) and women diagnosed with subthreshold and clinical EDs (n = 243) completed an online-questionnaire. The factor structure of the TSF-B questionnaire was examined using exploratory (EFA) and subsequent confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). EFA pointed to a two-factor solution, confirmed by CFA. Subscale 1 was named Imagination of thin ideals, containing five items referring to the imagination of female thin ideals. Subscale 2 was named Striving for own thin ideal, with seven items about pursuing/abandoning attempts to reach one’s own thin ideal. The total scale and both subscales showed good convergent validity, excellent reliability, and good ability to discriminate between individuals with subthreshold/clinical EDs and HCs. Results indicate that cognitive distortions are also related to the imagination of thin ideals, and are associated with ED pathology. With two subscales, the TSF-B trait questionnaire appropriately measures this construct. Future studies should clarify whether TSF-B is predictive for the development and course of EDs. Assessing cognitive distortions with the TSF-B questionnaire could improve understanding of EDs and stimulate the development of cognitively oriented interventions. Clinical Trial Registration Number: DRKS-ID: DRKS00005709. PMID:29312059

Depression vulnerable and nonvulnerable smokers after a failure experience: examining cognitive self-regulation and motivation.

PubMed

Scott, Walter D; Beevers, Christopher G; Mermelstein, Robin J

2008-07-01

The present study extended previous tests of cognitive priming theories of depression by examining cognitive self-regulatory, motivational, and affective functioning of depression-vulnerable and nonvulnerable individuals after a failure experience. Participants were enrolled in a clinic-based smoking cessation program that consisted of seven group meetings. Major findings show that compared to the nonvulnerable group, depression-vulnerable individuals were less motivated to quit and experienced more negative affect, but only after a failure to quit smoking. However, after controlling for actual smoking rate, depression-vulnerable individuals did not evaluate their success any more negatively, nor did they indicate lower self-efficacy for quitting. Results are discussed in terms of cognitive self-regulatory and affect temperament models of motivation and depression.

Cognitive Change Questionnaire as a method for cognitive impairment screening

PubMed Central

Damin, Antonio Eduardo; Nitrini, Ricardo; Brucki, Sonia Maria Dozzi

2015-01-01

The Cognitive Change Questionnaire (CCQ) was created as an effective measure of cognitive change that is easy to use and suitable for application in Brazil. Objective To evaluate whether the CCQ can accurately distinguish normal subjects from individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and/or early stage dementia and to develop a briefer questionnaire, based on the original 22-item CCQ (CCQ22), that contains fewer questions. Methods A total of 123 individuals were evaluated: 42 healthy controls, 40 patients with MCI and 41 with mild dementia. The evaluation was performed using cognitive tests based on individual performance and on questionnaires administered to informants. The CCQ22 was created based on a selection of questions that experts deemed useful in screening for early stage dementia. Results The CCQ22 showed good accuracy for distinguishing between the groups. Statistical models selected the eight questions with the greatest power to discriminate between the groups. The AUC ROC corresponding to the final version of the 8-item CCQ (CCQ8), demonstrated good accuracy in differentiating between groups, good correlation with the final diagnosis (r=0.861) and adequate internal consistency (Cronbach's α=0.876). Conclusion The CCQ8 can be used to accurately differentiate between normal subjects and individuals with cognitive impairment, constituting a brief and appropriate instrument for cognitive screening. PMID:29213967

Increasing Honest Responding on Cognitive Distortions in Child Molesters: The Bogus Pipeline Procedure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gannon, Theresa A.

2006-01-01

Professionals conclude that child molesters (CMs) hold offense-supportive beliefs (or cognitive distortions) from CMs' questionnaire responses. Because questionnaires are easily faked, we asked 32 CMs to complete a cognitive distortion scale under standard conditions (Time 1). A week later (Time 2), the same CMs completed the scale again. This…

Cognitive Interviewing: A Qualitative Tool for Improving Questionnaires in Sport Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dietrich, Hanno; Ehrlenspiel, Felix

2010-01-01

Cognitive models postulate that respondents to a questionnaire follow a four-stage process when answering a question: comprehension, memory retrieval, decision, and response. Cognitive interviewing is a qualitative tool to gain insight into this process by means of letting respondents think aloud or asking them specific questions (Willis, 2005).…

How Do Persons with Mild Acquired Cognitive Impairment Use Information and Communication Technology and E-Services? Results from a Swedish National Survey

PubMed Central

Bartfai, Aniko; Oldenburg, Christian; Koch, Sabine

2016-01-01

Introduction Mild acquired cognitive impairment is a term used to describe a sub-group of persons with mild cognitive impairment who are expected to reach a stable cognitive level over time. One tactic that can be considered for further developing treatment for this group is the use of information and communication technology and e-services. The purpose of this study was to investigate the current use of regular e-services and social media by this group as well as their user experiences. Methods and Materials Data were collected through a self-administered survey and analyzed using quantitative methods. The questionnaire included questions regarding the participants’ use of and experience with e-services. Categorization of e-services was based on and cross-validated with the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). To estimate participants’ degree and type of impairment, the Cognitive Failure Questionnaire (CFQ), measuring cognitive difficulties in performing everyday tasks, was added. Results In total, 282 persons with acquired brain injury participated in the survey. The participants’ CFQ scores showed that they were suffering from mild to moderate cognitive impairments, most often acquired from traumatic brain injuries (40%). The majority (89%) used e-services in different categories whereof the most popular and essential ones were communication services (59%) and banking (39%) services. Participants with higher total CFQ scores (>58) used more e-services in most of the categories compared to participants with lower scores (<31). Although participants were interested in social media, they were annoyed by advertisements and the Internet speed in general. Some participants reported privacy concerns and addictive behavior. However, they mostly considered e-services to be trustworthy and supportive in different contexts. The usage of electronic devices decreased by age with the exception of electronic tablets that were used by older participants approximately as frequently as by other age groups. Conclusions Although persons with mild to moderate acquired brain injury used various e-services that are not customized for them, very few participants used self-care health services (apps) and readers (e-readers). Further studies are needed on utilizing these identified aspects for this group to support them with their chronic condition. PMID:27427947

Social cognition and aggression in methamphetamine dependence with and without a history of psychosis.

PubMed

Uhlmann, Anne; Ipser, Jonathan C; Wilson, Don; Stein, Dan J

2018-04-01

In substance use and psychotic disorders, socially problematic behaviours, such as high aggression may, in part, be explained by deficits in social cognition skills, like the detection of emotions or intentions in others. The aim of this study was to assess the magnitude of social cognition impairment and its association with aggression in individuals with methamphetamine (MA) dependence, methamphetamine-associated psychosis (MAP), and healthy controls (CTRL). A total of 20 MAP participants, 21 MA-dependent participants without psychosis, and 21 CTRL participants performed a facial morphing emotion recognition task (ERT) across four basic emotions (anger, fear, happiness and sadness) and the reading the mind in the eyes task (RMET), and completed the aggression questionnaire. Both MA-dependent groups showed impairment in social cognition in terms of lower RMET scores relative to CTRL participants (MA; p = .047; MAP: p < .001). Additionally, performance decrements were significantly greater in MAP (p = .040), compared to MA-dependent participants. While deficits in recognising emotional expressions were restricted to anger in the MA group (p = .020), a generalized impairment across all four emotions was observed in MAP (all p ≤ .001). Additionally, both patient groups demonstrated higher levels of aggression than CTRLs, yet no association was found with social cognition. This study supported the notion of deficits in recognising facial emotional expressions and inferring mental states of others in MA dependence, with additional impairments in MAP. Failure to detect an association between social cognitive impairment and aggressive behaviour may implicate independent disturbances of the two phenomena in MA dependence.

Psychometric Properties of the Spanish Version of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dominguez-Sanchez, Francisco J.; Lasa-Aristu, Amaia; Amor, Pedro J.; Holgado-Tello, Francisco P.

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to validate a Spanish version of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ-S), originally developed by Garnefski, Kraaij, and Spinhoven. To date, it is the only available instrument that permits a conceptually pure quantification of cognitive strategies of emotional regulation. A sample of 615 students (25…

A Systematic Review of Relaxation, Meditation, and Guided Imagery Strategies for Symptom Management in Heart Failure.

PubMed

Kwekkeboom, Kristine L; Bratzke, Lisa C

2016-01-01

Pain, dyspnea, fatigue, and sleep disturbance are prevalent and distressing symptoms in persons with advanced heart failure. Although many lifestyle and self-care interventions have been developed to control heart failure progression, very few studies have explored treatments exclusively for symptom palliation. Cognitive-behavioral strategies may be effective treatment for these symptoms in advanced heart failure. A systemic review was conducted to describe the effect of cognitive-behavioral strategies on pain, dyspnea, fatigue, and sleep disturbance in patients with heart failure. CINAHL, Medline, and PsychINFO were searched from inception through December 2014. Articles were selected for inclusion if they tested a cognitive-behavioral strategy using a quasi-experimental or experimental design, involved a sample of adults with heart failure, and measured pain, dyspnea, fatigue, sleep disturbance, or symptom-related quality of life. The 2 authors evaluated study quality, abstracted data elements from each study, and synthesized findings. Thirteen articles describing 9 unique studies met criteria and were included in the review. Five studies tested relaxation strategies, 3 tested meditation strategies, and 1 tested a guided imagery strategy. Of the 9 studies, 7 demonstrated some improvement in symptom outcomes. Relaxation, meditation, guided imagery, or combinations of these strategies resulted in less dyspnea and better sleep compared with attention control or usual care conditions and reduced pain, dyspnea, fatigue, and sleep disturbance within treatment groups (pretreatment to posttreatment). Symptom-related quality of life was improved with meditation compared with attention control and usual care conditions and improved pre- to post-guided imagery. Studies exploring cognitive-behavioral symptom management strategies in heart failure vary in quality and report mixed findings but indicate potential beneficial effects of relaxation, meditation, and guided imagery on heart failure-related symptoms. Future research should test cognitive-behavioral strategies in rigorously designed efficacy trials, using samples selected for their symptom experience, and measure pain, dyspnea, fatigue, and sleep disturbance outcomes with targeted symptom measures.

A Systematic Review of Relaxation, Meditation, and Guided Imagery Strategies for Symptom Management in Heart Failure

PubMed Central

Kwekkeboom, Kristine L.; Bratzke, Lisa C.

2015-01-01

Background Pain, dyspnea, fatigue, and sleep disturbance are prevalent and distressing symptoms in persons with advanced heart failure. Although many lifestyle and self-care interventions have been developed to control heart failure progression, very few studies have explored treatments exclusively for symptom palliation. Cognitive-behavioral strategies may be effective treatment for these symptoms in advanced heart failure. Objective A systemic review was conducted to describe the effect of cognitive-behavioral strategies on pain, dyspnea, fatigue, and sleep disturbance in patients with heart failure. Methods CINAHL, Medline, and PsychINFO were searched from inception through December 2014. Articles were selected for inclusion if they tested a cognitive-behavioral strategy using a quasi-experimental or experimental design, involved a sample of adults with heart failure, and measured pain, dyspnea, fatigue, sleep disturbance, or symptom-related quality of life (QoL). The two authors evaluated study quality, abstracted data elements from each study, and synthesized findings. Results Thirteen articles describing nine unique studies met criteria and were included in the review. Five studies tested relaxation strategies, three tested meditation strategies, and one tested a guided imagery strategy. Seven of the nine studies demonstrated some improvement in symptom outcomes. Relaxation, meditation, guided imagery, or combinations of these strategies resulted in less dyspnea and better sleep compared to attention control or usual care conditions, and reduced pain, dyspnea, fatigue and sleep disturbance within treatment groups (pre- to post-treatment). Symptom-related QoL was improved with meditation compared to attention control and usual care conditions, and improved pre- to post-guided imagery. Conclusions Studies exploring cognitive-behavioral symptom management strategies in heart failure vary in quality and report mixed findings, but indicate potential beneficial effects of relaxation, meditation, and guided imagery on heart failure-related symptoms. Future research should test cognitive-behavioral strategies in rigorously designed efficacy trials, using samples selected for their symptom experience, and measure pain, dyspnea, fatigue, and sleep disturbance outcomes with targeted symptom measures. PMID:26065388

Subjective cognitive dysfunction in rehabilitation outpatients with musculoskeletal disorders or chronic pain.

PubMed

Schrier, Ernst; Geertzen, Jan H; Dijkstra, Pieter U

2017-08-01

Rehabilitation patients, without brain damage, sometimes complain about poor concentration and problems with their memory. The magnitude and associations, of this cognitive dysfunction, with different factors is unclear. To determine the magnitude of cognitive dysfunction in rehabilitation outpatient and to explore its associations with patient characteristics, diagnosis, surgery, pain, stress, anxiety and depression. Cross-sectional. Rehabilitation outpatients. Between July 2009 and January 2012, 274 rehabilitation outpatients were included and divided in 8 different groups through diagnosis. Cognitive functioning was assessed using the cognitive failure questionnaire and compared with the general Dutch population. Associations of gender, age, diagnosis, recent surgery, pain and stress coping ability with cognitive function was explored. Mediation of depression and anxiety was explored. The rehabilitation patients had a significantly higher score on the CFQ (mean 35.9±13.4) when compared to the general Dutch population (mean 31.8±11.1). Mean difference is 4.1, 95% confidence interval 2.60 to 5.60. In the stepwise linear regression analysis only gender, diagnosis and stress coping ability were significantly associated. A significant mediation effect was found of anxiety (P≤0.001) and depression (P≤0.005) between stress coping ability and cognitive function. Rehabilitation outpatients experience more cognitive problems in comparison to the general Dutch population. Reported dysfunction of cognition in rehabilitation outpatients are associated with stress coping ability and for a small amount to gender and diagnosis. The association of stress coping ability and cognitive dysfunction is mediated by depression and anxiety. Women tend to report more dysfunctional cognition compared to men. Patient characteristics, surgery and experienced pain have no significant influence on the experienced cognitive dysfunction. Cognitive problems reported by patients should be addressed by adapting the rehabilitation program, for instance write down instructions, repeat explanations and take more time for instructions. Cognitive problems in rehabilitation patients without brain damage is probably a stress coping problem and can be addressed by boosting resilience. Targeting depression or anxiety is another option of treatment cognition if those are mediating between stress coping and cognitive problems.

The role of low cognitive effort and negative symptoms in neuropsychological impairment in schizophrenia.

PubMed

Strauss, Gregory P; Morra, Lindsay F; Sullivan, Sara K; Gold, James M

2015-03-01

Two experiments were conducted to examine whether insufficient effort, negative symptoms (e.g., avolition, anhedonia), and psychological variables (e.g., anhedonia and perception of low cognitive resources) predict generalized neurocognitive impairment in individuals with schizophrenia (SZ). In Experiment 1, participants included 97 individuals with SZ and 63 healthy controls (CN) who completed the Victoria Symptom Validity Test (VSVT), the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB), and self-report anhedonia questionnaires. In Experiment 2, participants included 46 individuals with SZ and 33 CN who completed Green's Word Memory Test (WMT), the MCCB, and self-reports of anhedonia, defeatist performance beliefs, and negative expectancy appraisals. RESULTS indicated that a low proportion of individuals with SZ failed effort testing (1.0% Experiment 1; 15.2% Experiment 2); however, global neurocognitive impairment was significantly predicted by low effort and negative symptoms. Findings indicate that low effort does not threaten the validity of neuropsychological test results in the majority of individuals with schizophrenia; however, effort testing may be useful in SZ patients with severe negative symptoms who may be more likely to put forth insufficient effort due to motivational problems. Although the base rate of failure is relatively low, it may be beneficial to screen for insufficient effort in SZ and exclude individuals who fail effort testing from pharmacological or cognitive remediation trials. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

Memory complaints in subjective cognitive impairment, amnestic mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer's disease.

PubMed

Ryu, Seon Young; Lee, Sang Bong; Kim, Tae Woo; Lee, Taek Jun

2016-12-01

Memory complaints are a frequent phenomenon in elderly individuals and can lead to opportunistic help-seeking behavior. The aim of this study was to compare different aspects of memory complaints (i.e., prospective versus retrospective complaints) in individuals with subjective cognitive impairment (SCI), amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), and mild Alzheimer's disease (AD). The study included a total of 115 participants (mean age: 68.82 ± 8.83 years) with SCI (n = 34), aMCI (n = 46), and mild AD (n = 35). Memory complaints were assessed using the Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ), which consists of 16 items that describe everyday memory failure of both prospective memory (PM) and retrospective memory (RM). For aMCI and AD subjects, informants also completed an informant-rating of the PRMQ. All participants completed detailed neuropsychological tests. Results show that PM complaints were equivalent among the three groups. However, RM complaints differed. Specifically, RM complaints in aMCI were higher than SCI, but similar to AD. Informant-reported memory complaints were higher for AD than aMCI. Our study suggests that RM complaints of memory complaints may be helpful in discriminating between SCI and aMCI, but both PM and RM complaints are of limited value in differentiating aMCI from AD.

Media multitasking and failures of attention in everyday life.

PubMed

Ralph, Brandon C W; Thomson, David R; Cheyne, James Allan; Smilek, Daniel

2014-09-01

Using a series of online self-report measures, we examine media multitasking, a particularly pervasive form of multitasking, and its relations to three aspects of everyday attention: (1) failures of attention and cognitive errors (2) mind wandering, and (3) attentional control with an emphasis on attentional switching and distractibility. We observed a positive correlation between levels of media multitasking and self-reports of attentional failures, as well as with reports of both spontaneous and deliberate mind wandering. No correlation was observed between media multitasking and self-reported memory failures, lending credence to the hypothesis that media multitasking may be specifically related to problems of inattention, rather than cognitive errors in general. Furthermore, media multitasking was not related with self-reports of difficulties in attention switching or distractibility. We offer a plausible causal structural model assessing both direct and indirect effects among media multitasking, attentional failures, mind wandering, and cognitive errors, with the heuristic goal of constraining and motivating theories of the effects of media multitasking on inattention.

Measuring cognitive vulnerability to depression: Development and validation of the cognitive style questionnaire

PubMed Central

Haeffel, Gerald J.; Gibb, Brandon E.; Metalsky, Gerald I.; Alloy, Lauren B.; Abramson, Lyn Y.; Hankin, Benjamin L.; Joiner, Thomas E.; Swendsen, Joel D.

2014-01-01

The Cognitive Style Questionnaire (CSQ) measures the cognitive vulnerability factor featured in the hopelessness theory of depression. The CSQ has been used in over 30 published studies since its inception, yet detailed information about the psychometric and validity properties of this instrument has yet to be published. In this article, we describe the development of the CSQ and review reliability and validity evidence. Findings to date using college samples, indicate that the CSQ is a reliable measure of cognitive vulnerability with a high degree of construct validity. PMID:18234405

Measuring cognitive vulnerability to depression: development and validation of the cognitive style questionnaire.

PubMed

Haeffel, Gerald J; Gibb, Brandon E; Metalsky, Gerald I; Alloy, Lauren B; Abramson, Lyn Y; Hankin, Benjamin L; Joiner, Thomas E; Swendsen, Joel D

2008-06-01

The Cognitive Style Questionnaire (CSQ) measures the cognitive vulnerability factor featured in the hopelessness theory of depression. The CSQ has been used in over 30 published studies since its inception, yet detailed information about the psychometric and validity properties of this instrument has yet to be published. In this article, we describe the development of the CSQ and review reliability and validity evidence. Findings to date using college samples, indicate that the CSQ is a reliable measure of cognitive vulnerability with a high degree of construct validity.

Validation of self assessment patient knowledge questionnaire for heart failure patients.

PubMed

Lainscak, Mitja; Keber, Irena

2005-12-01

Several studies showed insufficient knowledge and poor compliance to non-pharmacological management in heart failure patients. Only a limited number of validated tools are available to assess their knowledge. The aim of the study was to test our 10-item Patient knowledge questionnaire. The Patient knowledge questionnaire was administered to 42 heart failure patients from Heart failure clinic and to 40 heart failure patients receiving usual care. Construct validity (Pearson correlation coefficient), internal consistency (Cronbach alpha), reproducibility (Wilcoxon signed rank test), and reliability (chi-square test and Student's t-test for independent samples) were assessed. Overall score of the Patient knowledge questionnaire had the strongest correlation to the question about regular weighing (r=0.69) and the weakest to the question about presence of heart disease (r=0.33). There was a strong correlation between question about fluid retention and questions assessing regular weighing, (r=0.86), weight of one litre of water (r=0.86), and salt restriction (r=0.57). The Cronbach alpha was 0.74 and could be improved by exclusion of questions about clear explanation (Chronbach alpha 0.75), importance of fruit, soup, and vegetables (Chronbach alpha 0.75), and self adjustment of diuretic (Chronbach alpha 0.81). During reproducibility testing 91% to 98% of questions were answered equally. Patients from Heart failure clinic scored significantly better than patients receiving usual care (7.9 (1.3) vs. 5.7 (2.2), p<0.001). Patient knowledge questionnaire is a valid and reliable tool to measure knowledge of heart failure patients.

How Is Impulsivity Related to Depression in Adolescence? Evidence from a French Validation of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

d'Acremont, Mathieu.; Van der Linden, Martial

2007-01-01

The aim of this study was to validate a French version of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ; Garnefski, N., Kraaij, V., & Spinhoven, P., 2001. Negative life events, cognitive emotion regulation and emotional problems. "Personality and Individual Differences, 30," 1311-1327) and to explore its relationships with impulsivity and…

Cognitive Mechanisms in Chronic Tinnitus: Psychological Markers of a Failure to Switch Attention

PubMed Central

Trevis, Krysta J.; McLachlan, Neil M.; Wilson, Sarah J.

2016-01-01

The cognitive mechanisms underpinning chronic tinnitus (CT; phantom auditory perceptions) are underexplored but may reflect a failure to switch attention away from a tinnitus sound. Here, we investigated a range of components that influence the ability to switch attention, including cognitive control, inhibition, working memory and mood, on the presence and severity of CT. Our participants with tinnitus showed significant impairments in cognitive control and inhibition as well as lower levels of emotional well-being, compared to healthy-hearing participants. Moreover, the subjective cognitive complaints of tinnitus participants correlated with their emotional well-being whereas complaints in healthy participants correlated with objective cognitive functioning. Combined, cognitive control and depressive symptoms correctly classified 67% of participants. These results demonstrate the core role of cognition in CT. They also provide the foundations for a neurocognitive account of the maintenance of tinnitus, involving impaired interactions between the neurocognitive networks underpinning attention-switching and mood. PMID:27605920

Cognitive Effects of Chess Instruction on Students at Risk for Academic Failure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hong, Saahoon; Bart, William M.

2007-01-01

Cognitive effects of chess instruction on students at risk for academic failure was examined. Thirty-eight students, from three elementary schools, participated in this study. The experimental group received a ninety-minute chess lesson once per week over a three-month period; and the control group students regularly attended school activities…

Internet Administration of Three Commonly Used Questionnaires in Panic Research: Equivalence to Paper Administration in Australian and Swedish Samples of People With Panic Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Austin, David W.; Carlbring, Per; Richards, Jeffrey C.; Andersson, Gerhard

2006-01-01

This study assessed the degree of equivalence between paper and Internet administration of three measures of panic and agoraphobia-related cognition and behavior: Body Sensations Questionnaire (BSQ), Agoraphobic Cognitions Questionnaire (ACQ), and Mobility Inventory (MI). Participants were 110 people with panic disorder who had registered for an…

Culture and Sexuality: Cognitive-Emotional Determinants of Sexual Dissatisfaction Among Iranian and New Zealand Women.

PubMed

Abdolmanafi, Atefe; Nobre, Pedro; Winter, Sam; Tilley, P J Matt; Jahromi, Reza Ghorban

2018-05-01

Several studies have demonstrated that culture plays a fundamental role in individuals' beliefs, attitudes, and values toward sexuality, and influences their ability to enjoy sex. It follows that culture may influence sexual satisfaction or dissatisfaction. To examine and compare cognitive-emotional variables related to women's sexual dissatisfaction in Iran and New Zealand. In total, 196 Iranian women and 207 New Zealand women participated in the study, answering questionnaires evaluating dysfunctional sexual beliefs, automatic thoughts, emotional and sexual response during sexual activity, as well as sexual satisfaction. Sexual beliefs were measured by the Sexual Dysfunctional Beliefs Questionnaire, thoughts and emotional responses were measured by the Sexual Modes Questionnaire, and sexual satisfaction was measured by the Sexual Satisfaction Index. Findings indicated that in both Iranian and New Zealand women, failure and disengagement thoughts, lack of erotic thoughts, and emotions of fear during sexual activity were significant predictors of sexual dissatisfaction. Besides these common predictors, results also indicated that sexual conservatism and women's sexual passivity beliefs, sexual abuse thoughts, and fear during sexual activity were significant predictors of sexual dissatisfaction in Iranian women. Beliefs of sexual desire and pleasure as a sin; age-related beliefs; and emotions such as sadness, disillusion, and hurt were significant predictors of sexual dissatisfaction in New Zealand women. The present findings could facilitate a better understanding of cultural differences in the roles played by dysfunctional sexual beliefs, negative automatic thoughts, and negative emotions during sexual activity, and the value of these beliefs, thoughts, and emotions in predicting sexual dissatisfaction. The strength of this study is in providing an examination of the role of culturally bound beliefs in predicting sexual dissatisfaction in women from different cultural backgrounds. Limitations include the lack of evaluation of psychological and interpersonal variables that may impact on women's sexual dissatisfaction. These findings suggest that there may be a role of culture in shaping beliefs, attitudes, and values toward sexuality; and provide evidence for the effect of cognitive-emotional variables in predicting women's sexual dissatisfaction. Abdolmanafi A, Nobre P, Winter S, et al. Culture and Sexuality: Cognitive-Emotional Determinants of Sexual Dissatisfaction Among Iranian and New Zealand Women. J Sex Med 2018;15:687-697. Copyright © 2018 International Society for Sexual Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Everyday Attention Failures: An Individual Differences Investigation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Unsworth, Nash; McMillan, Brittany D.; Brewer, Gene A.; Spillers, Gregory J.

2012-01-01

The present study examined individual differences in everyday attention failures. Undergraduate students completed various cognitive ability measures in the laboratory and recorded everyday attention failures in a diary over the course of a week. The majority of attention failures were failures of distraction or mind wandering in educational…

The function and failure of sensory predictions.

PubMed

Bansal, Sonia; Ford, Judith M; Spering, Miriam

2018-04-23

Humans and other primates are equipped with neural mechanisms that allow them to automatically make predictions about future events, facilitating processing of expected sensations and actions. Prediction-driven control and monitoring of perceptual and motor acts are vital to normal cognitive functioning. This review provides an overview of corollary discharge mechanisms involved in predictions across sensory modalities and discusses consequences of predictive coding for cognition and behavior. Converging evidence now links impairments in corollary discharge mechanisms to neuropsychiatric symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions. We review studies supporting a prediction-failure hypothesis of perceptual and cognitive disturbances. We also outline neural correlates underlying prediction function and failure, highlighting similarities across the visual, auditory, and somatosensory systems. In linking basic psychophysical and psychophysiological evidence of visual, auditory, and somatosensory prediction failures to neuropsychiatric symptoms, our review furthers our understanding of disease mechanisms. © 2018 New York Academy of Sciences.

Fear of Failure, Self-Handicapping, and Negative Emotions in Response to Failure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bartels, Jared M.; Herman, William E.

2011-01-01

Research suggests that students who fear failure are likely to utilize cognitive strategies such as self-handicapping that serve to perpetuate failure. Such devastating motivational dispositions clearly limit academic success. The present study examined negative emotional responses to scenarios involving academic failure among a sample of…

Applying Cognitive Behavioural Methods to Retrain Children's Attributions for Success and Failure in Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Toland, John; Boyle, Christopher

2008-01-01

This study involves the use of methods derived from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to change the attributions for success and failure of school children with regard to learning. Children with learning difficulties and/or motivational and self-esteem difficulties (n = 29) were identified by their schools. The children then took part in twelve…

Assessing Preservice Teachers' Mathematics Cognitive Failures as Related to Mathematics Anxiety and Performance in Undergraduate Calculus

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Awofala, Adeneye O. A.; Odogwu, Helen N.

2017-01-01

The study investigated mathematics cognitive failures as related to mathematics anxiety, gender and performance in calculus among 450 preservice teachers from four public universities in the South West geo-political zone of Nigeria using the quantitative research method within the blueprint of the descriptive survey design. Data collected were…

The developmental origins of cognitive vulnerability to depression: temperament, parenting, and negative life events in childhood as contributors to negative cognitive style.

PubMed

Mezulis, Amy H; Hyde, Janet Shibley; Abramson, Lyn Y

2006-11-01

Cognitive models of depression have been well supported with adults, but the developmental origins of cognitive vulnerability are not well understood. The authors hypothesized that temperament, parenting, and negative life events in childhood would contribute to the development of cognitive style, with withdrawal negativity and negative parental feedback moderating the effects of negative life events to predict more depressogenic cognitive styles. These constructs were assessed in 289 children and their parents followed longitudinally from infancy to 5th grade; a subsample (n = 120) also participated in a behavioral task in which maternal feedback to child failure was observed. Results indicated that greater withdrawal negativity in interaction with negative life events was associated with more negative cognitive styles. Self-reported maternal anger expression and observed negative maternal feedback to child's failure significantly interacted with child's negative events to predict greater cognitive vulnerability. There was little evidence of paternal parenting predicting child negative cognitive style.

Subjective Cognitive Impairment, Depressive Symptoms, and Fatigue after a TIA or Transient Neurological Attack: A Prospective Study.

PubMed

van Rooij, Frank G; Plaizier, Nicole O; Vermeer, Sarah E; Góraj, Bozena M; Koudstaal, Peter J; Richard, Edo; de Leeuw, Frank-Erik; Kessels, Roy P C; van Dijk, Ewoud J

2017-01-01

Subjective cognitive impairment (SCI), depressive symptoms, and fatigue are common after stroke and are associated with reduced quality of life. We prospectively investigated their prevalence and course after a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or nonfocal transient neurological attack (TNA) and the association with diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) lesions. The Cognitive Failures Questionnaire, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and Subjective Fatigue subscale from the Checklist Individual Strength were used to assess subjective complaints shortly after TIA or TNA and six months later. With repeated measure analysis, the associations between DWI lesion presence or clinical diagnosis (TIA or TNA) and subjective complaints over time were determined. We included 103 patients (28 DWI positive). At baseline, SCI and fatigue were less severe in DWI positive than in DWI negative patients, whereas at follow-up, there were no differences. SCI ( p = 0.02) and fatigue ( p = 0.01) increased in severity only in DWI positive patients. There were no differences between TIA and TNA. Subjective complaints are highly prevalent in TIA and TNA patients. The short-term prognosis is not different between DWI-positive and DWI negative patients, but SCI and fatigue increase in severity within six months after the event when an initial DWI lesion is present.

[Longitudinal survey and analysis among Chengdu residents on cognition and acceptance of implant dentures].

PubMed

Zuo, Yanping; Wang, Yongyue; Wang, Luming; Du, Bing

2014-08-01

This study aims to survey the cognition and acceptance of implant dentures among Chengdu residents in 2005 and 2013 and to comparatively analyze the differences and influencing factors. A questionnaire was designed for this study. Its main content included basic demographics of respondents (gender, age, cultural level, and income level), cognition level of implant dentures (concept and main characteristics of implant dentures), main concern of respondents regarding implant dentures and medical institutions, and acceptance level of the price of implant dentures, among others. The sampling survey was carried out among Chengdu residents in 2005 and 2013 using the designed questionnaire. The results were then statistically analyzed. Up to 908 valid questionnaires in 2005 and 905 valid questionnaires in 2013 were obtained. The level of cognition of implant dentures was higher in 2013 than in 2005, and the correlation between cognition and cultural level and that between cognition and income level were both positive. However, the correlation between cognition and age was negative. The success rate for implant dentures and medical treatment technology of medical institutions were the factors that the respondents were mainly concerned with. The main methods for disseminating information on implant dentures were the internet, television, newspapers, magazines, and introduction by friends. With the development of the society's economy and the improvement of culture and income level of Chengdu residents, the cognition and acceptance level of implant dentures have gradualy increased. Meanwhile, health education and medical technology still need to be strengthened.

Mortality in a cohort of remote-living Aboriginal Australians and associated factors.

PubMed

Hyde, Zoë; Smith, Kate; Flicker, Leon; Atkinson, David; Almeida, Osvaldo P; Lautenschlager, Nicola T; Dwyer, Anna; LoGiudice, Dina

2018-01-01

We aimed to describe mortality in a cohort of remote-living Aboriginal Australians using electronic record linkage. Between 2004 and 2006, 363 Aboriginal people living in remote Western Australia (WA) completed a questionnaire assessing medical history and behavioural risk factors. We obtained mortality records for the cohort from the WA Data Linkage System and compared them to data for the general population. We used Cox proportional hazards regression to identify predictors of mortality over a 9-year follow-up period. The leading causes of mortality were diabetes, renal failure, and ischaemic heart disease. Diabetes and renal failure accounted for 28% of all deaths. This differed from both the Australian population as a whole, and the general Indigenous Australian population. The presence of chronic disease did not predict mortality, nor did behaviours such as smoking. Only age, male sex, poor mobility, and cognitive impairment were risk factors. To reduce premature mortality, public health practitioners should prioritise the prevention and treatment of diabetes and renal disease in Aboriginal people in remote WA. This will require a sustained and holistic approach.

Mortality in a cohort of remote-living Aboriginal Australians and associated factors

PubMed Central

Hyde, Zoë; Smith, Kate; Flicker, Leon; Atkinson, David; Almeida, Osvaldo P.; Lautenschlager, Nicola T.; Dwyer, Anna

2018-01-01

Objectives We aimed to describe mortality in a cohort of remote-living Aboriginal Australians using electronic record linkage. Methods Between 2004 and 2006, 363 Aboriginal people living in remote Western Australia (WA) completed a questionnaire assessing medical history and behavioural risk factors. We obtained mortality records for the cohort from the WA Data Linkage System and compared them to data for the general population. We used Cox proportional hazards regression to identify predictors of mortality over a 9-year follow-up period. Results The leading causes of mortality were diabetes, renal failure, and ischaemic heart disease. Diabetes and renal failure accounted for 28% of all deaths. This differed from both the Australian population as a whole, and the general Indigenous Australian population. The presence of chronic disease did not predict mortality, nor did behaviours such as smoking. Only age, male sex, poor mobility, and cognitive impairment were risk factors. Conclusions To reduce premature mortality, public health practitioners should prioritise the prevention and treatment of diabetes and renal disease in Aboriginal people in remote WA. This will require a sustained and holistic approach. PMID:29621272

Sensitivity of subjective questionnaires to cognitive loading while driving with navigation aids: a pilot study.

PubMed

Smyth, Christopher C

2007-05-01

Developers of future forces are implementing automated aiding for driving tasks. In designing such systems, the effect of cognitive task interference on driving performance is important. The crew of such vehicles may have to occasionally perform communication and planning tasks while driving. Subjective questionnaires may aid researchers to parse out the sources of task interference in crew station designs. In this preliminary study, sixteen participants drove a vehicle simulator with automated road-turn cues (i.e., visual, audio, combined, or neither) along a course marked on a map display while replying to spoken test questions (i.e., repeating sentences, math and logical puzzles, route planning, or none) and reporting other vehicles in the scenario. Following each trial, a battery of subjective questionnaires was administered to determine the perceived effects of the loading on their cognitive functionality. Considering the performance, the participants drove significantly faster with the road-turn cues than with just the map. They recalled fewer vehicle sightings with the cognitive tests than without them. Questionnaire results showed that their reasoning was more straightforward, the quantity of information for understanding higher, and the trust greater with the combined cues than the map-only. They reported higher perceived workload with the cognitive tests. The capacity for maintaining situational awareness was reduced with the cognitive tests because of the increased division of attention and the increase in the instability, variability, and complexity of the demands. The association and intuitiveness of cognitive processing were lowest and the subjective stress highest for the route planning test. Finally, the confusability in reasoning was greater for the auditory cue with the route planning than the auditory cue without the cognitive tests. The subjective questionnaires are sensitive to the effects of the cognitive loading and, therefore, may be useful for guiding the development of automated aid designs.

Early Maladaptive Schemas and Cognitive Distortions in Adults with Morbid Obesity: Relationships with Mental Health Status.

PubMed

da Luz, Felipe Q; Sainsbury, Amanda; Hay, Phillipa; Roekenes, Jessica A; Swinbourne, Jessica; da Silva, Dhiordan C; da S Oliveira, Margareth

2017-02-28

Dysfunctional cognitions may be associated with unhealthy eating behaviors seen in individuals with obesity. However, dysfunctional cognitions commonly occur in individuals with poor mental health independently of weight. We examined whether individuals with morbid obesity differed with regard to dysfunctional cognitions when compared to individuals of normal weight, when mental health status was controlled for. 111 participants-53 with morbid obesity and 58 of normal weight-were assessed with the Mini-Mental State Examination, Young Schema Questionnaire, Cognitive Distortions Questionnaire, Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, and a Demographic and Clinical Questionnaire. Participants with morbid obesity showed higher scores in one (insufficient self-control/self-discipline) of 15 early maladaptive schemas and in one (labeling) of 15 cognitive distortions compared to participants of normal weight. The difference between groups for insufficient self-control/self-discipline was not significant when mental health status was controlled for. Participants with morbid obesity showed more severe anxiety than participants of normal weight. Our findings did not show clinically meaningful differences in dysfunctional cognitions between participants with morbid obesity or of normal weight. Dysfunctional cognitions presented by individuals with morbid obesity are likely related to their individual mental health and not to their weight.

Cognitive styles and mental rotation ability in map learning.

PubMed

Pazzaglia, Francesca; Moè, Angelica

2013-11-01

In inspecting, learning and reproducing a map, a wide range of abilities is potentially involved. This study examined the role of mental rotation (MR) and verbal ability, together with that of cognitive styles in map learning. As regards cognitive styles, the traditional distinction between verbalizers and visualizers has been taken into account, together with a more recent distinction between two styles of visualization: spatial and object. One hundred and seven participants filled in two questionnaires on cognitive styles: the Verbalizer-Visualizer Questionnaire (Richardson in J Ment Imag 1:109-125, 1977) and the Object-Spatial Imagery Questionnaire (Blajenkova et al. in Appl Cogn Psych 20:239-263, 2006), performed MR and verbal tests, learned two maps, and were then tested for their recall. It was found that MR ability and cognitive styles played a role in predicting map learning, with some distinctions within cognitive styles: verbal style favoured learning of one of the two maps (the one rich in verbal labels), which in turn was disadvantaged by the adoption of spatial style. Conversely, spatial style predicted learning of the other map, rich in visual features. The discussion focuses on implications for cognitive psychology and everyday cognition.

Measuring Individual Differences in Decision Biases: Methodological Considerations

PubMed Central

Aczel, Balazs; Bago, Bence; Szollosi, Aba; Foldes, Andrei; Lukacs, Bence

2015-01-01

Individual differences in people's susceptibility to heuristics and biases (HB) are often measured by multiple-bias questionnaires consisting of one or a few items for each bias. This research approach relies on the assumptions that (1) different versions of a decision bias task measure are interchangeable as they measure the same cognitive failure; and (2) that some combination of these tasks measures the same underlying construct. Based on these assumptions, in Study 1 we developed two versions of a new decision bias survey for which we modified 13 HB tasks to increase their comparability, construct validity, and the participants' motivation. The analysis of the responses (N = 1279) showed weak internal consistency within the surveys and a great level of discrepancy between the extracted patterns of the underlying factors. To explore these inconsistencies, in Study 2 we used three original examples of HB tasks for each of seven biases. We created three decision bias surveys by allocating one version of each HB task to each survey. The participants' responses (N = 527) showed a similar pattern as in Study 1, questioning the assumption that the different examples of the HB tasks are interchangeable and that they measure the same underlying construct. These results emphasize the need to understand the domain-specificity of cognitive biases as well as the effect of the wording of the cover story and the response mode on bias susceptibility before employing them in multiple-bias questionnaires. PMID:26635677

What are the combined effects of negative emotions and illness cognitions on self-care in people with type 2 diabetes? A longitudinal structural equation model.

PubMed

Hudson, Joanna L; Bundy, Christine; Coventry, Peter; Dickens, Chris; Wood, Alex; Reeves, David

2016-07-01

To explore whether negative emotions mediate the effect of diabetes cognitions on diabetes self-care and conversely whether diabetes cognitions mediate the effect of negative emotions on diabetes self-care. Longitudinal observational study in adults with type 2 diabetes. Self-reported depression and anxiety (Diabetes Wellbeing Questionnaire), cognitions (Illness Perceptions Questionnaire-Revised; Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire), and diabetes self-care (Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities Scale) were completed at baseline and six months. Analyses used structural equation modelling. Baseline medication concerns were associated with elevated symptoms of depression and anxiety at follow-up, but emotions did not mediate medication concern's effect on diabetes self-care. Baseline depression and anxiety symptoms were associated with specific diabetes cognitions over time, but these cognition domains did not mediate emotion's effect on diabetes self-care. Personal control remained independent of emotions and was associated with diabetes self-care over time. Negative emotions did not act directly or alongside cognitions to influence diabetes self-care. The reciprocal relationship between diabetes cognitions and emotions suggests cognitive restructuring, in addition to other mood management intervention techniques would likely improve the emotional wellbeing of adults with type 2 diabetes. Likewise, personal control beliefs are likely important intervention targets for improving self-care.

Early life factors, childhood cognition and postal questionnaire response rate in middle age: the Aberdeen Children of the 1950s study.

PubMed

Nishiwaki, Yuji; Clark, Heather; Morton, Susan M; Leon, David A

2005-05-05

Little is known about the relationship between early life factors and survey response in epidemiological studies of adults. The Children of the 1950s cohort is composed of 12,150 children (boys 51.7%) born in Aberdeen 1950-56 and in primary schools in the city in 1962. Information on birth weight, gestational age, growth, behaviour and socio-economic position at birth and in childhood were obtained from contemporaneous records. Cognitive test scores at ages 7,9 and 11 years were also available from school records. The outcome was response to a postal questionnaire sent (2001-2003) to surviving cohort members in middle age. Of 11,282 potentially mailed subjects, 7,183 (63.7%) returned questionnaires. Response rates were highest among females, and those whose parents were married at birth, were in a non-manual social class at birth or in childhood, had fewer siblings, were taller and heavier in childhood for their age and had lower Rutter B behavioural scores. Childhood cognitive test scores at every age were strongly and positively related to the response rate to a postal questionnaire independently of other early life factors monotonically across the entire range of test scores. Those in the bottom fifth at age 11 had a response rate of 49% while those in the top fifth 75%. The strength and consistency of the association of childhood cognition with questionnaire response rate in middle age is surprisingly large. It suggests that childhood cognition across the entire normal range is a powerful influence on the complex set of later behaviours that comprise questionnaire response. The extent of possible response bias in epidemiological studies of the associations between childhood characteristics (particularly those related to cognition) and later health is probably larger than is generally realised, at least in situations where the survey instrument is a postal questionnaire.

Patterns of acute whiplash-associated disorder in the Lithuanian population after road traffic accidents.

PubMed

Pajediene, Evelina; Janusauskaite, Jolita; Samusyte, Gintaute; Stasaitis, Kestutis; Petrikonis, Kestutis; Bileviciute-Ljungar, Indre

2015-01-01

To investigate acute whiplash-associated disorder in the Lithuanian population who are unaware of the phenomenon. Controlled cohort study. Seventy-one patients were enrolled from the emergency departments of the Kaunas region of Lithuania following road traffic accidents, examined within 3-14 days after the accident, and compared with 53 matched controls. Clinical neurological examination, including range of motion and motion-evoked pain or stiffness in the neck; spontaneous pain and pain pressure threshold. Questionnaires: Quebec Task Force questionnaire (QTFQ); Disability Rating Index (DRI); Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ); Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and health perception. Sixty-six of 71 (93%) patients developed acute symptoms. The most frequent symptoms found after road traffic accidents were neck or shoulder pain; reduced or painful neck movements, including decreased range of motion; multiple subjective symptoms according to QTFQ and significantly reduced pain threshold. Perceived health status was decreased and DRI was increased, while HADS showed a significantly higher risk of developing anxiety. Higher grade whiplash-associated disorder was linked with a greater reduction in range of motion and more prominent neck pain. Road traffic accidents induce whiplash-associated disorder in patients who seek help, but who are unaware of the condition whiplash-associated disorder. Whiplash-associated disorder should be considered and treated as an entity per se.

Recovery from Proactive Semantic Interference in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Normal Aging: Relationship to Atrophy in Brain Regions Vulnerable to Alzheimer's Disease.

PubMed

Loewenstein, David A; Curiel, Rosie E; Wright, Clinton; Sun, Xiaoyan; Alperin, Noam; Crocco, Elzabeth; Czaja, Sara J; Raffo, Arlene; Penate, Ailyn; Melo, Jose; Capp, Kimberly; Gamez, Monica; Duara, Ranjan

2017-01-01

There is growing evidence that proactive semantic interference (PSI) and failure to recover from PSI may represent early features of Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study investigated the association between PSI, recovery from PSI, and reduced MRI volumes in AD signature regions among cognitively impaired and unimpaired older adults. Performance on the LASSI-L (a novel test of PSI and recovery from PSI) and regional brain volumetric measures were compared between 38 cognitively normal (CN) elders and 29 older participants with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The relationship between MRI measures and performance on the LASSI-L as well as traditional memory and non-memory cognitive measures was also evaluated in both diagnostic groups. Relative to traditional neuropsychological measures, MCI patients' failure to recover from PSI was associated with reduced volumes in the hippocampus (rs = 0.48), precuneus (rs = 0.50); rostral middle frontal lobules (rs = 0.54); inferior temporal lobules (rs = 0.49), superior parietal lobules (rs = 0.47), temporal pole (rs = 0.44), and increased dilatation of the inferior lateral ventricle (rs = -0.49). For CN elders, only increased inferior lateral ventricular size was associated with vulnerability to PSI (rs = -0.49), the failure to recover from PSI (rs = -0.57), and delayed recall on the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (rs = -0.48). LASSI-L indices eliciting failure to recover from PSI were more highly associated with more MRI regional biomarkers of AD than other traditional cognitive measures. These results as well as recent amyloid imaging studies with otherwise cognitively normal subjects, suggest that recovery from PSI may be a sensitive marker of preclinical AD and deserves further investigation.

Cognitive Rehabilitation for Attention and Memory in people with Multiple Sclerosis: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial (CRAMMS).

PubMed

Lincoln, Nadina B; das Nair, Roshan; Bradshaw, Lucy; Constantinescu, Cris S; Drummond, Avril E R; Erven, Alexandra; Evans, Amy L; Fitzsimmons, Deborah; Montgomery, Alan A; Morgan, Miriam

2015-12-08

People with multiple sclerosis have problems with memory and attention. Cognitive rehabilitation is a structured set of therapeutic activities designed to retrain an individual's memory and other cognitive functions. Cognitive rehabilitation may be provided to teach people strategies to cope with these problems, in order to reduce the impact on everyday life. The effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation for people with multiple sclerosis has not been established. This is a multi-centre, randomised controlled trial investigating the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a group-based cognitive rehabilitation programme for attention and memory problems for people with multiple sclerosis. Four hundred people with multiple sclerosis will be randomised from at least four centres. Participants will be eligible if they have memory problems, are 18 to 69 years of age, are able to travel to attend group sessions and give informed consent. Participants will be randomised in a ratio of 6:5 to the group rehabilitation intervention plus usual care or usual care alone. Intervention groups will receive 10 weekly sessions of a manualised cognitive rehabilitation programme. The intervention will include both restitution strategies to retrain impaired attention and memory functions and compensation strategies to enable participants to cope with their cognitive problems. All participants will receive a follow-up questionnaire and an assessment by a research assistant at 6 and 12 months after randomisation. The primary outcome is the Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS) Psychological subscale at 12 months. Secondary outcomes include the Everyday Memory Questionnaire, General Health Questionnaire-30, EQ-5D and a service use questionnaire from participants, and the Everyday Memory Questionnaire-relative version and Carer Strain Index from a relative or friend. The primary analysis will be based on intention to treat. A mixed-model regression analysis of the MSIS Psychological subscale at 12 months will be used to estimate the effect of the group cognitive rehabilitation programme. The study will provide evidence regarding the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a group-based cognitive rehabilitation programme for attention and memory problems in people with multiple sclerosis. ISRCTN09697576 . Registered 14 August 2014.

Developing a patient-centered outcome measure for complementary and alternative medicine therapies II: Refining content validity through cognitive interviews

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Available measures of patient-reported outcomes for complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) inadequately capture the range of patient-reported treatment effects. The Self-Assessment of Change questionnaire was developed to measure multi-dimensional shifts in well-being for CAM users. With content derived from patient narratives, items were subsequently focused through interviews on a new cohort of participants. Here we present the development of the final version in which the content and format is refined through cognitive interviews. Methods We conducted cognitive interviews across five iterations of questionnaire refinement with a culturally diverse sample of 28 CAM users. In each iteration, participant critiques were used to revise the questionnaire, which was then re-tested in subsequent rounds of cognitive interviews. Following all five iterations, transcripts of cognitive interviews were systematically coded and analyzed to examine participants' understanding of the format and content of the final questionnaire. Based on this data, we established summary descriptions and selected exemplar quotations for each word pair on the final questionnaire. Results The final version of the Self-Assessment of Change questionnaire (SAC) includes 16 word pairs, nine of which remained unchanged from the original draft. Participants consistently said that these stable word pairs represented opposite ends of the same domain of experience and the meanings of these terms were stable across the participant pool. Five pairs underwent revision and two word pairs were added. Four word pairs were eliminated for redundancy or because participants did not agree on the meaning of the terms. Cognitive interviews indicate that participants understood the format of the questionnaire and considered each word pair to represent opposite poles of a shared domain of experience. Conclusions We have placed lay language and direct experience at the center of questionnaire revision and refinement. In so doing, we provide an innovative model for the development of truly patient-centered outcome measures. Although this instrument was designed and tested in a CAM-specific population, it may be useful in assessing multi-dimensional shifts in well-being across a broader patient population. PMID:22206409

Predicting subsequent task performance from goal motivation and goal failure.

PubMed

Healy, Laura C; Ntoumanis, Nikos; Stewart, Brandon D; Duda, Joan L

2015-01-01

Recent research has demonstrated that the cognitive processes associated with goal pursuit can continue to interfere with unrelated tasks when a goal is unfulfilled. Drawing from the self-regulation and goal-striving literatures, the present study explored the impact of goal failure on subsequent cognitive and physical task performance. Furthermore, we examined if the autonomous or controlled motivation underpinning goal striving moderates the responses to goal failure. Athletes (75 male, 59 female, Mage = 19.90 years, SDage = 3.50) completed a cycling trial with the goal of covering a given distance in 8 min. Prior to the trial, their motivation was primed using a video. During the trial they were provided with manipulated performance feedback, thus creating conditions of goal success or failure. No differences emerged in the responses to goal failure between the primed motivation or performance feedback conditions. We make recommendations for future research into how individuals can deal with failure in goal striving.

Black swans, cognition, and the power of learning from failure.

PubMed

Catalano, Allison S; Redford, Kent; Margoluis, Richard; Knight, Andrew T

2018-06-01

Failure carries undeniable stigma and is difficult to confront for individuals, teams, and organizations. Disciplines such as commercial and military aviation, medicine, and business have long histories of grappling with it, beginning with the recognition that failure is inevitable in every human endeavor. Although conservation may arguably be more complex, conservation professionals can draw on the research and experience of these other disciplines to institutionalize activities and attitudes that foster learning from failure, whether they are minor setbacks or major disasters. Understanding the role of individual cognitive biases, team psychological safety, and organizational willingness to support critical self-examination all contribute to creating a cultural shift in conservation to one that is open to the learning opportunity that failure provides. This new approach to managing failure is a necessary next step in the evolution of conservation effectiveness. © 2017 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology.

Illness cognitions and family adjustment: psychometric properties of the Illness Cognition Questionnaire for parents of a child with cancer.

PubMed

Sint Nicolaas, Simone M; Schepers, Sasja A; van den Bergh, Esther M M; Evers, Andrea W M; Hoogerbrugge, Peter M; Grootenhuis, Martha A; Verhaak, Christianne M

2016-02-01

Illness cognitions are an important mediator between disease and psychological adjustment. This study assessed the psychometric properties of the Illness Cognition Questionnaire (ICQ), adjusted for the parents of an ill child. Participants were recruited from two multicenter studies: sample 1 included 128 parents of a child diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) (response rate 82 %) and sample 2 included 114 parents of a child diagnosed with cancer (response rate 74 %). Parents completed an adapted version of the ICQ (Illness Cognition Questionnaire-Parent version (ICQ-P)), together with the Profile of Mood States (POMS; sample 1) or the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS; sample 2). The factor structure of the ICQ-P was examined by means of principal component analysis. Cronbach's alpha for each subscale and correlations between the ICQ-P scales and the HADS and POMS were calculated. The illness cognitions of parents with and without psychological distress were compared. Factor analysis confirmed the hypothesized structure of the ICQ-P in our sample (n = 242). The three scales Helplessness, Acceptance, and Perceived Benefits explained 9.8, 31.4, and 17.9 % of the variance, respectively. Cronbach's alpha showed adequate internal consistency (.80-.88). Concurrent and criterion-related validity were appropriate. The results confirm that the ICQ-P reliably assesses the illness cognitions of the parents of a child with cancer. Psychologically distressed parents showed less acceptance and more helplessness. The availability of a short and valid illness cognition questionnaire will help clinicians gain insight into parental cognitions regarding the illness of their child, information that might be helpful for targeting interventions.

Cognitive impairment in heart failure patients

PubMed Central

Leto, Laura; Feola, Mauro

2014-01-01

Cognitive damage in heart failure (HF) involves different domains thus interfering with the ability for single patient to self-care and to cope with treatment regimens, modifying symptoms and health behaviours. Many cerebral and functional changes were detected in brain imaging, involving areas of both grey and white matter deputed to cognition. Although various instruments are available to explore cognition, no consensus was obtained on better tools to be used in HF population. Reduction in cerebral blood flow, decreased cardiac output, alterations of cerebrovascular reactivity and modification of blood pressure levels are the main features involved in the etiopathogenetic mechanisms of cognitive deficit. Several cardiac variables, laboratory parameters, demographic and clinical elements were studied for their possible relation with cognition and should be properly evaluated to define patients at increased risk of impairment. The present review gathers available data pointing out assured information and discussing possible areas of research development. PMID:25593581

Psychometric Validation of the "Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire" with Mexican University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ramirez-Dorantes, Maria del Carmen; Canto y Rodriguez, Jose Enrique; Bueno-Alvarez, Jose Antonio; Echazarreta-Moreno, Alejandro

2013-01-01

Introduction: The "Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire" (MSLQ) is a self-report instrument designed to assess students' motivation and learning strategies (cognitive, meta-cognitive, and resource management). In the present study, we focused on translate, adapt and validate the MSLQ to Mexican educational context. Method: The…

Qualitative analysis of cognitive interviews with school children: A web-based food intake questionnaire

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The use of computers to administer dietary assessment questionnaires has shown potential, particularly due to the variety of interactive features that can attract and sustain children's attention. Cognitive interviews can help researchers to gain insights into how children understand and elaborate t...

Family Interference with Work and Workplace Cognitive Failure: The Mitigating Role of Recovery Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lapierre, Laurent M.; Hammer, Leslie B.; Truxillo, Donald M.; Murphy, Lauren A.

2012-01-01

The first goal of this study was to test whether family interference with work (FIW) is positively related to increased workplace cognitive failure (WCF), which is defined as errors made at work that indicate lapses in memory (e.g., failing to recall work procedures), attention (e.g., not fully listening to instruction), and motor function (e.g.,…

What is your patient’s cognitive profile? Three distinct subgroups of cognitive function in persons with heart failure

PubMed Central

Hawkins, Misty A.W.; Schaefer, Julie T.; Gunstad, John; Dolansky, Mary A.; Redle, Joseph D.; Josephson, Richard; Moore, Shirley M.; Hughes, Joel W.

2014-01-01

Purpose To determine whether patients with heart failure (HF) have distinct profiles of cognitive impairment. Background Cognitive impairment is common in HF. Recent work found three cognitive profiles in HF patients— (1) intact, (2) impaired, and (3) memory-impaired. We examined the reproducibility of these profiles and clarified mechanisms. Methods HF patients (68.6±9.7years; N=329) completed neuropsychological testing. Composite scores were created for cognitive domains and used to identify clusters via agglomerative-hierarchical cluster analysis. Results A 3-cluster solution emerged. Cluster 1 (n=109) had intact cognition. Cluster 2 (n=123) was impaired across all domains. Cluster 3 (n=97) had impaired memory only. Clusters differed in age, race, education, SES, IQ, BMI, and diabetes (ps ≤.026) but not in mood, anxiety, cardiovascular, or pulmonary disease (ps≥.118). Conclusions We replicated three distinct patterns of cognitive function in persons with HF. These profiles may help providers offer tailored care to patients with different cognitive and clinical needs. PMID:25510559

Early Maladaptive Schemas and Cognitive Distortions in Adults with Morbid Obesity: Relationships with Mental Health Status

PubMed Central

da Luz, Felipe Q.; Sainsbury, Amanda; Hay, Phillipa; Roekenes, Jessica A.; Swinbourne, Jessica; da Silva, Dhiordan C.; da S. Oliveira, Margareth

2017-01-01

Dysfunctional cognitions may be associated with unhealthy eating behaviors seen in individuals with obesity. However, dysfunctional cognitions commonly occur in individuals with poor mental health independently of weight. We examined whether individuals with morbid obesity differed with regard to dysfunctional cognitions when compared to individuals of normal weight, when mental health status was controlled for. 111 participants—53 with morbid obesity and 58 of normal weight—were assessed with the Mini-Mental State Examination, Young Schema Questionnaire, Cognitive Distortions Questionnaire, Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, and a Demographic and Clinical Questionnaire. Participants with morbid obesity showed higher scores in one (insufficient self-control/self-discipline) of 15 early maladaptive schemas and in one (labeling) of 15 cognitive distortions compared to participants of normal weight. The difference between groups for insufficient self-control/self-discipline was not significant when mental health status was controlled for. Participants with morbid obesity showed more severe anxiety than participants of normal weight. Our findings did not show clinically meaningful differences in dysfunctional cognitions between participants with morbid obesity or of normal weight. Dysfunctional cognitions presented by individuals with morbid obesity are likely related to their individual mental health and not to their weight. PMID:28264484

Qualitative Analysis of Cognitive Interviews With School Children: A Web-Based Food Intake Questionnaire

PubMed Central

Kupek, Emil

2016-01-01

Background The use of computers to administer dietary assessment questionnaires has shown potential, particularly due to the variety of interactive features that can attract and sustain children’s attention. Cognitive interviews can help researchers to gain insights into how children understand and elaborate their response processes in this type of questionnaire. Objective To present the cognitive interview results of children who answered the WebCAAFE, a Web-based questionnaire, to obtain an in-depth understanding of children’s response processes. Methods Cognitive interviews were conducted with children (using a pretested interview script). Analyses were carried out using thematic analysis within a grounded theory framework of inductive coding. Results A total of 40 children participated in the study, and 4 themes were identified: (1) the meaning of words, (2) understanding instructions, (3) ways to resolve possible problems, and (4) suggestions for improving the questionnaire. Most children understood questions that assessed nutritional intake over the past 24 hours, although the structure of the questionnaire designed to facilitate recall of dietary intake was not always fully understood. Younger children (7 and 8 years old) had more difficulty relating the food images to mixed dishes and foods eaten with bread (eg, jam, cheese). Children were able to provide suggestions for improving future versions of the questionnaire. Conclusions More attention should be paid to children aged 8 years or below, as they had the greatest difficulty completing the WebCAAFE. PMID:27895005

Randomized response estimates for the 12-month prevalence of cognitive-enhancing drug use in university students.

PubMed

Dietz, Pavel; Striegel, Heiko; Franke, Andreas G; Lieb, Klaus; Simon, Perikles; Ulrich, Rolf

2013-01-01

To estimate the 12-month prevalence of cognitive-enhancing drug use. Paper-and-pencil questionnaire that used the randomized response technique. University in Mainz, Germany. A total of 2569 university students who completed the questionnaire. An anonymous, specialized questionnaire that used the randomized response technique was distributed to students at the beginning of classes and was collected afterward. From the responses, we calculated the prevalence of students taking drugs only to improve their cognitive performance and not to treat underlying mental disorders such as attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder, depression, and sleep disorders. The estimated 12-month prevalence of using cognitive-enhancing drugs was 20%. Prevalence varied by sex (male 23.7%, female 17.0%), field of study (highest in students studying sports-related fields, 25.4%), and semester (first semester 24.3%, beyond first semester 16.7%). To our knowledge, this is the first time that the randomized response technique has been used to survey students about cognitive-enhancing drug use. Using the randomized response technique, our questionnaire provided data that showed a high 12-month prevalence of cognitive-enhancing drug use in German university students. Our study suggests that other direct survey techniques have underestimated the use of these drugs. Drug prevention programs need to be established at universities to address this issue. © 2013 Pharmacotherapy Publications, Inc.

Psychometrics of the AAN Caregiver Driving Safety Questionnaire and contributors to caregiver concern about driving safety in older adults.

PubMed

Carvalho, Janessa O; Springate, Beth; Bernier, Rachel A; Davis, Jennifer

2018-03-01

ABSTRACTBackground:The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) updated their practice parameters in the evaluation of driving risk in dementia and developed a Caregiver Driving Safety Questionnaire, detailed in their original manuscript (Iverson Gronseth, Reger, Classen, Dubinsky, & Rizzo, 2010). They described four factors associated with decreased driving ability in dementia patients: history of crashes or citations, informant-reported concerns, reduced mileage, and aggressive driving. An informant-reported AAN Caregiver Driving Safety Questionnaire was designed with these elements, and the current study was the first to explore the factor structure of this questionnaire. Additionally, we examined associations between these factors and cognitive and behavioral measures in patients with mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer's disease and their informants. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a four-component structure, consistent with the theory behind the AAN scale composition. These four factor scores also were significantly associated with performance on cognitive screening instruments and informant reported behavioral dysfunction. Regressions revealed that behavioral dysfunction predicted caregiver concerns about driving safety beyond objective patient cognitive dysfunction. In this first known quantitative exploration of the scale, our results support continued use of this scale in office driving safety assessments. Additionally, patient behavioral changes predicted caregiver concerns about driving safety over and above cognitive status, which suggests that caregivers may benefit from psychoeducation about cognitive factors that may negatively impact driving safety.

Interrelationship between growth and development in low and middle income countries.

PubMed

Martorell, Reynaldo; Nguyen, Phuong

2010-01-01

Early childhood growth failure is a significant public health problem in developing countries. We examine relationships between low birthweight and stunting with child development. Compared to children born with normal birthweight, low birth-weight children have substantially poorer cognitive and schooling outcomes later in life. Linear growth failure leading to stunting mostly occurs before age 2 years, with stunting in older children reflecting growth failure in early life. Many studies show that stunting is associated with poor mental and motor development in infants and with low scores in cognitive tests, increased frequency of behavioral problems and poor school achievement in older children. Very few studies have assessed the relative importance for development of prenatal vs. postnatal growth failure and even fewer have done so using appropriate statistical techniques. The limited evidence to date suggests growth during the first 2 years of life is more important than growth at any other time, including the prenatal period, for predicting later cognitive development, schooling and educational achievement. In conclusion, children in settings of poverty who experience growth failure prior to age 2 years have reduced potential to succeed in school and to be productive members of society. Copyright (c) 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Self-Reported Decline in Everyday Function, Cognitive Symptoms, and Cognitive Function in People With HIV.

PubMed

Laverick, Rosanna; Haddow, Lewis; Daskalopoulou, Marina; Lampe, Fiona; Gilson, Richard; Speakman, Andrew; Antinori, Andrea; Bruun, Tina; Vassilenko, Anna; Collins, Simon; Rodger, Alison

2017-11-01

We determined factors associated with self-reported decline in activities of daily living (ADLs) and symptoms of cognitive impairment in HIV positive adults in 5 European clinics. HIV+ adults underwent computerized and pen-and-paper neuropsychological tests and questionnaires of cognitive symptoms and ADLs. We considered cognitive function in 5 domains, psychosocial factors, and clinical parameters as potentially associated with symptoms. Separate regression analyses were used to determine factors associated with a decline in ADL (defined as self-reported decline affecting ≥2 ADLs and attributed to cognitive difficulties) and self-reported frequency of symptoms of cognitive impairment. We also estimated the diagnostic accuracy of both questionnaires as tests for cognitive impairment. Four hundred forty-eight patients completed the assessments [mean age 45.8 years, 84% male, 87% white, median CD4 count 550 cells/mm, median time since HIV diagnosis 9.9 years, 81% virologically suppressed (HIV-1 plasma RNA <50 copies/mL)]. Ninety-six (21.4%) reported decline in ADLs and attributed this to cognitive difficulties. Self-reported decline in ADLs and increased symptoms of cognitive impairment were both associated with worse performance on some cognitive tests. There were also strong associations with financial difficulties, depressive and anxiety symptoms, unemployment, and longer time since HIV diagnosis. Both questionnaires performed poorly as diagnostic tests for cognitive impairment. Patients' own assessments of everyday function and symptoms were associated with objectively measured cognitive function. However, there were strong associations with other psychosocial issues including mood and anxiety disorders and socioeconomic hardship. This should be considered when assessing HIV-associated cognitive impairment in clinical care or research studies.

Automatic Ability Attribution after Failure: A Dual Process View of Achievement Attribution

PubMed Central

Sakaki, Michiko; Murayama, Kou

2013-01-01

Causal attribution has been one of the most influential frameworks in the literature of achievement motivation, but previous studies considered achievement attribution as relatively deliberate and effortful processes. In the current study, we tested the hypothesis that people automatically attribute their achievement failure to their ability, but reduce the ability attribution in a controlled manner. To address this hypothesis, we measured participants’ causal attribution belief for their task failure either under the cognitive load (load condition) or with full attention (no-load condition). Across two studies, participants attributed task performance to their ability more in the load than in the no-load condition. The increased ability attribution under cognitive load further affected intrinsic motivation. These results indicate that cognitive resources available after feedback play crucial roles in determining causal attribution belief, as well as achievement motivations. PMID:23667576

Automatic ability attribution after failure: a dual process view of achievement attribution.

PubMed

Sakaki, Michiko; Murayama, Kou

2013-01-01

Causal attribution has been one of the most influential frameworks in the literature of achievement motivation, but previous studies considered achievement attribution as relatively deliberate and effortful processes. In the current study, we tested the hypothesis that people automatically attribute their achievement failure to their ability, but reduce the ability attribution in a controlled manner. To address this hypothesis, we measured participants' causal attribution belief for their task failure either under the cognitive load (load condition) or with full attention (no-load condition). Across two studies, participants attributed task performance to their ability more in the load than in the no-load condition. The increased ability attribution under cognitive load further affected intrinsic motivation. These results indicate that cognitive resources available after feedback play crucial roles in determining causal attribution belief, as well as achievement motivations.

Hypofractionated intensity modulated irradiation for localized prostate cancer, results from a phase I/II feasibility study

PubMed Central

Junius, Sara; Haustermans, Karin; Bussels, Barbara; Oyen, Raymond; Vanstraelen, Bianca; Depuydt, Tom; Verstraete, Jan; Joniau, Steven; Van Poppel, Hendrik

2007-01-01

Background To assess acute (primary endpoint) and late toxicity, quality of life (QOL), biochemical or clinical failure (secondary endpoints) of a hypofractionated IMRT schedule for prostate cancer (PC). Methods 38 men with localized PC received 66 Gy (2.64 Gy) to prostate,2 Gy to seminal vesicles (50 Gy total) using IMRT. Acute toxicity was evaluated weekly during radiotherapy (RT), at 1–3 months afterwards using RTOG acute scoring system. Late side effects were scored at 6, 9, 12, 16, 20, 24 and 36 months after RT using RTOG/EORTC criteria. Quality of life was assessed by EORTC-C30 questionnaire and PR25 prostate module. Biochemical failure was defined using ASTRO consensus and nadir+2 definition, clinical failure as local, regional or distant relapse. Results None experienced grade III-IV toxicity. 10% had no acute genito-urinary (GU) toxicity, 63% grade I; 26% grade II. Maximum acute gastrointestinal (GI) scores 0, I, II were 37%, 47% and 16%. Maximal acute toxicity was reached weeks 4–5 and resolved within 4 weeks after RT in 82%. Grade II rectal bleeding needing coagulation had a peak incidence of 18% at 16 months after RT but is 0% at 24–36 months. One developed a urethral stricture at 2 years (grade II late GU toxicity) successfully dilated until now. QOL urinary symptom scores reached a peak incidence 1 month after RT but normalized 6 months later. Bowel symptom scores before, at 1–6 months showed similar values but rose slowly 2–3 years after RT. Nadir of sexual symptom scores was reached 1–6 months after RT but improved 2–3 years later as well as physical, cognitive and role functional scales. Emotional, social functional scales were lowest before RT when diagnosis was given but improved later. Two years after RT global health status normalized. Conclusion This hypofractionated IMRT schedule for PC using 25 fractions of 2.64 Gy did not result in severe acute side effects. Until now late urethral, rectal toxicities seemed acceptable as well as failure rates. Detailed analysis of QOL questionnaires resulted in the same conclusion. PMID:17686162

The Actions and Feelings Questionnaire in Autism and Typically Developed Adults

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Justin H. G.; Cameron, Isobel M.

2017-01-01

Impaired motor cognition may underpin empathy problems in autism. The actions and feelings questionnaire (AFQ), designed to examine individual differences in motor cognition, was completed fully by 1391 adults, of whom 326 reported a diagnosis of an autism spectrum condition (ASC). A confirmatory factor analysis supported a 3 factor model. The AFQ…

Cognitive Performance Is Highly Sensitive to Prior Experience in Mice with a Learning and Memory Deficit: Failure Leads to More Failure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hebda-Bauer, Elaine K.; Watson, Stanley J.; Akil, Huda

2005-01-01

The impact of a previously successful or unsuccessful experience on the subsequent acquisition of a related task is not well understood. The nature of past experience may have even greater impact in individuals with learning deficits, as their cognitive processes can be easily disrupted. Mice with a targeted disruption of the [alpha] and [delta]…

A Population-based study of dementia in the oldest old: the Monzino 80-plus Study

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Despite being the fastest growing and the most cognitively impaired age group, the oldest olds are under-represented in clinical research. The purpose of this study was to describe the design, methods, and baseline characteristics of the survey population and investigate possible differences in demographic, cognitive, functional, and behavioral characteristics between oldest old with and without any performance on cognitive tests and between oldest old alive and those deceased prior to the interview. Methods The Monzino 80-plus Study is a prospective door-to-door population-based survey among 80 years or older residents in the municipalities in the province of Varese, Italy. Dementia cases were identified with a one-phase design. Trained psychologists interviewed both the subject and a proxy informant. The interview included a comprehensive standardized questionnaire together with an array of rating scales and a multidomain cognitive battery to assess cognitive and functional ability, behavioral disturbances and mood. Results Information was available for 2,139 of the 2,428 registered individuals aged 80 years or older. Main baseline characteristics of the population are reported and discussed. In comparison with those living, elderly persons who had died before the first visit were older, had twice the rate of institutionalization, poorer cognitive performance and competence, and significantly greater instrumental and basic functional disability. The percentage of elderly persons, alive at baseline, without Mini-Mental State Examination rose rather evenly with age. Moreover, they had significantly worse cognitive competence and functional ability, and reported higher prevalences of depressive symptoms and problem behaviors than those with Mini-Mental State Examination. Conclusions Prospective investigation of a large population of oldest old can contribute significantly to understanding the relations between age, cognitive decline, and dementia occurrence. Use of informant-based instruments in surveys in the oldest old is crucial in assessing everyday functioning and changes, especially in participants with no cognitive test performance available. Failure to include information on deceased elderly would underestimate, increasingly with age, the prevalence of cognitive and functional disability in the elderly population. PMID:21612585

Pain cognition versus pain intensity in patients with endometriosis: toward personalized treatment.

PubMed

van Aken, Mieke A W; Oosterman, Joukje M; van Rijn, C M; Ferdek, Magdalena A; Ruigt, Gé S F; Peeters, B W M M; Braat, Didi D M; Nap, Annemiek W

2017-10-01

To explore how pain intensity and pain cognition are related to health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in women with endometriosis. Cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey. Multidisciplinary referral center. Women with laparoscopically and/or magnetic resonance imaging-proven endometriosis (n = 50) and healthy control women (n = 42). For HRQoL, two questionnaires: the generic Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the Endometriosis Health Profile 30 (EHP-30). For pain cognition, three questionnaires: the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), the Pain Vigilance and Awareness Questionnaire (PVAQ), and the Pain Anxiety Symptoms Scale (PASS). For pain intensity, the verbal Numeric Rating Scale (NRS). Association between pain intensity and pain cognition with HRQoL in women with endometriosis, and the differences in HRQoL and pain cognition between women with endometriosis and healthy controls. Health-related quality of life was statistically significantly impaired in women with endometriosis as compared with healthy control women. The variables of pain intensity and pain cognition were independent factors influencing the HRQoL of women with endometriosis. Patients with endometriosis had statistically significantly more negative pain cognition as compared with controls. They reported more pain anxiety and catastrophizing, and they were hypervigilant toward pain. Pain cognition is independently associated with the HRQoL in endometriosis patients. Clinicians should be aware of this phenomenon and may consider treating pain symptoms in a multidimensional, individualized way in which the psychological aspects are taken into account. In international guidelines on management of women with endometriosis more attention should be paid to the psychological aspects of care. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mild cognitive impairment is associated with poor physical function but not bone structure or density in late adulthood: findings from the Hertfordshire cohort study.

PubMed

Patel, A; Jameson, K A; Edwards, M H; Ward, K; Gale, C R; Cooper, C; Dennison, Elaine M

2018-04-24

This study investigated the association between mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and physical function and bone health in older adults. MCI was associated with poor physical performance but not bone mineral density or bone microarchitecture. Cross-sectional study to investigate the association between mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and physical performance, and bone health, in a community-dwelling cohort of older adults. Cognitive function of 222 men and 221 women (mean age 75.5 and 75.8 years in men and women, respectively) was assessed by the Strawbridge questionnaire and Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE). Participants underwent dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), peripheral-quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) and high-resolution peripheral-quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) scans to assess their bone density, strength and microarchitecture. Their physical function was assessed and a physical performance (PP) score was recorded. In the study, 11.8% of women and 8.1% of men were cognitively impaired on the MMSE (score < 24). On the Strawbridge questionnaire, 24% of women were deemed cognitively impaired compared to 22.3% of men. Cognitive impairment on the Strawbridge questionnaire was associated with poorer physical performance score in men but not in women in the unadjusted analysis. MMSE < 24 was strongly associated with the risk of low physical performance in men (OR 12.9, 95% CI 1.67, 99.8, p = 0.01). Higher MMSE score was associated with better physical performance in both sexes. Poorer cognitive function, whether assessed by the Strawbridge questionnaire, or by MMSE score, was not associated with bone density, shape or microarchitecture, in either sex. MCI in older adults was associated with poor physical performance, but not bone density, shape or microarchitecture.

The Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire: validation of the English translation.

PubMed

Sexton, Kathryn A; Dugas, Michel J

2008-01-01

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire (CAQ; Gosselin, P., Langlois, F., Freeston, M. H., Ladouceur, R., Dugas, M. J., & Pelletier, O. (2002). Le Questionnaire d'évitement cognitif (QEC): Développement et validation auprès d'adultes et d'adolescents [The Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire (CAQ): Development and validation among adult and adolescent samples]. Journal de Thérapie Comportementale et Cognitive, 12, 24-37) English translation. Questionnaires were administered to a sample of 456 (65.3% female; mean age=23.13 years, S.D.=5.18 years) undergraduate students at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. The CAQ assesses five worry-related cognitive avoidance strategies, namely Thought Suppression, Thought Substitution, Distraction, Avoidance of Threatening Stimuli, and the Transformation of Images into Thoughts. The CAQ scale and subscales showed good to excellent internal consistency and good stability over a 5-week period. A confirmatory factor analysis found support for the proposed subscales, though the overall goodness-of-fit was lower than expected. Preliminary evidence of convergent and divergent validity was found with measures of worry, thought suppression, and dispositional coping styles. The relationship between the CAQ and specific dispositional coping styles, however, was dependent on the context of the situation in which the information-seeking and information-avoidant coping strategies were employed. Specifically, the CAQ was negatively correlated with vigilance in controllable situations and positively correlated with both information-avoidance in controllable situations and information-seeking in uncontrollable situations.

Instruction-First and Problem-Solving-First Approaches: Alternative Pathways to Learning Complex Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Likourezos, Vicki; Kalyuga, Slava

2017-01-01

According to cognitive load theory, using worked examples is an effective and efficient instructional strategy for initial cognitive skill acquisition for novice learners, as it reduces cognitive load and frees up cognitive resources to build task competence. Contrary to this, productive failure (as well as invention learning, desirable…

A Questionnaire-Based Study on the Perceptions of Canadian Seniors About Cognitive, Social, and Psychological Benefits of Digital Games.

PubMed

Duplàa, Emmanuel; Kaufman, David; Sauvé, Louise; Renaud, Lise

2017-06-01

This study explored the perceptions of seniors who play digital games on the potential benefits of these games and on the factors associated with these perceptions. We developed and administered a questionnaire to a sample of 590 Canadian seniors in British Columbia and Quebec that addressed demographics, digital game practices, and perceived benefits. Results of administering the questionnaire showed that cognitive benefits were reported more frequently than social or psychological benefits. First language and gender were associated with the benefits reported, with fewer Francophones and women reporting benefits. The most important factor found was whether or not they played online, as playing online was associated with greater perceptions of social, as well as cognitive, benefits. Social and cognitive benefits are reported by seniors from playing digital games and should be investigated through future experimental and quasi-experimental research.

Associations between parental feeding practices and child vegetable consumption. Mediation by child cognitions?

PubMed

Melbye, Elisabeth L; Øgaard, Torvald; Øverby, Nina C

2013-10-01

The present study aimed to explore the process in which parental food-related behaviors might influence preadolescent children's vegetable consumption, addressing potential mediating effects of child cognitions. Cross-sectional surveys were performed among 10-12-year-olds and their parents. The child questionnaire included measures of vegetable consumption and child cognitions related to vegetable consumption (i.e. attitudes, social influence, self-efficacy and intention). The parent questionnaire included measures of parental feeding practices adapted from the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire. Stepwise regressions were performed to reveal potential mediating effects of child cognitions on the associations between parental feeding practices and child vegetable consumption. Our results suggested a mediating effect of child self-efficacy on the association between parental restrictive behavior and child vegetable consumption. Other potential mediating effects were not supported in this study. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The effects of sleep dysfunction on cognition, affect, and quality of life in individuals with cerebellar ataxia.

PubMed

Sonni, Akshata; Kurdziel, Lauri B F; Baran, Bengi; Spencer, Rebecca M C

2014-05-15

Cerebellar ataxia comprises a group of debilitating diseases that are the result of progressive cerebellar degeneration. Recent studies suggest that, like other neurodegenerative diseases, sleep impairments are common in cerebellar ataxia. In light of the role of sleep in mood regulation and cognition, we sought to assess interactions between sleep, cognition, and affect in individuals with cerebellar ataxia. A survey of 176 individuals with cerebellar ataxia was conducted. The battery of instruments included a modified International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Restless Leg Syndrome Questionnaire, REM Behavior Disorder Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and a Composite Cognitive Questionnaire. Fifty-one percent of individuals indicated significant sleep disturbances on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, 73% of participants had two or more symptoms of restless leg syndrome, and 88% had two or more symptoms of REM behavior disorder. Ataxia severity, based on the modified International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale, predicted scores on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and REM Behavior Disorder Questionnaire. Median split analyses revealed that cognitive function appeared to be reduced and depressive symptoms were greater for those individuals with poor subjective sleep quality and severe RLS. Importantly, sleep appears to play a mediatory role between disease severity and depressive symptoms. These results suggest that disturbed sleep may have detrimental effects on cognition and affect in individuals with cerebellar ataxia. While objective measures are needed, such results suggest that treating sleep deficits in these individuals may improve cognitive and mental health as well as overall quality of life.

Design and Rationale of the Cognitive Intervention to Improve Memory in Heart Failure Patients Study.

PubMed

Pressler, Susan J; Giordani, Bruno; Titler, Marita; Gradus-Pizlo, Irmina; Smith, Dean; Dorsey, Susan G; Gao, Sujuan; Jung, Miyeon

Memory loss is an independent predictor of mortality among heart failure patients. Twenty-three percent to 50% of heart failure patients have comorbid memory loss, but few interventions are available to treat the memory loss. The aims of this 3-arm randomized controlled trial were to (1) evaluate efficacy of computerized cognitive training intervention using BrainHQ to improve primary outcomes of memory and serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels and secondary outcomes of working memory, instrumental activities of daily living, and health-related quality of life among heart failure patients; (2) evaluate incremental cost-effectiveness of BrainHQ; and (3) examine depressive symptoms and genomic moderators of BrainHQ effect. A sample of 264 heart failure patients within 4 equal-sized blocks (normal/low baseline cognitive function and gender) will be randomly assigned to (1) BrainHQ, (2) active control computer-based crossword puzzles, and (3) usual care control groups. BrainHQ is an 8-week, 40-hour program individualized to each patient's performance. Data collection will be completed at baseline and at 10 weeks and 4 and 8 months. Descriptive statistics, mixed model analyses, and cost-utility analysis using intent-to-treat approach will be computed. This research will provide new knowledge about the efficacy of BrainHQ to improve memory and increase serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels in heart failure. If efficacious, the intervention will provide a new therapeutic approach that is easy to disseminate to treat a serious comorbid condition of heart failure.

Effect of prematurity and low birth weight in visual abilities and school performance.

PubMed

Perez-Roche, T; Altemir, I; Giménez, G; Prieto, E; González, I; Peña-Segura, J L; Castillo, O; Pueyo, V

2016-12-01

Prematurity and low birth weight are known risk factors for cognitive and developmental impairments, and school failure. Visual perceptual and visual motor skills seem to be among the most affected cognitive domains in these children. To assess the influence of prematurity and low birth weight in visual cognitive skills and school performance. We performed a prospective cohort study, which included 80 boys and girls in an age range from 5 to 13. Subjects were grouped by gestational age at birth (preterm, <37 weeks; term, 37-42 weeks) and birth weight (small for gestational age (SGA), <10th centile; appropriate weight for gestational age (AGA), ≥10th centile). Each child underwent full ophthalmologic assessment and standardized testing of visual cognitive abilities (Test of Visual Perceptual Skills and Test of Visual Analysis Skills). Parents completed a questionnaire on school performance in children. Figure-ground skill and visual motor integration were significantly decreased in the preterm birth group, compared with term control subjects (figure-ground: 45.7 vs 66.5, p=0.012; visual motor integration, TVAS: (9.9 vs 11.8, p=0.018), while outcomes of visual memory (29.0 vs 47.7, p=0.012), form constancy (33.3 vs 52.8, p=0.019), figure-ground (37.4 vs 65.6, p=0.001), and visual closure (43.7 vs 62.6 p=0.016) testing were lower in the SGA (vs AGA) group. Visual cognitive difficulties corresponded with worse performance in mathematics (r=0.414, p=0.004) and reading (r=0.343, p=0.018). Specific patterns of visual perceptual and visual motor deficits are displayed by children born preterm or SGA, which hinder mathematics and reading performance. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Personality, cognitive appraisal and adjustment in chronic pain patients.

PubMed

Herrero, Ana M; Ramírez-Maestre, Carmen; González, Vanessa

2008-11-01

This study investigated the relationship between clinical personality patterns and cognitive appraisal as well as their repercussions on adjustment to chronic pain in a sample of 91 patients. It was predicted that clinical personality patterns would be related to adjustment and cognitive appraisal processes, whereas cognitive appraisals would be related to anxiety, depression and levels of perceived pain. The instruments used were as follows: the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory, the Cognitive Appraisal Questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the McGill Pain Questionnaire. Multiple regression analyses, the Kruskal-Wallis test, and the Mann Whitney U-test were used to analyse the data obtained. The results show that certain clinical personality patterns were associated with poor adjustment to chronic pain. The use of cognitive appraisal of harm predicted higher anxiety levels and greater perceived pain in chronic pain patients. The use of cognitive appraisals of challenge predicted lower depression levels.

Self-management intervention to improve self-care and quality of life in heart failure patients.

PubMed

Tung, Heng-Hsin; Lin, Chun-Yu; Chen, Kuei-Ying; Chang, Chien-Jung; Lin, Yu-Ping; Chou, Cheng-Hui

2013-01-01

Self-management intervention is a good method to improve self-care ability, as such, to promote quality of life. However, the research focused on self-management intervention in heart failure patients in Taiwan is very limited. Therefore, the purposes of this study were to test the effectiveness of self-management intervention in patients with heart failure in Taiwan and examine the relationship between self-care ability and quality of life. A quasi-experimental design was used in this study with convenience sampling. Of the 82 subjects participating in this study, 40 of them chose to join the experimental (self-management intervention plus usual care) and 42 of them chose to join control (usual care) group. Three questionnaires were used to collect the data, which were the demographic questionnaire, the self-care questionnaire (Self-Care of HF Index V 6), and the quality of life questionnaire (Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire). To examine the effectiveness of the intervention, self-care ability and quality of life were measured, using a pretest, 1- and 2-month follow-up assessment. Generalized estimation equations (GEE) were used to compare changes over time among groups for outcomes to ensure the effectiveness of the intervention. This study confirmed the effectiveness of the self-management intervention. The clinical provider should increase the awareness of the importance of self-management skills and self-care ability especially for heart failure patients. The designated disease-specific self-management patient book and individualize intervention should be dispensing and implementing. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Expanding the Analysis of Psychosocial Factors of Sexual Desire in Men.

PubMed

Nimbi, Filippo Maria; Tripodi, Francesca; Rossi, Roberta; Simonelli, Chiara

2018-02-01

The literature lacks studies of the male sex drive. Most existing studies have focused on hypoactive sexual desire disorder in coupled heterosexual men, highlighting some of the main related biological, psychological, and social factors. To evaluate the role of selected psychological and social variables affecting male sexual desire such as quality of life, sexual function, distress, satisfaction, psychological symptoms, emotions, alexithymia, couple adjustment, sexism, cognitive schemas activated in a sexual context, sexual dysfunctional beliefs, and different classes of cognitions triggered during sexual activity about failure anticipation, erection concerns, age- and body-related thoughts, erotic fantasies, and negative attitudes toward sexuality. A wide self-administered survey used snowball sampling to reach 298 heterosexual Italian men (age = 32.66 ± 11.52 years) from the general population. 13 questionnaires exploring psychological and social elements involved in sexual response were administrated: International Index of Erectile Function, Short Form 36 for Quality of Life, Beck Depression Inventory-II, Symptom Check List-90-Revised, Toronto Alexithymia Scale, Premature Ejaculation Severity Index, Sexual Distress Scale, Sexual Satisfaction Scale, Dyadic Adjustment Scale, Ambivalent Sexism Inventory, Sexual Modes Questionnaire, Sexual Dysfunctional Belief Questionnaire, and Questionnaire of Cognitive Schema Activation in Sexual Context. Results showed lack of erotic thoughts (β = -0.328), fear (β = -0.259) and desire to have a baby (β = -0.259) as the main predictors of the level of sexual desire in this group. Energy-fatigue, depression, premature ejaculation severity, sexual distress, compatibility, subjective sexual response, and sexual conservatism had a weaker effect on sexual desire. Sexual functioning (13.80%), emotional response (12.70%), dysfunctional sexual beliefs (12.10%), and negative automatic thoughts (12.00%) had more variable effects on sexual drive. Analyzed variables could represent important factors that should be considered in the assessment of desire concerns and discussed in therapy. The strength of this study is the analysis of novel psychological and social factors on male sexual desire. Recruitment and sample size do not allow generalization of the results, but some crucial points for future research and clinical practice are discussed. Our findings showed that male sexual desire could be affected by many psychological and social elements. Other factors remain to be explored, in their direct and interactive effects, aiming to better explain male sexual desire functioning. Nimbi FM, Tripodi F, Rossi R, Simonelli C. Expanding the Analysis of Psychosocial Factors of Sexual Desire in Men. J Sex Med 2018;15:230-244. Copyright © 2017 International Society for Sexual Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Taming Test Anxiety: The Activation of Failure-Related Concepts Enhances Cognitive Test Performance of Test-Anxious Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tempel, Tobias; Neumann, Roland

2016-01-01

We investigated processes underlying performance decrements of highly test-anxious persons. Three experiments contrasted conditions that differed in the degree of activation of concepts related to failure. Participants memorized a list of words either containing words related to failure or containing no words related to failure in Experiment 1. In…

Performance Concern, Contingent Self-Worth, and Responses to Repeated Achievement Failure in Second Graders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smiley, Patricia A.; Coulson, Sheri L.; Greene, Joelle K.; Bono, Katherine L.

2010-01-01

Individual differences in emotion, cognitions, and task choice following achievement failure are found among four- to seven-year-olds. However, neither performance deterioration during failure nor generalization after failure--aspects of the helpless pattern in 10-year-olds--have been reliably demonstrated in this age group. In the present study,…

The Construction of a Questionnaire to Evaluate the Science Orientedness of Students' Identities as Learners from a Cognitive Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taconis, Ruurd; de Putter-Smits, Lesley G. M.; Henry, Steven; den Brok, Perry J.; Beijaard, Douwe

2010-01-01

Forming a science-oriented identity is considered a process underlying both interest and achievement in science education. A questionnaire is developed for describing "identities as learners" and evaluating their science orientedness. The instrument (k = 65) focuses on cognitive aspects. An internal coherence of .88 was found. Five…

School Self-Evaluation Instruments and Cognitive Validity. Do Items Capture What They Intend to?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Faddar, Jerich; Vanhoof, Jan; De Maeyer, Sven

2017-01-01

School self-evaluation (SSE) often makes use of questionnaires in order to sketch a picture of the school. How respondents cognitively process questionnaire items determines the validity of SSE results. Still, one readily assumes that respondents interpret and answer items as intended by the instrument developer (referred to as cognitive…

Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors for the treatment of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome--three further cases show response to donepezil.

PubMed

Cochrane, Murray; Cochrane, Ashley; Jauhar, Pramod; Ashton, Elizabeth

2005-01-01

Three patients diagnosed with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome were treated with the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, donepezil, for periods of 6 to 8 months. Cognitive testing [Alzheimer's disease assessment scale-cognitive subscale (ADAS-Cog), Mini-mental state examination (MMSE), Clock drawing test and six item 2 min recall] and carer questionnaires [Informant Questionnaire (IQ Code), Neuropsychiatric inventory scale (NPI)] were performed at baseline, mid- and endpoint of the treatment period and post-discontinuation. Progressive partial improvement occurred in cognitive measurements through the treatment period, some of which was sustained after discontinuing donepezil. Carer questionnaires also indicated improvement. Confounding factors necessitate caution when attributing improvements to the medication, but these cases suggest that this option merits further investigation.

Does working memory capacity predict cross-modally induced failures of awareness?

PubMed

Kreitz, Carina; Furley, Philip; Simons, Daniel J; Memmert, Daniel

2016-01-01

People often fail to notice unexpected stimuli when they are focusing attention on another task. Most studies of this phenomenon address visual failures induced by visual attention tasks (inattentional blindness). Yet, such failures also occur within audition (inattentional deafness), and people can even miss unexpected events in one sensory modality when focusing attention on tasks in another modality. Such cross-modal failures are revealing because they suggest the existence of a common, central resource limitation. And, such central limits might be predicted from individual differences in cognitive capacity. We replicated earlier evidence, establishing substantial rates of inattentional deafness during a visual task and inattentional blindness during an auditory task. However, neither individual working memory capacity nor the ability to perform the primary task predicted noticing in either modality. Thus, individual differences in cognitive capacity did not predict failures of awareness even though the failures presumably resulted from central resource limitations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Comparative analysis of positive and negative attitudes toward statistics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghulami, Hassan Rahnaward; Ab Hamid, Mohd Rashid; Zakaria, Roslinazairimah

2015-02-01

Many statistics lecturers and statistics education researchers are interested to know the perception of their students' attitudes toward statistics during the statistics course. In statistics course, positive attitude toward statistics is a vital because it will be encourage students to get interested in the statistics course and in order to master the core content of the subject matters under study. Although, students who have negative attitudes toward statistics they will feel depressed especially in the given group assignment, at risk for failure, are often highly emotional, and could not move forward. Therefore, this study investigates the students' attitude towards learning statistics. Six latent constructs have been the measurement of students' attitudes toward learning statistic such as affect, cognitive competence, value, difficulty, interest, and effort. The questionnaire was adopted and adapted from the reliable and validate instrument of Survey of Attitudes towards Statistics (SATS). This study is conducted among engineering undergraduate engineering students in the university Malaysia Pahang (UMP). The respondents consist of students who were taking the applied statistics course from different faculties. From the analysis, it is found that the questionnaire is acceptable and the relationships among the constructs has been proposed and investigated. In this case, students show full effort to master the statistics course, feel statistics course enjoyable, have confidence that they have intellectual capacity, and they have more positive attitudes then negative attitudes towards statistics learning. In conclusion in terms of affect, cognitive competence, value, interest and effort construct the positive attitude towards statistics was mostly exhibited. While negative attitudes mostly exhibited by difficulty construct.

Home-based nursing interventions improve knowledge of disease and management in patients with heart failure 1

PubMed Central

Azzolin, Karina de Oliveira; Lemos, Dayanna Machado; Lucena, Amália de Fátima; Rabelo-Silva, Eneida Rejane

2015-01-01

OBJECTIVE: to assess patient knowledge of heart failure by home-based measurement of two NOC Nursing Outcomes over a six-month period and correlate mean outcome indicator scores with mean scores of a heart failure Knowledge Questionnaire. METHODS: in this before-and-after study, patients with heart failure received four home visits over a six-month period after hospital discharge. At each home visit, nursing interventions were implemented, NOC outcomes were assessed, and the Knowledge Questionnaire was administered. RESULTS: overall, 23 patients received home visits. Mean indicator scores for the outcome Knowledge: Medication were 2.27±0.14 at home visit 1 and 3.55±0.16 at home visit 4 (P<0.001); and, for the outcome Knowledge: Treatment Regimen, 2.33±0.13 at home visit 1 and 3.59±0.14 at home visit 4 (P<0.001). The correlation between the Knowledge Questionnaire and the Nursing Outcomes Classification scores was strong at home visit 1 (r=0.7, P<0.01), but weak and non significant at visit 4. CONCLUSION: the results show improved patient knowledge of heart failure and a strong correlation between Nursing Outcomes Classification indicator scores and Knowledge Questionnaire scores. The NOC Nursing Outcomes proved effective as knowledge assessment measures when compared with the validated instrument. PMID:25806630

Construction and Validation of a Questionnaire about Heart Failure Patients' Knowledge of Their Disease

PubMed Central

Bonin, Christiani Decker Batista; dos Santos, Rafaella Zulianello; Ghisi, Gabriela Lima de Melo; Vieira, Ariany Marques; Amboni, Ricardo; Benetti, Magnus

2014-01-01

Background The lack of tools to measure heart failure patients' knowledge about their syndrome when participating in rehabilitation programs demonstrates the need for specific recommendations regarding the amount or content of information required. Objectives To develop and validate a questionnaire to assess heart failure patients' knowledge about their syndrome when participating in cardiac rehabilitation programs. Methods The tool was developed based on the Coronary Artery Disease Education Questionnaire and applied to 96 patients with heart failure, with a mean age of 60.22 ± 11.6 years, 64% being men. Reproducibility was obtained via the intraclass correlation coefficient, using the test-retest method. Internal consistency was assessed by use of Cronbach's alpha, and construct validity, by use of exploratory factor analysis. Results The final version of the tool had 19 questions arranged in ten areas of importance for patient education. The proposed questionnaire had a clarity index of 8.94 ± 0.83. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.856, and Cronbach's alpha, 0.749. Factor analysis revealed five factors associated with the knowledge areas. Comparing the final scores with the characteristics of the population evidenced that low educational level and low income are significantly associated with low levels of knowledge. Conclusion The instrument has satisfactory clarity and validity indices, and can be used to assess the heart failure patients' knowledge about their syndrome when participating in cardiac rehabilitation programs. PMID:24652054

Reduced Physical Fitness in Patients With Heart Failure as a Possible Risk Factor for Impaired Driving Performance

PubMed Central

Alosco, Michael L.; Penn, Marc S.; Spitznagel, Mary Beth; Cleveland, Mary Jo; Ott, Brian R.

2015-01-01

OBJECTIVE. Reduced physical fitness secondary to heart failure (HF) may contribute to poor driving; reduced physical fitness is a known correlate of cognitive impairment and has been associated with decreased independence in driving. No study has examined the associations among physical fitness, cognition, and driving performance in people with HF. METHOD. Eighteen people with HF completed a physical fitness assessment, a cognitive test battery, and a validated driving simulator scenario. RESULTS. Partial correlations showed that poorer physical fitness was correlated with more collisions and stop signs missed and lower scores on a composite score of attention, executive function, and psychomotor speed. Cognitive dysfunction predicted reduced driving simulation performance. CONCLUSION. Reduced physical fitness in participants with HF was associated with worse simulated driving, possibly because of cognitive dysfunction. Larger studies using on-road testing are needed to confirm our findings and identify clinical interventions to maximize safe driving. PMID:26122681

Development and initial validation of the vaginal penetration cognition questionnaire (VPCQ) in a sample of women with vaginismus and dyspareunia.

PubMed

Klaassen, Maaike; Ter Kuile, Moniek M

2009-06-01

Although the relevance of cognitions has been implicated in the etiology, explanatory models, and treatment of female sexual pain disorders, an instrument that assesses vaginal penetration cognitions is nonexistent. The aim of this study was to develop and to investigate the psychometric properties of the Vaginal Penetration Cognition Questionnaire (VPCQ). The VPCQ was explicitly designed to assess cognitions regarding vaginal penetration in women with vaginismus and dyspareunia. A sample of 247 Dutch women with a female sexual dysfunction (FSD; 122 women with lifelong vaginismus and 125 women with dyspareunia) and 117 women without sexual complaints completed the questionnaire. Factor analyses were only conducted in the sample of women with FSD. Validation measures were conducted in both women with and without FSD. All women completed the VPCQ and several additional questions regarding biographic and complaint characteristics. Conduction of factor analyses yielded five subscales regarding cognitions about vaginal penetration: "control cognitions,"catastrophic and pain cognitions,"self-image cognitions,"positive cognitions," and "genital incompatibility cognitions." Reliability of these five VPCQ subscales ranged from 0.70 to 0.83, and the test-retest correlations were satisfactory. The five VPCQ subscales were reasonably stable across demographic variables and demonstrated good discriminant validity. All five subscales were able to detect significant differences between women with and without FSD. Additionally, the four subscales of the VPCQ concerning negative cognitions demonstrated the ability to differentiate between the two samples of women with FSD. Women with lifelong vaginismus reported lower levels of perceived penetration control and higher levels of catastrophic and pain cognitions, negative self-image cognitions, and genital incompatibility cognitions, when compared with women with dyspareunia. The present study indicates that the VPCQ is a valid and reliable brief self-report measure for assessing cognitions regarding vaginal penetration in women with vaginismus or dyspareunia.

Performance of the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics (ANAM) in detecting cognitive impairment in heart failure patients.

PubMed

Xie, Susan S; Goldstein, Carly M; Gathright, Emily C; Gunstad, John; Dolansky, Mary A; Redle, Joseph; Hughes, Joel W

2015-01-01

Evaluate capacity of the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics (ANAM) to detect cognitive impairment (CI) in heart failure (HF) patients. CI is a key prognostic marker in HF. Though the most widely used cognitive screen in HF, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) is insufficiently sensitive. The ANAM has demonstrated sensitivity to cognitive domains affected by HF, but has not been assessed in this population. Investigators administered the ANAM and MMSE to 57 HF patients, compared against a composite model of cognitive function. ANAM efficiency (p < .05) and accuracy scores (p < .001) successfully differentiated CI and non-CI. ANAM efficiency and accuracy scores classified 97.7% and 93.0% of non-CI patients, and 14.3% and 21.4% with CI, respectively. The ANAM is more effective than the MMSE for detecting CI, but further research is needed to develop a more optimal cognitive screen for routine use in HF patients. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

N-Terminal Pro-B Type Natriuretic Peptide is Associated with Mild Cognitive Impairment in the General Population.

PubMed

Kara, Kaffer; Mahabadi, Amir Abbas; Weimar, Christian; Winkler, Angela; Neumann, Till; Kälsch, Hagen; Dragano, Nico; Moebus, Susanne; Erbel, Raimund; Jöckel, Karl-Heinz; Jokisch, Martha

2017-01-01

N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is a marker of cardiac stress and is linked with silent cardiac diseases. While associations of cognitive impairment with manifest cardiovascular diseases are established, data on whether subclinical elevation of NT-proBNP levels below clinically established threshold of heart failure is related with cognitive functioning, especially mild cognitive impairment (MCI), is rare. Aim of the present study was to investigate the cross-sectional association of NT-proBNP levels and MCI in a population-based study sample without heart failure. We used data from the second examination of the population based Heinz-Nixdorf-Recall-Study. Subjects with overt coronary heart disease and subjects with NT-proBNP levels indicating potential heart failure (NT-proBNP≥300 pg/ml) were excluded from this analysis. Participants performed a validated brief cognitive assessment and were classified either as MCI [subtypes: amnestic-MCI (aMCI), non-amnestic-MCI (naMCI)], or cognitively-normal. We included 419 participants with MCI (63.1±7.4 y; 47% men; aMCI n = 209; naMCI n = 210) and 1,206 cognitively normal participants (62.42±7.1 y; 48% men). NT-proBNP-levels≥125 pg/ml compared to <125 pg/ml were associated with MCI in fully adjusted models (OR 1.65 (1.23;2.23) in the total sample, 1.73 (1.09;2.74) in men and 1.63(1.10;2.41) in women). For aMCI, the fully adjusted OR was 1.53 (1.04;2.25) and for naMCI, the fully adjusted OR was 1.34 (1.09; 166) in the total sample. Within normal ranges and without manifest heart failure, higher NT-proBNPlevels are associated with MCI and both MCI subtypes independent of traditional cardiovascular risk factors and sociodemographic parameters.

The Nature of Subjective Cognitive Complaints of Older Adults

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newson, Rachel S.; Kemps, Eva B.

2006-01-01

The current study investigated the nature of subjective cognitive complaints of older adults in relation to a broad array of individual cognitive functions known to decline with age. A 60-item questionnaire was developed to examine: (1) whether older adults experience problems with these cognitive functions (problems with cognition); (2) the…

Questionnaire Adapting: Little Changes Mean a Lot.

PubMed

Sousa, Vanessa E C; Matson, Jeffrey; Dunn Lopez, Karen

2017-09-01

Questionnaire development involves rigorous testing to ensure reliability and validity. Due to time and cost constraints of developing new questionnaires, researchers often adapt existing questionnaires to better fit the purpose of their study. However, the effect of such adaptations is unclear. We conducted cognitive interviews as a method to evaluate the understanding of original and adapted questionnaire items to be applied in a future study. The findings revealed that all subjects (a) comprehended the original and adapted items differently, (b) changed their scores after comparing the original to the adapted items, and (c) were unanimous in stating that the adapted items were easier to understand. Cognitive interviewing allowed us to assess the interpretation of adapted items in a useful and efficient manner before use in data collection.

Cognitive impairment and cardiovascular diseases in the elderly. A heart-brain continuum hypothesis.

PubMed

Abete, Pasquale; Della-Morte, David; Gargiulo, Gaetano; Basile, Claudia; Langellotto, Assunta; Galizia, Gianluigi; Testa, Gianluca; Canonico, Vincenzo; Bonaduce, Domenico; Cacciatore, Francesco

2014-11-01

The aging population is increasing and, therefore, a higher prevalence of cardiac disease is emerging; including hypertension, coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation and chronic heart failure. Large cohort studies have revealed a relationship among increased risk for cognitive impairment and dementia in cardiovascular diseases probably due to embolic stroke or chronic cerebral hypoperfusion. Thus, the aim of the present review is to overview the studies that investigate the presence and/or the development of cognitive impairments and dementia in patients with varied types of cardiovascular disease. Finally, a continuum among hypertension, coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation and chronic heart failure with to the development of cognitive impairment and progression to dementia has been hypothesized. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Health-related Quality of Life of Patients With Chronic Systolic Heart Failure in Spain: Results of the VIDA-IC Study.

PubMed

Comín-Colet, Josep; Anguita, Manuel; Formiga, Francesc; Almenar, Luis; Crespo-Leiro, María G; Manzano, Luis; Muñiz, Javier; Chaves, José; de Frutos, Trinidad; Enjuanes, Cristina

2016-03-01

Although heart failure negatively affects the health-related quality of life of Spanish patients there is little information on the clinical factors associated with this issue. Cross-sectional multicenter study of health-related quality of life. A specific questionnaire (Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire) and a generic questionnaire (EuroQoL-5D) were administered to 1037 consecutive outpatients with systolic heart failure. Most patients with poor quality of life had a worse prognosis and increased severity of heart failure. Mobility was more limited and rates of pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression were higher in the study patients than in the general population and patients with other chronic conditions. The scores on both questionnaires were very highly correlated (Pearson r =0.815; P < .001). Multivariable linear regression showed that being older (standardized β=-0.2; P=.03), female (standardized β=-10.3; P < .001), having worse functional class (standardized β=-20.4; P < .001), a higher Charlson comorbidity index (standardized β=-1.2; P=.005), and recent hospitalization for heart failure (standardized β=6.28; P=.006) were independent predictors of worse health-related quality of life. Patients with heart failure have worse quality of life than the general Spanish population and patients with other chronic diseases. Female sex, being older, comorbidity, advanced symptoms, and recent hospitalization are determinant factors in health-related quality of life in these patients. Copyright © 2015 Sociedad Española de Cardiología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Cognitive Performance in Older Adults with Stable Heart Failure: Longitudinal Evidence for Stability and Improvement

PubMed Central

Alosco, Michael L.; Garcia, Sarah; Spitznagel, Mary Beth; van Dulmen, Manfred; Cohen, Ronald; Sweet, Lawrence H.; Josephson, Richard; Hughes, Joel; Rosneck, Jim; Gunstad, John

2013-01-01

Cognitive impairment is prevalent in heart failure (HF), though substantial variability in the pattern of cognitive impairment is found across studies. To clarify the nature of cognitive impairment in HF, we examined longitudinal trajectories across multiple domains of cognition in HF patients using latent growth class modeling. 115 HF patients completed a neuropsychological battery at baseline, 3-months and 12-months. Participants also completed the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). Latent class growth analyses revealed a three-class model for attention/executive function, four-class model for memory, and a three-class model for language. The slope for attention/executive function and language remained stable, while improvements were noted in memory performance. Education and BDI-II significantly predicted the intercept for attention/executive function and language abilities. The BDI-II also predicted baseline memory. The current findings suggest that multiple performance-based classes of neuropsychological test performance exist within cognitive domains, though case-controlled prospective studies with extended follow-ups are needed to fully elucidate changes and predictors of cognitive function in HF. PMID:23906182

Performance analysis of multi-radio routing protocol in cognitive radio ad hoc networks under different path failure rate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Che-Aron, Z.; Abdalla, A. H.; Abdullah, K.; Hassan, W. H.

2013-12-01

In recent years, Cognitive Radio (CR) technology has largely attracted significant studies and research. Cognitive Radio Ad Hoc Network (CRAHN) is an emerging self-organized, multi-hop, wireless network which allows unlicensed users to opportunistically access available licensed spectrum bands for data communication under an intelligent and cautious manner. However, in CRAHNs, a lot of failures can easily occur during data transmission caused by PU (Primary User) activity, topology change, node fault, or link degradation. In this paper, an attempt has been made to evaluate the performance of the Multi-Radio Link-Quality Source Routing (MR-LQSR) protocol in CRAHNs under different path failure rate. In the MR-LQSR protocol, the Weighted Cumulative Expected Transmission Time (WCETT) is used as the routing metric. The simulations are carried out using the NS-2 simulator. The protocol performance is evaluated with respect to performance metrics like average throughput, packet loss, average end-to-end delay and average jitter. From the simulation results, it is observed that the number of path failures depends on the PUs number and mobility rate of SUs (Secondary Users). Moreover, the protocol performance is greatly affected when the path failure rate is high, leading to major service outages.

German Translation and Validation of the Cognitive Style Questionnaire Short Form (CSQ-SF-D)

PubMed Central

Huys, Quentin J. M.; Renz, Daniel; Petzschner, Frederike; Berwian, Isabel; Stoppel, Christian; Haker, Helene

2016-01-01

Background The Cognitive Style Questionnaire is a valuable tool for the assessment of hopeless cognitive styles in depression research, with predictive power in longitudinal studies. However, it is very burdensome to administer. Even the short form is still long, and neither this nor the original version exist in validated German translations. Methods The questionnaire was translated from English to German, back-translated and commented on by clinicians. The reliability, factor structure and external validity of an online form of the questionnaire were examined on 214 participants. External validity was measured on a subset of 90 subjects. Results The resulting CSQ-SF-D had good to excellent reliability, both across items and subscales, and similar external validity to the original English version. The internality subscale appeared less robust than other subscales. A detailed analysis of individual item performance suggests that stable results could be achieved with a very short form (CSQ-VSF-D) including only 27 of the 72 items. Conclusions The CSQ-SF-D is a validated and freely distributed translation of the CSQ-SF into German. This should make efficient assessment of cognitive style in German samples more accessible to researchers. PMID:26934499

German Translation and Validation of the Cognitive Style Questionnaire Short Form (CSQ-SF-D).

PubMed

Huys, Quentin J M; Renz, Daniel; Petzschner, Frederike; Berwian, Isabel; Stoppel, Christian; Haker, Helene

2016-01-01

The Cognitive Style Questionnaire is a valuable tool for the assessment of hopeless cognitive styles in depression research, with predictive power in longitudinal studies. However, it is very burdensome to administer. Even the short form is still long, and neither this nor the original version exist in validated German translations. The questionnaire was translated from English to German, back-translated and commented on by clinicians. The reliability, factor structure and external validity of an online form of the questionnaire were examined on 214 participants. External validity was measured on a subset of 90 subjects. The resulting CSQ-SF-D had good to excellent reliability, both across items and subscales, and similar external validity to the original English version. The internality subscale appeared less robust than other subscales. A detailed analysis of individual item performance suggests that stable results could be achieved with a very short form (CSQ-VSF-D) including only 27 of the 72 items. The CSQ-SF-D is a validated and freely distributed translation of the CSQ-SF into German. This should make efficient assessment of cognitive style in German samples more accessible to researchers.

Measuring illness insight in patients with alcohol-related cognitive dysfunction using the Q8 questionnaire: a validation study

PubMed Central

Walvoort, Serge JW; van der Heijden, Paul T; Kessels, Roy PC; Egger, Jos IM

2016-01-01

Aim Impaired illness insight may hamper treatment outcome in patients with alcohol-related cognitive deficits. In this study, a short questionnaire for the assessment of illness insight (eg, the Q8) was investigated in patients with Korsakoff’s syndrome (KS) and in alcohol use disorder (AUD) patients with mild neurocognitive deficits. Methods First, reliability coefficients were computed and internal structure was investigated. Then, comparisons were made between patients with KS and patients with AUD. Furthermore, correlations with the Dysexecutive Questionnaire (DEX) were investigated. Finally, Q8 total scores were correlated with neuropsychological tests for processing speed, memory, and executive function. Results Internal consistency of the Q8 was acceptable (ie, Cronbach’s α =0.73). The Q8 items represent one factor, and scores differ significantly between AUD and KS patients. The Q8 total score, related to the DEX discrepancy score and scores on neuropsychological tests as was hypothesized, indicates that a higher degree of illness insight is associated with a higher level of cognitive functioning. Conclusion The Q8 is a short, valid, and easy-to-administer questionnaire to reliably assess illness insight in patients with moderate-to-severe alcohol-related cognitive dysfunction. PMID:27445476

Cognitive interviews to test and refine questionnaires.

PubMed

García, Alexandra A

2011-01-01

Survey data are compromised when respondents do not interpret questions in the way researchers expect. Cognitive interviews are used to detect problems respondents have in understanding survey instructions and items, and in formulating answers. This paper describes methods for conducting cognitive interviews and describes the processes and lessons learned with an illustrative case study. The case study used cognitive interviews to elicit respondents' understanding and perceptions of the format, instructions, items, and responses that make up the Diabetes Symptom Self-Care Inventory (DSSCI), a questionnaire designed to measure Mexican Americans' symptoms of type 2 diabetes and their symptom management strategies. Responses to cognitive interviews formed the basis for revisions in the format, instructions, items, and translation of the DSSCI. All those who develop and revise surveys are urged to incorporate cognitive interviews into their instrumentation methods so that they may produce more reliable and valid measurements. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Relationship Between Challenging Behaviour, Cognitions and Stress in Mothers of Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities.

PubMed

Rose, John; Nelson, Lisa; Hardiman, Rebecca

2016-11-01

Cognitions are starting to receive more prominence as important when examining a number of factors including the topography of challenging behaviour. This study examined the relationships between maternal stress, challenging behaviour (aggressive and self-injurious behaviours) and parental cognitions and specifically whether maternal cognitions mediated the effect of challenging behaviour on parenting stress. 46 mothers of children and young adults with ID completed questionnaires regarding their child's challenging behaviour, maternal cognitions and stress. Significant correlations were found between challenging behaviour and maternal stress. The overall mediation models for aggression and self-injurious behaviour were significant. The Challenging Behaviour Perception Questionnaire: Consequences client subscale was the only independent significant mediator for both behaviours. Cognitions do play an important part in mediating the relationship between challenging behaviour and stress. Further research is needed to examine the similarities and differences between the mediation models for aggression and self-injurious behaviour.

[Girls are more successful than boys at the university. Gender group differences in models integrating motivational and aggressive components correlated with Test-Anxiety].

PubMed

Masson, A-M; Hoyois, Ph; Cadot, M; Nahama, V; Petit, F; Ansseau, M

2004-01-01

It is surprising to note the evolution of success rates in Belgian universities especially in the first Year. Men are less successful than women and the differences are escalating in an alarming way. Dropouts take the same direction and women now represent a majority of the students at the university. In a previous study, we assessed 616 students in the first Year at the university of Liège with Vasev, the English name of which was TASTE, a self report questionnaire constituted of 4 factors: anxiety, self confidence, procrastination and performance value; anxiety particularly concerned somatic expression of students before and during test evaluations; self confidence was a cognitive component close to self efficacy; procrastination was the behavioral component characterizing avoidance when students are confronted with the risk of failure; performance value referred to intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. French validation of TASTE led to an abbreviated version of 50 items (THEE) consisting of 5 factors, the four of TASTE and an additional one, very consistent, at first called depression because of its correlations with this dimension, then called sense of competence on account of its semantic content. Self-competence has been described in the literature of Achievement Motivation and corresponded to expectancy and ability beliefs in performance process which was also relevant to self-efficacy except the particularity of comparison with others, which was not included in the last construct. Self-competence has been considered as an important part of the Worry component of test anxiety. Some Authors didn't hesitate to view causality flowing from self-competence to test anxiety and have conceptualized the latter as a failure of the self where one's sense of competence has been undermined as a result of experienced failure. In our study, only that factor was equally scored in women and men whereas it was scored higher in failed students. In other respects anxiety and performance value were scored higher in women, self-confidence and procrastination higher in men. Because TASTE didn't discriminate the different components of motivation (performance value referred to intrinsic and extrinsic motivations without precise distinction) we decided to use the MPS (Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale) which gave the opportunity to distinguish SOP (Self Oriented Perfectionism) ie, the self-imposed unrealistic standards with inability to accept faults in order to know and master a subject, that corresponded to intrinsic motivation; SPP (Socially Prescribed Perfectionism) ie, the exaggerated expectancies of others which are subjectively believed as imposed and uncontrollable leading to anxiety, feelings of failure or helplessness, that corresponded to extrinsic motivation; POO (Perfectionism Oriented to Others) ie, the unrealistic demands expected from significant others, which especially characterized males. We assumed that women attached more importance to succeed and submitted more to society exigencies. That way extrinsic and intrinsic motivations were probably more combined unlike men who, dreading a loss of self esteem, tried to avoid failure responsibility in using self handicapping or aggressive behaviours, so separating motivation in an extrinsic part turned to performance value and an intrinsic one more concerned by self confidence and sense of competence with the result that the motivational balance was surely disrupted in case of high competition leading to failure or avoidance. In another previous study we established a structural model illustrating, according to gender, correlations between anxiety, sense of incompetence, self-oriented perfectionism and socially prescribed perfectionism. Self-oriented perfectionism was less correlated to socially prescribed perfectionism in boys than in girls; furthermore especially by those who had never failed, it was negatively correlated to sense of incompetence, thus leading to lower scores of anxiety while in girls, by contrast, such a correlation didn't exist, thus involving higher anxiety. That way, on the one hand, intrinsic and extrinsic motivations by female students complementarily operated on the sense of incompetence and consequently on anxiety, the emotional component of test anxiety; on the other hand, by male students, intrinsic motivation had a negative correlation with the sense of incompetence and a lower correlation with extrinsic motivation, thereby shedding some light on the problem of anxiety level differences according to gender. More, that observation corresponded well to the model of self-worth where test anxiety was understood as a manifestation of perceived incompetence and as a defensive way to ward off negative self-evaluation; that model suited particularly well to boys and explained their attempts to maintain self-worth when risking academic failure. The present research assumes that independence or combination of motivation components is also correlated to different expressions of aggressiveness: hostility corresponding to threat and characterizing more girls while physical aggression is corresponding to personal challenge, a more masculine attribution. If fighting against the sense of incompetence actually characterizes men and consequently shows too the competitive aspects of performance strong enough to mobilize intrinsic motivation, what would be expected regarding the notion of threat suspected to be predominant in girls? The idea of using a questionnaire discriminating the specific dimensions of aggressiveness in fact the Aggression Questionnaire should meet the following purposes: At first establish a French version of that aggression questionnaire, perform the factorial analyses and internal consistency, compare them with other previous samples, then differentiate gender in general and in failure versus success situations. Finally include the different components of aggressiveness in the first described model and build a new one liable to define in boys the explicit pathways between test anxiety, perfectionism and aggressiveness. Statistical analyses have confirmed, in a 3 factor solution, the presence of emotional (anger), cognitive (hostility) and behavioural (physical aggression) components. Internal consistency is satisfactory. It is demonstrated that physical aggression characterizes boys (F=12.04, p=0.0001) while hostility (F=5.22, p=0.0015) and anger (F=0.49, p=0.0001) characterizes girls; furthermore it is noted that physical aggression characterizes more failed students (F=13.43, p=0.0003). Four models (see figures 2, 3, 4, 5) have been established, at first focused on the distinction of correlations between motivation and cognitive and emotional components on the samples of boys (n=268) and girls (348), then developed on the samples of successful students, male (n=193) and female (n=271). They describe the differentiated action of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations on the different components of aggressiveness and test-anxiety according to gender and without experience of failure. The dynamic process of the organizational factors is different according to gender and psychopathology resulting from the combinations of behaviors, cognitions and emotions would be assumed, prioritizing physical aggression and psychopathy by boys, anxiety and depression by girls. Anyway more explanation about the evolution of success rates of boys and girls in Belgian universities is proposed.

Health status in patients with coexistent COPD and heart failure: a validation and comparison between the Clinical COPD Questionnaire and the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire

PubMed Central

Berkhof, Farida F; Metzemaekers, Leola; Uil, Steven M; Kerstjens, Huib AM; van den Berg, Jan WK

2014-01-01

Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure (HF) are both common diseases that coexist frequently. Patients with both diseases have worse stable state health status when compared with patients with one of these diseases. In many outpatient clinics, health status is monitored routinely in COPD patients using the Clinical COPD Questionnaire (CCQ) and in HF patients with the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHF-Q). This study validated and compared which questionnaire, ie, the CCQ or the MLHF-Q, is suited best for patients with coexistent COPD and HF. Methods Patients with both COPD and HF and aged ≥40 years were included. Construct validity, internal consistency, test–retest reliability, and agreement were determined. The Short-Form 36 was used as the external criterion. All questionnaires were completed at baseline. The CCQ and MLHF-Q were repeated after 2 weeks, together with a global rating of change. Results Fifty-eight patients were included, of whom 50 completed the study. Construct validity was acceptable. Internal consistency was adequate for CCQ and MLHF-Q total and domain scores, with a Cronbach’s alpha ≥0.70. Reliability was adequate for MLHF-Q and CCQ total and domain scores, and intraclass correlation coefficients were 0.70–0.90, except for the CCQ symptom score (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.42). The standard error of measurement on the group level was smaller than the minimal clinical important difference for both questionnaires. However, the standard error of measurement on the individual level was larger than the minimal clinical important difference. Agreement was acceptable on the group level and limited on the individual level. Conclusion CCQ and MLHF-Q were both valid and reliable questionnaires for assessment of health status in patients with coexistent COPD and HF on the group level, and hence for research. However, in clinical practice, on the individual level, the characteristics of both questionnaires were not as good. There is room for a questionnaire with good evaluative properties on the individual level, preferably tested in a setting of patients with COPD or HF, or both. PMID:25285000

Cognitive Distortion in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Relation to Depression and Disability.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Timothy W.; And Others

1988-01-01

Examined the relation between cognitive distortion, as measured by the Cognitive Error Questionnaire, and both self-reported and interview-rated depression and disability in 92 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Found cognitive distortion significantly associated with depression, and also related to physical disability. Discusses the results,…

Reduced emotional empathy in adults with subclinical ADHD: evidence from the empathy and systemizing quotient.

PubMed

Groen, Y; den Heijer, A E; Fuermaier, A B M; Althaus, M; Tucha, O

2018-06-01

Studies in children with ADHD suggest impairments in social cognitive functions, whereas studies in adults with ADHD are scarce and inconclusive. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between ADHD traits and self-reported social cognitive style in a sample of adults from the general population. For this purpose, a community sample of 685 adults filled out online self-report questionnaires about ADHD symptoms (ADHD Rating Scale, ARS), social cognitive functioning and friendships. The Empathy Quotient (EQ) with the subscales Cognitive Empathy (CE), Emotional Empathy (EE) and Social Skills (SS), and the Systemizing Quotient (SQ) were included for measuring social cognitive style and the Friendship Questionnaire (FQ) for the quality of friendships. Participants who met the DSM-5 criteria on the ARS ('subclinical ADHD'; n = 56) were compared regarding their social cognitive functioning scores with a control group (n = 56) that was matched for age, sex and student status. With small effect sizes, the subclinical ADHD group showed reduced EE scores on the EQ and a more male social cognitive profile. This result was not influenced by sex or ADHD subtype. This study points to a relationship between traits of ADHD and the emotional aspect of empathy, whereas more complex aspects of empathy were unrelated. These findings should be corroborated in clinical patients with ADHD, employing neuropsychological tests rather than self-report questionnaires.

The Structure of Self-Serving Cognitive Distortions: A Validation of the "How I Think" Questionnaire in a Sample of Italian Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bacchini, Dario; De Angelis, Grazia; Affuso, Gaetana; Brugman, Daniel

2016-01-01

This study aims to investigate the structure of self-serving cognitive distortions (CD), evaluating the psychometric properties of the How I Think Questionnaire in a sample of Italian adolescents. A confirmatory factor analysis supported the distinction between four categories of CD and the use of a single second-order dimension of CD. Reliability…

Health-related quality of life measurement in patients with chronic respiratory failure.

PubMed

Oga, Toru; Windisch, Wolfram; Handa, Tomohiro; Hirai, Toyohiro; Chin, Kazuo

2018-05-01

The improvement of health-related quality of life (HRQL) is an important goal in managing patients with chronic respiratory failure (CRF) receiving long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) and/or domiciliary noninvasive ventilation (NIV). Two condition-specific HRQL questionnaires have been developed to specifically assess these patients: the Maugeri Respiratory Failure Questionnaire (MRF) and the Severe Respiratory Insufficiency Questionnaire (SRI). The MRF is more advantageous in its ease of completion; conversely, the SRI measures diversified health impairments more multi-dimensionally and discriminatively with greater balance, especially in patients receiving NIV. The SRI is available in many different languages as a result of back-translation and validation processes, and is widely validated for various disorders such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, restrictive thoracic disorders, neuromuscular disorders, and obesity hypoventilation syndrome, among others. Dyspnea and psychological status were the main determinants for both questionnaires, while the MRF tended to place more emphasis on activity limitations than SRI. In comparison to existing generic questionnaires such as the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item short form (SF-36) and disease-specific questionnaires such as the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) and the Chronic Respiratory Disease Questionnaire (CRQ), both the MRF and the SRI have been shown to be valid and reliable, and have better discriminatory, evaluative, and predictive features than other questionnaires. Thus, in assessing the HRQL of patients with CRF using LTOT and/or NIV, we might consider avoiding the use of the SF-36 or even the SGRQ or CRQ alone and consider using the CRF-specific SRI and MRF in addition to existing generic and/or disease-specific questionnaires. Copyright © 2018 The Japanese Respiratory Society. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Associations between cognitive impairment and patient-reported measures of physical/mental functioning in older people living with HIV.

PubMed

Underwood, J; De Francesco, D; Post, F A; Vera, J H; Williams, I; Boffito, M; Mallon, P W; Anderson, J; Sachikonye, M; Sabin, C; Winston, A

2017-05-01

While cognitive impairment is frequently reported in HIV-positive individuals and has historically been associated with poorer functional outcomes, the associations between cognitive impairment and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in contemporary cohorts are unclear. We tested cognitive function using a computerized battery (CogState ™ ) in 290 HIV-positive and 97 HIV-negative individuals aged ≥ 50 years participating in the Pharmacokinetic and Clinical Observations in People Over Fifty (POPPY) study. Participants completed questionnaires detailing physical and mental health [Short Form Health Survey (SF-36)], cognitive function [European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS) questions], activities of daily living [Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL)], depression [Patient Depression Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Centres for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CES-D)], falls and sexual desire. Cognitive impairment was defined using the Frascati criteria, global deficit score (GDS) and multivariate normative comparison (MNC). In the HIV-positive group, the classification performances of the different definitions of cognitive impairment and dichotomized questionnaire results were calculated. The prevalence of cognitive impairment in the HIV-positive group was 34.5% (GDS), 30.0% (Frascati) and 22.1% (MNC), with only 2% diagnosed with HIV-associated dementia. In general, the associations between cognitive impairment and PROMs were weak regardless of the definition used: mean c-statistics were 0.543 (GDS), 0.530 (MNC) and 0.519 (Frascati). Associations were similar using the global T-score to define cognitive impairment. Summary health scores (SF-36) were lower, but only significantly so for those with cognitive impairment identified using MNC, for both mental health (61.4 vs. 75.8; P = 0.03) and physical health (60.9 vs. 75.0; P = 0.03). The associations between cognitive impairment and PROMs were weak, possibly because impairment was mild and therefore largely asymptomatic. Further work is needed to elucidate the clinical implications of cognitive impairment in HIV-disease. © 2016 British HIV Association.

Analysis of recent failures of disease modifying therapies in Alzheimer's disease suggesting a new methodology for future studies.

PubMed

Amanatkar, Hamid Reza; Papagiannopoulos, Bill; Grossberg, George Thomas

2017-01-01

Pharmaceutical companies and the NIH have invested heavily in a variety of potential disease-modifying therapies for Alzheimer's disease (AD) but unfortunately all double-blind placebo-controlled Phase III studies of these drugs have failed to show statistically significant results supporting their clinical efficacy on cognitive measures. These negative results are surprising as most of these medications have the capability to impact the biomarkers which are associated with progression of Alzheimer's disease. Areas covered: This contradiction prompted us to review all study phases of Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG), Bapineuzumab, Solanezumab, Avagacestat and Dimebolin to shed more light on these recent failures. We critically analyzed these studies, recommending seven lessons from these failures which should not be overlooked. Expert commentary: We suggest a new methodology for future treatment research in Alzheimer's disease considering early intervention with more focus on cognitive decline as a screening tool, more sophisticated exclusion criteria with more reliance on biomarkers, stratification of subjects based on the rate of cognitive decline aiming less heterogeneity, and a longer study duration with periodic assessment of cognition and activities of daily living during the study and also after a washout period.

A theory-based exercise intervention in patients with heart failure: A protocol for randomized, controlled trial

PubMed Central

Rajati, Fatemeh; Mostafavi, Firoozeh; Sharifirad, Gholamreza; Sadeghi, Masoomeh; Tavakol, Kamran; Feizi, Awat; Pashaei, Tahereh

2013-01-01

Background: Regular exercise has been associated with improved quality of life (QoL) in patients with heart failure (HF). However, less is known on the theoretical framework, depicting how educational intervention on psychological, social, and cognitive variables affects physical activity (PA). The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of a social cognitive theory-based (SCT-based) exercise intervention in patients with HF. Materials and Methods: This is a randomized controlled trial, with measurements at baseline, immediately following the intervention, and at 1, 3, and 6 months follow-up. Sixty patients who are referred to the cardiac rehabilitation (CR) unit and meet the inclusion criteria will be randomly allocated to either an intervention group or a usual-care control group. Data will be collected using various methods (i.e., questionnaires, physical tests, paraclinical tests, patients’ interviews, and focus groups). The patients in the intervention group will receive eight face-to-face counseling sessions, two focus groups, and six educational sessions over a 2-month period. The intervention will include watching videos, using book and pamphlets, and sending short massage services to the participants. The primary outcome measures are PA and QoL. The secondary outcome measures will be the components of SCT, heart rate and blood pressure at rest, body mass index, left ventricular ejection fraction, exercise capacity, and maximum heart rate. Conclusion: The findings of this trial may assist with the development of a theoretical model for exercise intervention in CR. The intervention seems to be promising and has the potential to bridge the gap of the usually limited and incoherent provision of educational care in the CR setting. PMID:24379841

Decision making around dialysis options.

PubMed

Mooney, Andrew

2009-01-01

We have previously shown that information given to patients approaching end stage renal failure to make an informed decision about dialysis modality is frequently incomplete and difficult to comprehend [1]. We have now studied whether there are differences in decisions made about dialysis modality according to the method employed to deliver this information. In an online study, 784 participants viewed treatment information about hemodialysis (HD) and continuous cycling peritoneal dialysis (CCPD) and completed a questionnaire. A control group saw only basic information, but otherwise treatment information was varied by format (written or videotaped) and who presented the information (male or female; 'patient' or 'doctor'). The information was carefully controlled to ensure comparable content and comprehensibility. In addition to collection of demographic data, measures included: treatment choice, reasons for treatment choice, decisional conflict, need for affect, need for cognition, decision regret, quality of information, previous knowledge of end-stage renal failure and social comparison. There were a number of differences in choices made among subjects who viewed written or video information presented as if by doctors or patients. There was a statistically significant effect that subjects chose the dialysis modality recommended by the patient (whether CCPD or HD). There was no significant effect of the gender of the person presenting information on the modality chosen. However, among participants, females were more satisfied with the information presented, and more likely to choose CCPD (compared to male participants). Subjects' style of information processing (need for cognition/need for affect) had no significant effect on choice of dialysis modality. There was a higher drop-out rate among subjects viewing videotaped information. The use of testimonials might bias patients decision making regarding dialysis options and until these effects are understood, they should be used with caution.

Cost-effectiveness of a nurse facilitated, cognitive behavioural self-management programme compared with usual care using a CBT manual alone for patients with heart failure: secondary analysis of data from the SEMAPHFOR trial.

PubMed

Mejía, Aurelio; Richardson, Gerry; Pattenden, Jill; Cockayne, Sarah; Lewin, Robert

2014-09-01

To assess the cost-effectiveness of a nurse facilitated, cognitive behavioural self-management programme for patients with heart failure compared with usual care including the un-facilitated access to the same manual, from the perspective of the NHS. Data were obtained from a pragmatic, multi-centre, randomized controlled 'open' trial conducted in seven centres in the UK between 2006 and 2008. Effectiveness was estimated as Quality-Adjusted Life Years. Resource use was measured prospectively on all patients using information provided by patients in postal questionnaires, case-note review, electronic record review and interviews with patients. Unit costs were obtained from the literature and applied to the relevant resource use to estimate total costs. Multiple imputation was used to handle missing data. There were no substantial differences in the utility scores between treatment groups in all follow-up assessments, in the use of medication or outpatient visits and both groups report a similar frequency of contact with health care professionals. After controlling for baseline utility and using imputed dataset, treatment was associated with a reduction in QALY of 0.004 and a additional cost of £69.49. The probability that the intervention is cost-effective for thresholds between £20,000 and £30,000 is around 45%. There is little evidence that the addition of the intervention had any effect on costs or outcomes. The uncertainty around both estimates of cost and effectiveness mean that it is not reasonable to make recommendations based on cost-effectiveness alone. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Work Stress and Depressive Symptoms in Fishermen With a Smoking Habit: A Mediator Role of Nicotine Dependence and Possible Moderator Role of Expressive Suppression and Cognitive Reappraisal.

PubMed

Jiang, Hongjuan; Li, Sailan; Yang, Juan

2018-01-01

This study examined pathways of influence between work stress, depressive symptoms, nicotine dependence, expressive suppression, and cognitive reappraisal in fishermen with smoking habits in Qionghai, Hainan province, China (N = 1068). These fishermen responded to multiple assessments a week before leaving on a deep-sea fishing trip, including a Mental Stressor Investigation Questionnaire (MSIQ), the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), the Russell Reason for Smoking Questionnaire (RRSQ), and an Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ). Structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses of the collected data in Mplus 7 showed that work stress and nicotine dependence were independent predictors of depressive symptoms. The relationship between work stress and depressive symptoms was found to be partially mediated by nicotine dependence and be moderated by cognitive reappraisal. The evidence suggests it advantageous to examine the need of work stress, nicotine dependence, and cognitive reappraisal when attempting to understand depressive symptoms in fishermen with a smoking habit. These findings suggest that improving nicotine dependence through work stress management and training in cognitive reappraisal could be utilized as effective modalities for improving depressive symptoms.

Work Stress and Depressive Symptoms in Fishermen With a Smoking Habit: A Mediator Role of Nicotine Dependence and Possible Moderator Role of Expressive Suppression and Cognitive Reappraisal

PubMed Central

Jiang, Hongjuan; Li, Sailan; Yang, Juan

2018-01-01

This study examined pathways of influence between work stress, depressive symptoms, nicotine dependence, expressive suppression, and cognitive reappraisal in fishermen with smoking habits in Qionghai, Hainan province, China (N = 1068). These fishermen responded to multiple assessments a week before leaving on a deep-sea fishing trip, including a Mental Stressor Investigation Questionnaire (MSIQ), the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), the Russell Reason for Smoking Questionnaire (RRSQ), and an Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ). Structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses of the collected data in Mplus 7 showed that work stress and nicotine dependence were independent predictors of depressive symptoms. The relationship between work stress and depressive symptoms was found to be partially mediated by nicotine dependence and be moderated by cognitive reappraisal. The evidence suggests it advantageous to examine the need of work stress, nicotine dependence, and cognitive reappraisal when attempting to understand depressive symptoms in fishermen with a smoking habit. These findings suggest that improving nicotine dependence through work stress management and training in cognitive reappraisal could be utilized as effective modalities for improving depressive symptoms. PMID:29632504

Use of Questionnaire-Based Measures in the Assessment of Listening Difficulties in School-Aged Children

PubMed Central

Tomlin, Danielle; Moore, David R.; Dillon, Harvey

2015-01-01

Objectives: In this study, the authors assessed the potential utility of a recently developed questionnaire (Evaluation of Children’s Listening and Processing Skills [ECLiPS]) for supporting the clinical assessment of children referred for auditory processing disorder (APD). Design: A total of 49 children (35 referred for APD assessment and 14 from mainstream schools) were assessed for auditory processing (AP) abilities, cognitive abilities, and symptoms of listening difficulty. Four questionnaires were used to capture the symptoms of listening difficulty from the perspective of parents (ECLiPS and Fisher’s auditory problem checklist), teachers (Teacher’s Evaluation of Auditory Performance), and children, that is, self-report (Listening Inventory for Education). Correlation analyses tested for convergence between the questionnaires and both cognitive and AP measures. Discriminant analyses were performed to determine the best combination of tests for discriminating between typically developing children and children referred for APD. Results: All questionnaires were sensitive to the presence of difficulty, that is, children referred for assessment had significantly more symptoms of listening difficulty than typically developing children. There was, however, no evidence of more listening difficulty in children meeting the diagnostic criteria for APD. Some AP tests were significantly correlated with ECLiPS factors measuring related abilities providing evidence for construct validity. All questionnaires correlated to a greater or lesser extent with the cognitive measures in the study. Discriminant analysis suggested that the best discrimination between groups was achieved using a combination of ECLiPS factors, together with nonverbal Intelligence Quotient (cognitive) and AP measures (i.e., dichotic digits test and frequency pattern test). Conclusions: The ECLiPS was particularly sensitive to cognitive difficulties, an important aspect of many children referred for APD, as well as correlating with some AP measures. It can potentially support the preliminary assessment of children referred for APD. PMID:26002277

Adolescents Caught between Fires: Cognitive Emotion Regulation in Response to War Experiences in Northern Uganda

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Amone-P'Olak, Kennedy; Garnefski, Nadia; Kraaij, Vivian

2007-01-01

This study aimed to assess the prevalence of war experiences and the use of specific cognitive emotion regulation strategies in response to these experiences among 294 formerly abducted adolescents at three rehabilitation centres in Uganda. Cognitive strategies were measured by Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ). Symptoms of…

Hopelessness and cognitive impairment are risk markers for mortality in systolic heart failure patients.

PubMed

Byrne, Claire J; Toukhsati, Samia R; Toia, Deidre; O'Halloran, Paul D; Hare, David L

2018-06-01

Depression exacerbates the burden of heart failure and independently predicts mortality. The aim of this study was to investigate which specific symptoms of depression predict all-cause mortality in systolic heart failure patients. Consecutive outpatients with heart failure and impaired left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), attending an Australian metropolitan heart function clinic between 2001 and 2011, were enrolled. The Cardiac Depression Scale (CDS) was completed as a component of usual care. Baseline clinical characteristics were drawn from hospital databases. The primary end-point was all-cause mortality, obtained from the Australian National Death Index. A total of 324 patients (68.5% male) were included (mean age at enrolment = 66.8 ± 14.36 years), with a median follow-up time of 6.7 years (95% CI 5.97-7.39) and a mortality rate of 50% by the census date. Mean LVEF = 31.0 ± 11.31%, with 25% having NYHA functional class of III or IV. Factor analysis of the CDS extracted six symptom dimensions: Hopelessness, Cognitive Impairment, Anhedonia/Mood, Irritability, Worry, and Sleep Disturbance. Cox regression analyses identified Hopelessness (HR 1.024, 95% CI 1.004-1.045, p = .018) and Cognitive Impairment (HR 1.048, 95% CI 1.005-1.093, p = .028) as independent risk markers of all-cause mortality, following adjustment of known prognostic clinical factors. Hopelessness and cognitive impairment are stronger risk markers for all-cause mortality than other symptoms of depression in systolic heart failure. These data will allow more specific risk assessment and potentially new targets for more effective treatment and management of depression in this population. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Conversion of Questionnaire Data

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Powell, Danny H; Elwood Jr, Robert H

During the survey, respondents are asked to provide qualitative answers (well, adequate, needs improvement) on how well material control and accountability (MC&A) functions are being performed. These responses can be used to develop failure probabilities for basic events performed during routine operation of the MC&A systems. The failure frequencies for individual events may be used to estimate total system effectiveness using a fault tree in a probabilistic risk analysis (PRA). Numeric risk values are required for the PRA fault tree calculations that are performed to evaluate system effectiveness. So, the performance ratings in the questionnaire must be converted to relativemore » risk values for all of the basic MC&A tasks performed in the facility. If a specific material protection, control, and accountability (MPC&A) task is being performed at the 'perfect' level, the task is considered to have a near zero risk of failure. If the task is performed at a less than perfect level, the deficiency in performance represents some risk of failure for the event. As the degree of deficiency in performance increases, the risk of failure increases. If a task that should be performed is not being performed, that task is in a state of failure. The failure probabilities of all basic events contribute to the total system risk. Conversion of questionnaire MPC&A system performance data to numeric values is a separate function from the process of completing the questionnaire. When specific questions in the questionnaire are answered, the focus is on correctly assessing and reporting, in an adjectival manner, the actual performance of the related MC&A function. Prior to conversion, consideration should not be given to the numeric value that will be assigned during the conversion process. In the conversion process, adjectival responses to questions on system performance are quantified based on a log normal scale typically used in human error analysis (see A.D. Swain and H.E. Guttmann, 'Handbook of Human Reliability Analysis with Emphasis on Nuclear Power Plant Applications,' NUREG/CR-1278). This conversion produces the basic event risk of failure values required for the fault tree calculations. The fault tree is a deductive logic structure that corresponds to the operational nuclear MC&A system at a nuclear facility. The conventional Delphi process is a time-honored approach commonly used in the risk assessment field to extract numerical values for the failure rates of actions or activities when statistically significant data is absent.« less

Visual field defects may not affect safe driving.

PubMed

Dow, Jamie

2011-10-01

In Quebec a driver whose acquired visual field defect renders them ineligible for a driver's permit renewal may request an exemption from the visual field standard by demonstrating safe driving despite the defect. For safety reasons it was decided to attempt to identify predictors of failure on the road test in order to avoid placing driving evaluators in potentially dangerous situations when evaluating drivers with visual field defects. During a 4-month period in 2009 all requests for exemptions from the visual field standard were collected and analyzed. All available medical and visual field data were collated for 103 individuals, of whom 91 successfully completed the evaluation process and obtained a waiver. The collated data included age, sex, type of visual field defect, visual field characteristics, and concomitant medical problems. No single factor, or combination of factors, could predict failure of the road test. All 5 failures of the road test had cognitive problems but 6 of the successful drivers also had known cognitive problems. Thus, cognitive problems influence the risk of failure but do not predict certain failure. Most of the applicants for an exemption were able to complete the evaluation process successfully, thereby demonstrating safe driving despite their handicap. Consequently, jurisdictions that have visual field standards for their driving permit should implement procedures to evaluate drivers with visual field defects that render them unable to meet the standard but who wish to continue driving.

Word Memory Test failure 23 times higher in mild brain injury than in parents seeking custody: the power of external incentives.

PubMed

Flaro, Lloyd; Green, Paul; Robertson, Ellen

2007-04-01

Motivation has an important influence on neuropsychological test performances. This study examined effort on the Word Memory Test (WMT) in groups with differing external incentives. 774 adults with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), tested as part of a Workers' Compensation, disability or personal injury claim stood to gain financially by appearing impaired on testing. In contrast, parents ordered by the Court to undergo a parenting assessment were highly motivated to do their best on cognitive tests because their goal was to regain custody of their children. Consistent with these assumptions, 98.3% of 118 parents seeking child custody passed the WMT effort subtests but in cases of mild TBI the pass rate on the WMT was only 60%. The WMT failure rate in the mild TBI sample was 23 times higher than in the group of parents seeking custody. WMT failure was twice as frequent in the mild TBI group than in those with more severe TBI. WMT failure was also much higher in adults with mild TBI than in children with significant impairment from various clinical conditions. Such differences in failure rates on the WMT effort subtests cannot be explained by differences in cognitive skills but they are explainable by differences in external incentives. The findings support the recommendation that objective tests of effort should be used when evaluating cognitive impairment.

Caffeine, cognitive failures and health in a non-working community sample.

PubMed

Smith, Andrew P

2009-01-01

Most studies of the effects of caffeine on performance have been conducted in the laboratory and further information is required on the real-life effects of caffeine consumption on cognition. In addition, possible effects of caffeine consumption on a range of health outcomes should also be assessed in these studies to enable cost-benefit analyses to be conducted. Secondary analyses of a large epidemiological database (N = 3223 non-working participants, 57% female, with a mean age of 49.6 years, range 17-92 years) were conducted to examine associations between caffeine consumption (mean caffeine consumption was 140 mg/day, range 0-1800 mg) and cognitive failures (errors of memory, attention and action) in a non-working sample. Associations between caffeine consumption and physical and mental health problems were also examined. The study involved secondary analyses of a database formed by combining the Bristol Stress and Health at Work and Cardiff Health and Safety at Work studies. Associations between caffeine consumption and frequency of cognitive failures and health outcomes were examined in a sample of non-workers. After controlling for possible confounding factors significant associations between caffeine consumption and fewer cognitive failures were observed. Initial analyses suggested that many health variables were associated with regular level of caffeine consumption. However, most of the significant effects of caffeine disappeared when demographic and lifestyle factors were controlled for. Consumption of caffeine was, however, associated with a reduced risk of depression. These effects were also observed in separate analyses examining the source of the caffeine (coffee and tea). Overall, the results show that caffeine consumption may benefit cognitive functioning in a non-working population. This confirms earlier findings from working samples. This beneficial effect of caffeine was not associated with negative health consequences. Indeed, consumption of caffeine was found to be associated with a reduced risk of depression.

Early maladaptive schemas in adult patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

PubMed

Philipsen, Alexandra; Lam, Alexandra P; Breit, Sigrid; Lücke, Caroline; Müller, Helge H; Matthies, Swantje

2017-06-01

The main purpose of this study was to examine whether adult patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) demonstrate sets of dysfunctional cognitive beliefs and behavioural tendencies according to Jeffrey Young's schema-focused therapy model. Sets of dysfunctional beliefs (maladaptive schemas) were assessed with the Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ-S2) in 78 adult ADHD patients and 80 control subjects. Patients with ADHD scored significantly higher than the control group on almost all maladaptive schemas. The 'Failure', 'Defectiveness/Shame', 'Subjugation' and 'Emotional Deprivation' schemas were most pronounced in adult ADHD patients, while only 'Vulnerability to Harm or Illness' did not differ between the two groups. The schemas which were most pronounced in adult patients with ADHD correspond well with their learning histories and core symptoms. By demonstrating the existence of early maladaptive schemas in adults suffering from ADHD, this study suggests that schema theory may usefully be applied to adult ADHD therapy.

Cognitive Function in Ambulatory Patients with Systolic Heart Failure: Insights from the Warfarin versus Aspirin in Reduced Cardiac Ejection Fraction (WARCEF) Trial

PubMed Central

Graham, Susan; Ye, Siqin; Qian, Min; Sanford, Alexandra R.; Di Tullio, Marco R.; Sacco, Ralph L.; Mann, Douglas L.; Levin, Bruce; Pullicino, Patrick M.; Freudenberger, Ronald S.; Teerlink, John R.; Mohr, J. P.; Labovitz, Arthur J.; Lip, Gregory Y. H.; Estol, Conrado J.; Lok, Dirk J.; Ponikowski, Piotr; Anker, Stefan D.; Thompson, John L. P.; Homma, Shunichi

2014-01-01

We sought to determine whether cognitive function in stable outpatients with heart failure (HF) is affected by HF severity. A retrospective, cross-sectional analysis was performed using data from 2, 043 outpatients with systolic HF and without prior stroke enrolled in the Warfarin versus Aspirin in Reduced Cardiac Ejection Fraction (WARCEF) Trial. Multivariable regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between cognitive function measured using the Mini-Mental Status Exam (MMSE) and markers of HF severity (left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF], New York Heart Association [NYHA] functional class, and 6-minute walk distance). The mean (SD) for the MMSE was 28.6 (2.0), with 64 (3.1%) of the 2,043 patients meeting the cut-off of MMSE <24 that indicates need for further evaluation of cognitive impairment. After adjustment for demographic and clinical covariates, 6-minute walk distance (β-coefficient 0.002, p<0.0001), but not LVEF or NYHA functional class, was independently associated with the MMSE as a continuous measure. Age, education, smoking status, body mass index, and hemoglobin level were also independently associated with the MMSE. In conclusion, six-minute walk distance, but not LVEF or NYHA functional class, was an important predictor of cognitive function in ambulatory patients with systolic heart failure. PMID:25426862

Prospective memory failures in aviation: effects of cue salience, workload, and individual differences.

PubMed

Van Benthem, Kathleen D; Herdman, Chris M; Tolton, Rani G; LeFevre, Jo-Anne

2015-04-01

Prospective memory allows people to complete intended tasks in the future. Prospective memory failures, such as pilots forgetting to inform pattern traffic of their locations, can have fatal consequences. The present research examined the impact of system factors (memory cue salience and workload) and individual differences (pilot age, cognitive health, and expertise) on prospective memory for communication tasks in the cockpit. Pilots (N = 101) flew a Cessna 172 simulator at a non-towered aerodrome while maintaining communication with traffic and attending to flight parameters. Memory cue salience (the prominence of cues that signal an intended action) and workload were manipulated. Prospective memory was measured as radio call completion rates. Pilots' prospective memory was adversely affected by low-salience cues and high workload. An interaction of cue salience, pilots' age, and cognitive health reflected the effects of system and individual difference factors on prospective memory failures. For example, younger pilots with low levels of cognitive health completed 78% of the radio calls associated with low-salience memory cues, whereas older pilots with low cognitive health scores completed just 61% of similar radio calls. Our findings suggest that technologies designed to signal intended future tasks should target those tasks with inherently low-salience memory cues. In addition, increasing the salience of memory cues is most likely to benefit pilots with lower levels of cognitive health in high-workload conditions.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Depression in Patients With Congestive Heart Failure: A Review of the Literature

PubMed Central

Stern, Theodore A.; Hebert, Kathy A.; Musselman, Dominique L.

2013-01-01

Context: Major depressive disorder (MDD) can be challenging to diagnose in patients with congestive heart failure, who often suffer from fatigue, insomnia, weight changes, and other neurovegetative symptoms that overlap with those of depression. Pathophysiologic mechanisms (eg, inflammation, autonomic nervous system dysfunction, cardiac arrhythmias, and altered platelet function) connect depression and congestive heart failure. Objective: We sought to review the prevalence, diagnosis, neurobiology, and treatment of depression associated with congestive heart failure. Data Sources: A search of all English-language articles between January 2003 and January 2013 was conducted using the search terms congestive heart failure and depression. Study Selection: We found 1,498 article abstracts and 19 articles (meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and original research articles) that were selected for inclusion, as they contained information about our focus on diagnosis, treatment, and pathophysiology of depression associated with congestive heart failure. The search was augmented with manual review of reference lists of articles from the initial search. Articles selected for review were determined by author consensus. Data Extraction: The prevalence, diagnosis, neurobiology, and treatment of depression associated with congestive heart failure were reviewed. Particular attention was paid to the safety, efficacy, and tolerability of antidepressant medications commonly used to treat depression and how their side-effect profiles impact the pathophysiology of congestive heart failure. Drug-drug interactions between antidepressant medications and medications used to treat congestive heart failure were examined. Results: MDD is highly prevalent in patients with congestive heart failure. Moreover, the prevalence and severity of depression correlate with the degree of cardiac dysfunction and development of congestive heart failure. Depression increases the risk of congestive heart failure, particularly in those patients with coronary artery disease , and is associated with a poorer quality of life, increased use of health care resources, more frequent adverse clinical events and hospitalizations, and twice the risk of mortality. Conclusions: At present, limited empirical data exist with regard to treatment of depression in the increasingly large population of patients with congestive heart failure. Evidence reveals that both psychotherapeutic treatment (eg, cognitive-behavioral therapy) and pharmacologic treatment (eg, use of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor sertraline) are safe and effective in reducing depression severity in patients with cardiovascular disease. Collaborative care programs featuring interventions that work to improve adherence to medical and psychiatric treatments improve both cardiovascular disease and depression outcomes. Depression rating scales such as the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire should be used to monitor therapeutic efficacy. PMID:24392265

A clinical investigation of motivation to change standards and cognitions about failure in perfectionism.

PubMed

Egan, Sarah J; Piek, Jan P; Dyck, Murray J; Rees, Clare S; Hagger, Martin S

2013-10-01

Clinical perfectionism is a transdiagnostic process that has been found to maintain eating disorders, anxiety disorders and depression. Cognitive behavioural models explaining the maintenance of clinical perfectionism emphasize the contribution of dichotomous thinking and resetting standards higher following both success and failure in meeting their goals. There has been a paucity of research examining the predictions of the models and motivation to change perfectionism. Motivation to change is important as individuals with clinical perfectionism often report many perceived benefits of their perfectionism; they are, therefore, likely to be ambivalent regarding changing perfectionism. The aim was to compare qualitative responses regarding questions about motivation to change standards and cognitions regarding failure to meet a personal standard in two contrasting groups with high and low negative perfectionism. Negative perfectionism refers to concern over not meeting personal standards. A clinical group with a range of axis 1 diagnoses who were elevated on negative perfectionism were compared to a group of athletes who were low on negative perfectionism. Results indicated that the clinical group perceived many negative consequences of their perfectionism. They also, however, reported numerous benefits and the majority stated that they would prefer not to change their perfectionism. The clinical group also reported dichotomous thinking and preferring to either keep standards the same or reset standards higher following failure, whilst the athlete group reported they would keep standards the same or set them lower. The findings support predictions of the cognitive behavioural model of clinical perfectionism.

Development of a voice disorder work productivity inventory utilizing cognitive interviewing technique.

PubMed

Giliberto, John Paul; Zhu, Qiubei; Meyer, Tanya K

2016-12-01

Voice disorders have been shown to impair workplace productivity primarily by reduced efficiency while at work (presenteeism) versus increased days missed (absenteeism). Work productivity measures such as the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment (WPAI) Questionnaire or the World Health Organization Health - Work Performance Questionnaire (HPQ) can be customized to a specific disease but do not fully capture impaired work productivity associated with voice disorders. The purpose of this study was to develop a novel questionnaire to evaluate work productivity in patients with voice disorders. Descriptive. At a tertiary medical center, patients with gainful employment and with chronic voice disorders were given the WPAI, HPQ, and 20 voice-related statements (VRS-20). Cognitive interviews were conducted and recorded with all patients. Ten patients (7 females, 3 males) completed the questionnaires and subsequent cognitive interviews. One patient had spasmodic dysphonia, 6 had benign vocal fold lesions, and 3 had vocal fold motion disorders. The median VHI-10 was 18 (9-40). Themes that emerged during interviews include: avoiding oral communication/telephone, use of voice associated with strain/fatigue, frustration and stress at work, and workplace integrity. Conclusions : In cognitive interviews, participants felt the VRS-20 captured the impact of their voice disorder at work better than the WPAI and HPQ. Participants also felt some statements were more important than others. 5.

Evolution of Cognitive Function After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation.

PubMed

Schoenenberger, Andreas W; Zuber, Chantal; Moser, André; Zwahlen, Marcel; Wenaweser, Peter; Windecker, Stephan; Carrel, Thierry; Stuck, Andreas E; Stortecky, Stefan

2016-10-01

This study aimed to assess the evolution of cognitive function after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). Previous smaller studies reported conflicting results on the evolution of cognitive function after TAVI. In this prospective cohort, cognitive function was measured in 229 patients ≥70 years using the Mini Mental State Examination before and 6 months after TAVI. Cognitive deterioration or improvement was defined as change of ≥3 points decrease or increase in the Mini Mental State Examination score between baseline and follow-up. Cognitive deterioration was found in 29 patients (12.7%). Predictive analysis using logistic regression did not identify any statistically significant predictor of cognitive deterioration. A review of individual medical records in 8 patients with a major Mini Mental State Examination score decrease of ≥5 points revealed specific causes in 6 cases (postinterventional delirium in 2; postinterventional stroke, progressive renal failure, progressive heart failure, or combination of preexisting cerebrovascular disease and mild cognitive impairment in 1 each). Among 48 patients with impaired baseline cognition (Mini Mental State Examination score <26 points), 18 patients (37.5%) cognitively improved. The preinterventional aortic valve area was lower in patients who cognitively improved (median aortic valve area 0.60 cm 2 ) as compared with patients who did not improve (median aortic valve area 0.70 cm 2 ; P=0.01). This is the first study providing evidence that TAVI results in cognitive improvement among patients who had impaired preprocedural cognitive function, possibly related to hemodynamic improvement in patients with severe aortic stenosis. Our results confirm that some patients experience cognitive deterioration after TAVI. © 2016 American Heart Association, Inc.

[The French translation and cultural adaptation of the SRI questionnaire. A questionnaire to assess health-related quality of life in patients with chronic respiratory failure and domiciliary ventilation].

PubMed

Cuvelier, A; Lamia, B; Molano, L-C; Muir, J-F; Windisch, W

2012-05-01

We performed the French translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the Severe Respiratory Insufficiency (SRI) questionnaire. Written and validated in German, this questionnaire evaluates health-related quality of life in patients treated with domiciliary ventilation for chronic respiratory failure. Four bilingual German-French translators and a linguist were recruited to produce translations and back-translations of the questionnaire constituted of 49 items in seven domains. Two successive versions were generated and compared to the original questionnaire. The difficulty of the translation and the naturalness were quantified for each item using a 1-10 scale and their equivalence to their original counterpart was graded from A to C. The translated questionnaire was finally tested in a pilot study, which included 15 representative patients. The difficulty of the first translation and the first back-translation was respectively quantified as 2.5 (range 1-5.5) and 1.5 (range 1-6) on the 10-point scale (P=0.0014). The naturalness and the equivalence of 8/49 items were considered as insufficient, which led to the production of a second translation and a second back-translation. The meanings of two items needed clarification during the pilot study. The French translation of the SRI questionnaire represents a new instrument for clinical research in patients treated with domiciliary ventilation for chronic respiratory failure. Its validity needs to be tested in a multicenter study. Copyright © 2012 SPLF. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Social-cognitive determinants of help-seeking for mental health problems among prison inmates.

PubMed

Skogstad, Philip; Deane, Frank P; Spicer, John

2006-01-01

Prisoners experience high rates of mental health problems and suicidal behaviours. Failure to seek help may exacerbate these problems and limit opportunities to participate in offending-related programmes. To assess whether prisoners'; intentions to seek help for a personal-emotional problem, including suicidal feelings, can be predicted using variables from the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). These TPB variables were supplemented by measures of emotional distress, prior contact with a psychologist and demographic variables. Male inmates from six New Zealand prisons were asked to participate, with approximately 50% (n = 527) of those who initially expressed an interest in the study completing the self-report questionnaire. Most participants completed the questionnaire in small-group meetings in the prison units and returned them to the researchers immediately after completion.Results On average, participants reported higher levels of current emotional distress than comparison student samples. TPB variables predicted help-seeking intentions for suicidality and personal-emotional problems. Those with prior contact with prison psychologists had lower intentions to seek help for suicidal feelings than prisoners without such contact. Older prisoners, those with more years of education, and those who had previous contact with a psychologist outside prison tended to have higher intentions to seek psychological help. Social-cognitive factors predicted intentions to seek help among New Zealand prisoners but prison-specific issues, such as relative reluctance to seek help when suicidal and reluctance to seek help from prison psychologists, were also identified. Implications for practice Prisoners'; access to services could be improved, for example, through directly working on attitudinal barriers. Strategies to ensure access to specialized forensic mental health in-reach services could also be an alternative or additional route to ensure that this disadvantaged group seeks appropriate help.

Compare the educational achievement of medical students with different circadian rhythms in difficult courses of basic sciences.

PubMed

Liaghatdar, Mohammad Javad; Ashoorion, Vahid; Avizhgan, Maryam

2016-01-01

Advantageous times for different people are different to some extent, considering the effective physiological changes during the circadian rhythm, in terms of the peak time of physiological activities. The goal of this study is to compare the educational achievement of students, with different morning-evening habits, in completing difficult and easy courses. This research is a retrospective descriptive-analytical study, which has been conducted on students of the fifth semester of General Medicine in the Faculty of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. The morning-evening habits of the students were determined by the Horne-Strauss 19-item questionnaire. The students were asked to determine the courses that were 'difficult' and 'easy,' using a researcher-made questionnaire. The students' scores in the considered courses during the five semesters were obtained from the Education Department of the Faculty and analyzed using the descriptive t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and the multivariate regression test in the SPSS software. Sixty-three students (67% girls and 33% boys) participated in this study, of whom 11, 60, and 29% were morning, morning-evening, and evening students, respectively. The mean scores of the difficult courses in all five semesters were reduced in the evening pattern compared to the morning and morning-evening patterns. Reduction of the mean score in the difficult courses, in the evening group, compared with the morning-evening and morning groups was observed in all five semesters among girls, but in three semesters among boys. This study showed that evening students experienced academic failure in difficult courses, which required a more cognitive performance. It is recommended that difficult specialized courses be presented at hours when all student groups have a better cognitive performance.

EPICON consensus: recommendations for proper management of switching to eslicarbazepine acetate in epilepsy.

PubMed

Villanueva, V; Ojeda, J; Rocamora, R A; Serrano-Castro, P J; Parra, J; Rodríguez-Uranga, J J; Bathal, H; Viteri, C

2018-06-01

The objective of the EPICON Project is to develop a set of recommendations on how to adequately switch from carbamazepine (CBZ) and oxcarbazepine (OXC) to eslicarbazepine acetate (ESL) in some patients with epilepsy. A steering committee drafted a questionnaire of 56 questions regarding the transition from CBZ or OXC to ESL in clinical practice (methodology and change situation). The questionnaire was then distributed to 54 epilepsy experts in 2 rounds using the Delphi method. An agreement/disagreement consensus was defined when a median ≥ 7 points or ≤ 3 was achieved, respectively, and a relative interquartile range ≤ 0.40. We analysed the results obtained to reach our conclusions. Our main recommendations were the following: switching from CBZ to ESL must be carried out over a period of 1 to 3 weeks with a CBZ:ESL dose ratio of 1:1.3 and is recommended for patients who frequently forget to take their medication, those who work rotating shifts, polymedicated patients, subjects with cognitive problems, severe osteoporosis-osteopaenia, dyslipidaemia, or liver disease other than acute liver failure, as well as for men with erectile dysfunction caused by CBZ. The transition from OXC to ESL can take place overnight with an OXC:ESL dose ratio of 1:1 and it is recommended for patients who frequently forget to take their medication, those who work rotating shifts, polymedicated patients, or those with cognitive problems. The transition was not recommended for patients with prior rash due to CBZ or OXC use. The EPICON Project offers a set of recommendations about the clinical management of switching from CBZ or OXC to ESL, using the Delphi method. Copyright © 2016 Sociedad Española de Neurología. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

The Effect of Enumeration of Self-Relevant Words on Self-Focused Attention and Repetitive Negative Thoughts

PubMed Central

Muranaka, Seiji; Sasaki, Jun

2018-01-01

Self-focused attention refers to awareness of self-referent, internally generated information. It can be categorized into dysfunctional (i.e., self-rumination) and functional (self-reflection) aspects. According to theory on cognitive resource limitations (e.g., Moreno, 2006), there is a difference in cognitive resource allocation between these two aspects of self-focused attention. We propose a new task, self-relevant word (SRW) enumeration, that can aid in behaviorally identifying individuals’ use of self-rumination and self-reflection. The present study has two purposes: to determine the association between self-focus and SRW enumeration, and to examine the effect of dysfunctional SRW enumeration on repetitive negative thinking. One hundred forty-six undergraduate students participated in this study. They completed a measure of state anxiety twice, before and after imagining a social failure situation. They also completed the SRW enumeration task, Repetitive Thinking Questionnaire, Short Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale, and Rumination-Reflection Questionnaire. A correlational analysis indicated a significant positive correlation between self-reflection and the number of SRWs. Furthermore, individuals high in self-reflection had a tendency to pay more attention to problems than did those high in self-rumination. A significant positive correlation was found between self-rumination and the strength of self-relevance of negative SRWs. Through a path analysis, we found a significant positive effect of the self-relevance of negative SRWs on repetitive negative thinking. Notably, however, the model that excluded self-rumination as an explanatory variable showed a better fit to the data than did the model that included it. In summary, SRW enumeration might enable selective and independent detection of the degree of self-reflection and self-rumination, and therefore should be examined in future research in order to design new behavioral procedures. PMID:29896140

Maternal avoidance, anxiety cognitions and interactive behaviour predicts infant development at 12 months in the context of anxiety disorders in the postpartum period.

PubMed

Reck, C; Van Den Bergh, B; Tietz, A; Müller, M; Ropeter, A; Zipser, B; Pauen, S

2018-02-01

Few studies have examined the relation between anxiety disorders in the postpartum period and cognitive as well as language development in infancy. This longitudinal study investigated whether anxiety disorder in the postpartum period is linked to infant development at twelve months. A closer look was also taken at a possible link between maternal interaction and infant development. Subjects were videotaped during a Face-to-Face-Still-Face interaction with their infant (M = 4.0 months). Specific maternal anxiety symptoms were measured by self-report questionnaires (Anxiety Cognition Questionnaire (ACQ), Body Sensations Questionnaire (BSQ), Mobility Inventory (MI)) to check for a connection with infant development. The Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-III (Bayley-III) were used to assess infant language and cognitive development at one year of age. n = 34 mothers with anxiety disorder (SCID-I; DSM-IV) and n = 47 healthy mothers with their infant. Infant performance on Bayley-III language and cognitive scales. Infants of mothers with anxiety disorder yielded significantly lower language scores than infants of controls. No significant group differences were found regarding infant cognitive development. Exploratory analyses revealed the vital role of "maternal avoidance accompanied" in infant language and cognitive development. Maternal neutral engagement, which lacks positive affect and vocalisations, turned out as the strongest negative predictor of cognitive development. Maternal anxiety cognitions and joint activity in mother-infant interaction were the strongest predictors of infant language performance. Results underline the importance to also consider the interaction behaviour of women with anxiety disorders to prevent adverse infant development. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Use of the EMPOWER brochure to deprescribe sedative-hypnotic drugs in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.

PubMed

Martin, Philippe; Tannenbaum, Cara

2017-01-31

Evidence-based mailed educational brochures about the harms of sedative-hypnotic use lead to discontinuation of chronic benzodiazepine use in older adults. It remains unknown whether patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are able to understand the information in the EMPOWER brochures, and whether they achieve similar rates of benzodiazepine discontinuation. Post-hoc analysis of the EMPOWER randomized, double-blind, wait-list controlled trial that assessed the effect of a direct-to-consumer educational intervention on benzodiazepine discontinuation. 303 community-dwelling chronic users of benzodiazepine medication aged 65-95 years were recruited from general community pharmacies in the original trial, 261 (86%) of which completed the trial extension phase. All participants of the control arm received the EMPOWER brochure during the trial extension. Normal cognition (n = 139) or MCI (n = 122) was determined during baseline cognitive testing using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment questionnaire. Changes in knowledge pre- and post-intervention were assessed with a knowledge questionnaire and changes in beliefs were calculated using the Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire. Logistic regression was used to compare knowledge gained, change in beliefs and benzodiazepine cessation rates between participants with and without MCI. Complete discontinuation of benzodiazepines was achieved in 39 (32.0% [24.4,40.7]) participants with MCI and in 53 (38.1% [30.5,46.4]) with normal cognition (adjusted OR 0.79, 95% CI [0.45-1.38]). Compared to individuals with normal cognition, MCI had no effect on the acquisition of new knowledge, change in beliefs about benzodiazepines or elicitation of cognitive dissonance. The EMPOWER brochure is effective for reducing benzodiazepines in community-dwelling older adults with mild cognitive impairment. Our ClinicalTrials.gov identifier is NCT01148186 , June 21 st 2010.

Clinical assessment of social cognitive function in neurological disorders.

PubMed

Henry, Julie D; von Hippel, William; Molenberghs, Pascal; Lee, Teresa; Sachdev, Perminder S

2016-01-01

Social cognition broadly refers to the processing of social information in the brain that underlies abilities such as the detection of others' emotions and responding appropriately to these emotions. Social cognitive skills are critical for successful communication and, consequently, mental health and wellbeing. Disturbances of social cognition are early and salient features of many neuropsychiatric, neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders, and often occur after acute brain injury. Its assessment in the clinic is, therefore, of paramount importance. Indeed, the most recent edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-5) introduced social cognition as one of six core components of neurocognitive function, alongside memory and executive control. Failures of social cognition most often present as poor theory of mind, reduced affective empathy, impaired social perception or abnormal social behaviour. Standard neuropsychological assessments lack the precision and sensitivity needed to adequately inform treatment of these failures. In this Review, we present appropriate methods of assessment for each of the four domains, using an example disorder to illustrate the value of these approaches. We discuss the clinical applications of testing for social cognitive function, and finally suggest a five-step algorithm for the evaluation and treatment of impairments, providing quantitative evidence to guide the selection of social cognitive measures in clinical practice.

[Chronic heart failure and depression].

PubMed

Herrmann-Lingen, C

2018-05-01

Depression is a frequent comorbidity in chronic heart failure. It can be triggered by the experience of suffering from heart disease, but it can also play a causal role in accelerated development and poor prognosis of heart failure. The aim of this study was to investigate the interrelationships between heart failure and depression and the psychophysiological and behavioral mechanisms involved in this association. The effects of comorbid depression on quality of life in patients with heart failure were also examined and therapeutic options reviewed. A narrative review of the literature was undertaken. Several psychophysiological and behavioral mechanisms have been identified as mediators of the association between depression and heart failure and the adverse prognostic effects of this comorbidity. Comorbid depression leads to substantial reductions in health-related quality of life. These effects are only incompletely antagonized by exercise training and cognitive behavioral therapy. No specific effect of antidepressant medication has been demonstrated as yet in patients with heart failure. While current guidelines recommend the identification and treatment of depressive comorbidity in patients with heart failure, the available evidence provides no convincing rationale for specific treatment recommendations beyond the guideline-based treatment of heart failure itself, lifestyle interventions and patient-centered medical care. If available, psychotherapy should be offered, ideally cognitive behavioral therapy. For patients that do not improve sufficiently under outpatient treatment, the German health care system offers dedicated psychocardiological inpatient treatment programs.

Protective Role of Recent and Past Long-Term Physical Activity on Age-Related Cognitive Decline: The Moderating Effect of Sex.

PubMed

Lopez-Fontana, Iréné; Castanier, Carole; Le Scanff, Christine; Perrot, Alexandra

2018-06-13

This study aimed to investigate if the impact of both recent and long-term physical activity on age-related cognitive decline would be modified by sex. One-hundred thirty-five men (N = 67) and women (N = 68) aged 18 to 80 years completed the Modifiable Activity Questionnaire and the Historical Leisure Activity Questionnaire. A composite score of cognitive functions was computed from five experimental tasks. Hierarchical regression analyses performed to test the moderating effect of recent physical activity on age-cognition relationship had not revealed significant result regardless of sex. Conversely, past long-term physical activity was found to slow down the age-related cognitive decline among women (β = 0.22, p = .03), but not men. The findings support a lifecourse approach in identifying determinants of cognitive aging and the importance of taking into account the moderating role of sex. This article presented potential explanations for these moderators and future avenues to explore.

Effects of General and Specific Cognitive Abilities on Reading Achievement in a Referred Sample

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Juarez, Betsy M.

2012-01-01

Psychoeducational assessment, and specifically cognitive testing, is important to the role of school psychologists; however, the utility of such testing has been called into question, and its future is unclear. Researchers are divided into two camps. One side grew disenchanted with cognitive testing after the failure of the discrepancy method to…

The Unconscious Allocation of Cognitive Resources to Task-Relevant and Task-Irrelevant Thoughts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuldas, Seffetullah; Hashim, Shahabuddin; Ismail, Hairul Nizam; Samsudin, Mohd Ali; Bakar, Zainudin Abu

2014-01-01

Conscious allocation of cognitive resources to task-relevant thoughts is necessary for learning. However, task-irrelevant thoughts often associated with fear of failure can enter the mind and interfere with learning. Effects like this prompt the question of whether or not learners consciously shift their cognitive resources from task-relevant to…

Life event stress and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): associations with mental well-being and quality of life in a population-based study

PubMed Central

Lu, Yanxia; Nyunt, Ma Shwe Zin; Gwee, Xinyi; Feng, Liang; Feng, Lei; Kua, Ee Heok; Kumar, Rajeev; Ng, Tze Pin

2012-01-01

Objectives To investigate whether life event stress was associated with greater psychological distress and poorer quality of life in older individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), in comparison with their counterparts without COPD. Design Cross-sectional study. Participants A population-based sample (N=497) of individuals aged 65 and above with COPD (postbronchodilatation FEV1/FVC<0.70, N=136) and without COPD (N=277). Measurements We measured life event stress, depressive symptoms (GDS, Geriatric Depression Scale), cognitive symptoms and function (CFQ, Cognitive Failures Questionnaire and MMSE, Mini-Mental State Examination), and physical and mental health functional status (SF36-PCS, Physical Health Component Summary and SF36-MCS, Mental Health Component Summary) in participants with and without COPD. Results In two-way analysis of variance controlling for potential confounders, life event stress was associated with significant main effects of worse GDS (p<0.001), SF36-PCS (p=0.008) and SF36-MCS scores (p<0.001), and with significant interaction effects on GDS score (p<0.001), SF36-PCS (p=0.045) and SF36-MCS (p=0.034) in participants with COPD, more than in non-COPD participants. The main effect of COPD was found for postbronchodilator FEV1 (p<0.001) and cognitive symptoms (p=0.02). Conclusions Our findings indicate that life event stress was associated with more depressive symptoms and worse quality of life in individuals with COPD, much more than in those without COPD. Further studies should explore the role of cognitive appraisal of stress, coping resources and psycho-social support in this relationship. PMID:23166130

Psychosocial predictors of nonadherence to medical management among patients on maintenance dialysis.

PubMed

Alosaimi, Fahad Dakheel; Asiri, Mohammed; Alsuwayt, Saleh; Alotaibi, Tariq; Bin Mugren, Mohammed; Almufarrih, Abdulmalik; Almodameg, Saad

2016-01-01

A number of reports suggest a link between depression and nonadherence to recommended management for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients on maintenance dialysis. However, the relationship between nonadherence and other psychosocial factors have been inadequately examined. To examine the prevalence of psychosocial factors including depression, anxiety, insecure attachment style, as well as cognitive impairment and their associations with adherence to recommended management of ESRD. A cross-sectional observational study was carried out from 2014 to 2015. Chronic dialysis patients were recruited conveniently from four major dialysis units in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Nonadherence was defined as decreased attendance in dialysis sessions, failure to take prescribed medications, and/or follow food/fluid restrictions and exercise recommendations. A total of 234 patients (147 males and 87 females) were included in this analysis, with 45 patients (19.2%) considered as nonadherent (visual analog scale < 8). Approximately 17.9% of the patients had depression (Patient Health Questionnaire score ≥10), 13.2% had anxiety (Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale-anxiety >7), while 77.4% had cognitive impairment (Montreal Cognitive Assessment score <26). Nonadherence was significantly associated with depression and anxiety ( p <0.001 for both) but not cognitive impairment ( p =0.266). The Experiences in Close Relationships - Modified 16 (ECR-M16) scale score was 27.99±10.87 for insecure anxiety and 21.71±9.06 for insecure avoidance relationship, with nonadherence significantly associated with anxiety ( p =0.001) but not avoidance ( p =0.400). Nonadherence to different aspects of ESRD continues to be a serious problem among dialysis patients, and it is closely linked to depression and anxiety. The findings from this study reemphasize the importance of early detection and management of psychosocial ailments in these patients.

Subjective Memory Complaints in healthy older adults: Fewer complaints associated with depression and perceived health, more complaints also associated with lower memory performance.

PubMed

Montejo Carrasco, Pedro; Montenegro-Peña, Mercedes; López-Higes, Ramón; Estrada, Eduardo; Prada Crespo, David; Montejo Rubio, Christian; García Azorín, David

(i) To analyze if general cognitive performance, perceived health and depression are predictors of Subjective Memory Complaints (SMC) contrasting their effect sizes; (ii) to analyze the relationship between SMC and objective memory by comparing a test that measures memory in daily life and a classical test of associated pairs; (iii) to examine if different subgroups, formed according to the MFE score, might have different behaviors regarding the studied variables. Sample: 3921 community-dwelling people (mean age 70.41±4.70) without cognitive impairment. Consecutive non-probabilistic recruitment. Mini Cognitive Exam (MCE), daily memory Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test (RBMT), Paired Associates Learning (PAL), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), Nottingham Health Profile (NHP). Dependent variable: Memory Failures Everyday Questionnaire (MFE). Two different dimensions to explain SMC were found: One subjective (MFE, GDS, NHP) and other objective (RBMT, PAL, MCE), the first more strongly associated with SMC. SMC predictors were NHP, GDS, RBMT and PAL, in this order according to effect size. Considering MFE scores we subdivided the sample into three groups (low, medium, higher scores): low MFE group was associated with GDS; medium, with GDS, NPH and RBMT, and higher, with age as well. Effect size for every variable tended to grow as the MFE score was higher. SMC were associated with both health profile and depressive symptoms and, in a lesser degree, with memory and overall cognitive performance. In people with fewer SMC, these are only associated with depressive symptomatology. More SMC are associated with depression, poor health perception and lower memory. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pre-cue Fronto-Occipital Alpha Phase and Distributed Cortical Oscillations Predict Failures of Cognitive Control

PubMed Central

Hamm, Jordan P.; Dyckman, Kara A.; McDowell, Jennifer E.; Clementz, Brett A.

2012-01-01

Cognitive control is required for correct performance on antisaccade tasks, including the ability to inhibit an externally driven ocular motor repsonse (a saccade to a peripheral stimulus) in favor of an internally driven ocular motor goal (a saccade directed away from a peripheral stimulus). Healthy humans occasionally produce errors during antisaccade tasks, but the mechanisms associated with such failures of cognitive control are uncertain. Most research on cognitive control failures focuses on post-stimulus processing, although a growing body of literature highlights a role of intrinsic brain activity in perceptual and cognitive performance. The current investigation used dense array electroencephalography and distributed source analyses to examine brain oscillations across a wide frequency bandwidth in the period prior to antisaccade cue onset. Results highlight four important aspects of ongoing and preparatory brain activations that differentiate error from correct antisaccade trials: (i) ongoing oscillatory beta (20–30Hz) power in anterior cingulate prior to trial initiation (lower for error trials), (ii) instantaneous phase of ongoing alpha-theta (7Hz) in frontal and occipital cortices immediately before trial initiation (opposite between trial types), (iii) gamma power (35–60Hz) in posterior parietal cortex 100 ms prior to cue onset (greater for error trials), and (iv) phase locking of alpha (5–12Hz) in parietal and occipital cortices immediately prior to cue onset (lower for error trials). These findings extend recently reported effects of pre-trial alpha phase on perception to cognitive control processes, and help identify the cortical generators of such phase effects. PMID:22593071

Independent validation of the MMPI-2-RF Somatic/Cognitive and Validity scales in TBI Litigants tested for effort.

PubMed

Youngjohn, James R; Wershba, Rebecca; Stevenson, Matthew; Sturgeon, John; Thomas, Michael L

2011-04-01

The MMPI-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF; Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2008) is replacing the MMPI-2 as the most widely used personality test in neuropsychological assessment, but additional validation studies are needed. Our study examines MMPI-2-RF Validity scales and the newly created Somatic/Cognitive scales in a recently reported sample of 82 traumatic brain injury (TBI) litigants who either passed or failed effort tests (Thomas & Youngjohn, 2009). The restructured Validity scales FBS-r (restructured symptom validity), F-r (restructured infrequent responses), and the newly created Fs (infrequent somatic responses) were not significant predictors of TBI severity. FBS-r was significantly related to passing or failing effort tests, and Fs and F-r showed non-significant trends in the same direction. Elevations on the Somatic/Cognitive scales profile (MLS-malaise, GIC-gastrointestinal complaints, HPC-head pain complaints, NUC-neurological complaints, and COG-cognitive complaints) were significant predictors of effort test failure. Additionally, HPC had the anticipated paradoxical inverse relationship with head injury severity. The Somatic/Cognitive scales as a group were better predictors of effort test failure than the RF Validity scales, which was an unexpected finding. MLS arose as the single best predictor of effort test failure of all RF Validity and Somatic/Cognitive scales. Item overlap analysis revealed that all MLS items are included in the original MMPI-2 Hy scale, making MLS essentially a subscale of Hy. This study validates the MMPI-2-RF as an effective tool for use in neuropsychological assessment of TBI litigants.

Are the results of questionnaires measuring non-cognitive characteristics during the selection procedure for medical school application biased by social desirability?

PubMed Central

Obst, Katrin U.; Brüheim, Linda; Westermann, Jürgen; Katalinic, Alexander; Kötter, Thomas

2016-01-01

Introduction: A stronger consideration of non-cognitive characteristics in Medical School application procedures is desirable. Psychometric tests could be used as an economic supplement to face-to-face interviews which are frequently conducted during university internal procedures for Medical School applications (AdH, Auswahlverfahren der Hochschulen). This study investigates whether the results of psychometric questionnaires measuring non-cognitive characteristics such as personality traits, empathy, and resilience towards stress are vulnerable to distortions of social desirability when used in the context of selection procedures at Medical Schools. Methods: This study took place during the AdH of Lübeck University in August 2015. The following questionnaires have been included: NEO-FFI, SPF, and AVEM. In a 2x1 between-subject experiment we compared the answers from an alleged application condition and a control condition. In the alleged application condition we told applicants that these questionnaires were part of the application procedure. In the control condition applicants were informed about the study prior to completing the questionnaires. Results: All included questionnaires showed differences which can be regarded as social-desirability effects. These differences did not affect the entire scales but, rather, single subscales. Conclusion: These results challenge the informative value of these questionnaires when used for Medical School application procedures. Future studies may investigate the extent to which the differences influence the actual selection of applicants and what implications can be drawn from them for the use of psychometric questionnaires as part of study-place allocation procedures at Medical Schools. PMID:27990471

Are the results of questionnaires measuring non-cognitive characteristics during the selection procedure for medical school application biased by social desirability?

PubMed

Obst, Katrin U; Brüheim, Linda; Westermann, Jürgen; Katalinic, Alexander; Kötter, Thomas

2016-01-01

Introduction: A stronger consideration of non-cognitive characteristics in Medical School application procedures is desirable. Psychometric tests could be used as an economic supplement to face-to-face interviews which are frequently conducted during university internal procedures for Medical School applications (AdH, Auswahlverfahren der Hochschulen). This study investigates whether the results of psychometric questionnaires measuring non-cognitive characteristics such as personality traits, empathy, and resilience towards stress are vulnerable to distortions of social desirability when used in the context of selection procedures at Medical Schools. Methods: This study took place during the AdH of Lübeck University in August 2015. The following questionnaires have been included: NEO-FFI, SPF, and AVEM. In a 2x1 between-subject experiment we compared the answers from an alleged application condition and a control condition. In the alleged application condition we told applicants that these questionnaires were part of the application procedure. In the control condition applicants were informed about the study prior to completing the questionnaires. Results: All included questionnaires showed differences which can be regarded as social-desirability effects. These differences did not affect the entire scales but, rather, single subscales. Conclusion: These results challenge the informative value of these questionnaires when used for Medical School application procedures. Future studies may investigate the extent to which the differences influence the actual selection of applicants and what implications can be drawn from them for the use of psychometric questionnaires as part of study-place allocation procedures at Medical Schools.

Patient and Family Member Factors Influencing Outcomes of Poststroke Inpatient Rehabilitation.

PubMed

Fang, Yunhua; Tao, Qian; Zhou, Xiaoxuan; Chen, Shanjia; Huang, Jia; Jiang, Yingping; Wu, Yi; Chen, Lidian; Tao, Jing; Chan, Chetwyn C

2017-02-01

To investigate how family members' attitudes toward functional regain, and patients' knowledge and intention of independence influence poststroke rehabilitation. Cross-sectional study. Three rehabilitation inpatient settings. Younger (n=79) and older (n=84) poststroke patients, along with their family members (spouses, n=104; children, n=59). Not applicable. Custom-designed questionnaires were used to tap into the patients' knowledge about rehabilitation (Patient's Rehabilitation Questionnaire-Knowledge About Rehabilitation) and intention of independence (Patient's Rehabilitation Questionnaire-Intention of Independence), and family members' attitudes toward patients in performing basic activities of daily living (BADL) (Family Member Attitudes Questionnaire-BADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (Family Member Attitudes Questionnaire-instrumental activities of daily living). The rehabilitation outcomes included gains in motor, cognitive, and emotional functions, and self-care independence, measured with common clinical instruments. The Family Member Attitudes Questionnaire-BADL predicted cognitive outcome and the Patient's Rehabilitation Questionnaire-Intention of Independence predicted motor outcome for both groups. Differential age-related effects were revealed for the Patient's Rehabilitation Questionnaire-Intention of Independence in predicting emotional outcome only for the younger group, and self-care independence only for the older group. Patients' intention of independence positively affected motor recovery, while family members' positive attitudes promoted cognitive regain. The findings suggested plausible age-related differences in how patients' intentions affect emotion versus self-care independence outcomes. Future studies should explore strategies for promoting positive attitudes toward independence among patients and family members during poststroke rehabilitation. Copyright © 2016 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Relations between Semantic and Cognitive Development in the One-Word Stage: The Specificity Hypothesis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gopnik, Alison; Meltzoff, Andrew N.

1986-01-01

Compares two types of semantic development (the acquisition of disappearance words and success-failure words) to performance on two types of cognitive tasks (object-permanence and means-ends tasks) among infants. (HOD)

Physical activity and depression in older adults with and without cognitive impairment.

PubMed

Yuenyongchaiwat, Kornanong; Pongpanit, Khajonsak; Hanmanop, Somrudee

2018-01-01

Low physical activity and depression may be related to cognitive impairment in the elderly. To determine depression and physical activity (PA) among older adults with and without cognitive impairment. 156 older adults, both males and females, aged ≥60 years, were asked to complete the Thai Mini-Mental State Examination (Thai-MMSE), a global cognitive impairment screening tool. Seventy-eight older adults with cognitive impairment and 78 older adults without cognitive impairment were then separately administered two questionnaires (i.e., the Thai Geriatric Depression Scale; TGDS and Global Physical Activity Questionnaire; GPAQ). Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the risk of developing cognitive impairment in the groups of older individuals with and without cognitive impairment. A cross-sectional study of elderly with a mean age of 74.47 ± 8.14 years was conducted. There were significant differences on the depression scale and in PA between older adults with and without cognitive impairment. Further, participants with low PA and high level of depressive symptoms had an increased risk of cognitive impairment (Odds ratio = 4.808 and 3.298, respectively). Significant differences were noted in PA and on depression scales between older adults with and without cognitive impairment. Therefore, increased PA and decreased depressive symptoms (i.e., having psychological support) are suggested to reduce the risks of cognitive impairment in older adults.

Development and Validation of the Cognitive Behavioral Physical Activity Questionnaire.

PubMed

Schembre, Susan M; Durand, Casey P; Blissmer, Bryan J; Greene, Geoffrey W

2015-01-01

Develop and demonstrate preliminary validation of a brief questionnaire aimed at assessing social cognitive determinants of physical activity (PA) in a college population. Quantitative and observational. A midsized northeastern university. Convenience sample of 827 male and female college students age 18 to 24 years. International Physical Activity Questionnaire and a PA stage-of-change algorithm. A sequential process of survey development, including item generation and data reduction analyses by factor analysis, was followed with the goal of creating a parsimonious questionnaire. Structural equation modeling was used for confirmatory factor analysis and construct validation was confirmed against self-reported PA and stage of change. Validation analyses were replicated in a second, independent sample of 1032 college students. Fifteen items reflecting PA self-regulation, outcome expectations, and personal barriers explained 65% of the questionnaire data and explained 28.6% and 39.5% of the variance in total PA and moderate-to-vigorous-intensity PA, respectively. Scale scores were distinguishable across the stages of change. Findings were similar when the Cognitive Behavioral Physical Activity Questionnaire (CBPAQ) was tested in a similar and independent sample of college students (40%; R (2) moderate-to-vigorous-intensity PA = .40; p < .001). The CBPAQ successfully explains and predicts PA behavior in a college population, warranting its incorporation into future studies aiming at understanding and improving on PA behavior in college students.

Associations between Private Speech, Behavioral Self-Regulation, and Cognitive Abilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aro, Tuija; Poikkeus, Anna-Maija; Laakso, Marja-Leena; Tolvanen, Asko; Ahonen, Timo

2015-01-01

We examined the associations between 5-year-old children's private speech, behavioural self-regulation, and cognitive abilities. Behavioural self-regulation was assessed using parental and preschool teacher questionnaires. Cognitive abilities (i.e., language, inhibition, planning and fluency, and memory) were assessed with neurocognitive tests,…

Non-Cognitive Assessment in Provisional Admissions Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bell, Laura J.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether the use of non-cognitive assessment in combination with traditional criteria predicted potential academic success as measured by first-semester GPAs of provisionally admitted students. Survey data were collected with a non-cognitive questionnaire (NCQ) from provisionally admitted…

Design of psychosocial factors questionnaires: a systematic measurement approach

PubMed Central

Vargas, Angélica; Felknor, Sarah A

2012-01-01

Background Evaluation of psychosocial factors requires instruments that measure dynamic complexities. This study explains the design of a set of questionnaires to evaluate work and non-work psychosocial risk factors for stress-related illnesses. Methods The measurement model was based on a review of literature. Content validity was performed by experts and cognitive interviews. Pilot testing was carried out with a convenience sample of 132 workers. Cronbach’s alpha evaluated internal consistency and concurrent validity was estimated by Spearman correlation coefficients. Results Three questionnaires were constructed to evaluate exposure to work and non-work risk factors. Content validity improved the questionnaires coherence with the measurement model. Internal consistency was adequate (α=0.85–0.95). Concurrent validity resulted in moderate correlations of psychosocial factors with stress symptoms. Conclusions Questionnaires´ content reflected a wide spectrum of psychosocial factors sources. Cognitive interviews improved understanding of questions and dimensions. The structure of the measurement model was confirmed. PMID:22628068

Characteristics of Male and Female Students Who Experienced Success or Failure in Their First College Science Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeBoer, George E.

1985-01-01

Examined personality (persistence, future orientation, and the tendency toward reckless/rash behavior) and cognitive factors related to success or failure in college science courses. One finding noted is that both men and women were more apt to attribute their success to effort/ability, and their failure to the difficulty of a task. (JN)

Converging on a core cognitive deficit: the impact of various neurodevelopmental insults on cognitive control

PubMed Central

O'Reilly, Kally C.; Kao, Hsin-Yi; Lee, Heekyung; Fenton, André A.

2014-01-01

Despite substantial effort and immense need, the treatment options for major neuropsychiatric illnesses like schizophrenia are limited and largely ineffective at improving the most debilitating cognitive symptoms that are central to mental illness. These symptoms include cognitive control deficits, the inability to selectively use information that is currently relevant and ignore what is currently irrelevant. Contemporary attempts to accelerate progress are in part founded on an effort to reconceptualize neuropsychiatric illness as a disorder of neural development. This neuro-developmental framework emphasizes abnormal neural circuits on the one hand, and on the other, it suggests there are therapeutic opportunities to exploit the developmental processes of excitatory neuron pruning, inhibitory neuron proliferation, elaboration of myelination, and other circuit refinements that extend through adolescence and into early adulthood. We have crafted a preclinical research program aimed at cognition failures that may be relevant to mental illness. By working with a variety of neurodevelopmental rodent models, we strive to identify a common pathophysiology that underlies cognitive control failure as well as a common strategy for improving cognition in the face of neural circuit abnormalities. Here we review our work to characterize cognitive control deficits in rats with a neonatal ventral hippocampus lesion and rats that were exposed to Methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) in utero. We review our findings as they pertain to early developmental processes, including neurogenesis, as well as the power of cognitive experience to refine neural circuit function within the mature and maturing brain's cognitive circuitry. PMID:24966811

Sensitivity and Specificity of a Five-Minute Cognitive Screening Test in Patients With Heart Failure.

PubMed

Cameron, Janette D; Gallagher, Robyn; Pressler, Susan J; McLennan, Skye N; Ski, Chantal F; Tofler, Geoffrey; Thompson, David R

2016-02-01

Cognitive impairment occurs in up to 80% of patients with heart failure (HF). The National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the Canadian Stroke Network (CSN) recommend a 5-minute cognitive screening protocol that has yet to be psychometrically evaluated in HF populations. The aim of this study was to conduct a secondary analysis of the sensitivity and specificity of the NINDS-CSN brief cognitive screening protocol in HF patients. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was administered to 221 HF patients. The NINDS-CSN screen comprises 3 MoCA items, with lower scores indicating poorer cognitive function. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed, determining the sensitivity, specificity and appropriate cutoff scores of the NINDS-CSN screen. In an HF population aged 76 ± 12 years, 136 (62%) were characterized with cognitive impairment (MoCA <26). Scores on the NINDS-CSN screen ranged from 3-11. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve indicated good accuracy in screening for cognitive impairment (0.88; P < .01; 95% CI 0.83-0.92). A cutoff score of ≤9 provided 89% sensitivity and 71% specificity. The NINDS-CSN protocol offers clinicians a feasible telephone method to screen for cognitive impairment in patients with HF. Future studies should include a neuropsychologic battery to more comprehensively examine the diagnostic accuracy of brief cognitive screening protocols. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Repeated recall as an intervention to improve memory performance in heart failure patients.

PubMed

Viveiros, Jennifer; Sethares, Kristen; Shapiro, Amy

2017-12-01

Up to 50% of heart failure patients demonstrate aspects of cognitive impairment, including memory deficit. Novel interventions are needed to address memory deficit among heart failure patients. The goal of this study was to evaluate the testing effect as an intervention to improve memory performance in heart failure patients. This was a randomized controlled clinical trial ( N=84) comparing the memory performance of heart failure patients with and without mild cognitive impairment after a repeated testing intervention. Memory performance was measured by verbal word pair associates recall scores, between attention control and experimental subjects. Patients had a mean age of 71.7 ± 13.3 years and similar baseline memory (immediate p=.79 and delayed p=.47). Overall, there were no significant differences in memory between experimental and control subjects, respectively (67.2±18.87 vs. 61.9±22.3, verbal word pair associates, t = -1.179, p=.24). In the final hierarchical regression model, age ( p=.018) and education ( p=.006) were significant predictors of memory performance, with the intervention approaching significance ( p=.079). Although not statistically significant, the intervention group reported better memory. Age and education continue to be significant contributors to memory performance in the heart failure population. Continued development of interventions to improve memory performance in heart failure patients is indicated.

Comparative Evaluation of Health-Related Quality of Life Questionnaires in Patients With Heart Failure Undergoing Cardiac Rehabilitation: A Psychometric Study.

PubMed

Rajati, Fatemeh; Feizi, Awat; Tavakol, Kamran; Mostafavi, Firoozeh; Sadeghi, Masoumeh; Sharifirad, Gholamreza

2016-11-01

To compare the psychometric properties of 2 heart failure (HF)-specific quality of life questionnaires and the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) in patients with HF. A methodological study based on 3-month follow-up data for evaluating psychometric properties of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) questionnaires. Cardiac rehabilitation center at a cardiovascular research institute. Eligible patients with HF (N=60). Exercise training in cardiac rehabilitation. The SF-36, the MacNew Heart Disease questionnaire, and the Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) and New York Heart Association functional classification. Items from the MLHFQ and the MacNew questionnaire had acceptable correlations (r>.30, P<.05). Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were adequate at ≥0.7 for the MLHFQ subscales. Correlations for the MLHFQ and the MacNew with SF-36 similar items ranged from .28 to .50 and from .26 to .60, respectively. Similar scales from the MacNew and MLHFQ showed strong correlations at baseline and follow-up, supporting the convergent validity. Improvement in HRQOL was significant for all MLHFQ subscales (P<.001) and the MacNew emotional (P<.05) and social (P<.001) subscales. The MLHFQ demonstrated the most responsiveness to changes and discriminated disease severity the best. The follow-up scores for all MLHFQ and 2 MacNew subscales were significantly greater in patients who improved compared with those who showed no change or deteriorated. The MLHFQ was more responsive to changes of HRQOL than the MacNew questionnaire over time in patients with HF. The MacNew questionnaire was more responsive to changes than the SF-36. Copyright © 2016 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Do developmental milestones at 4, 8, 12 and 24 months predict IQ at 5-6 years old? Results of the EDEN mother-child cohort.

PubMed

Peyre, Hugo; Charkaluk, Marie-Laure; Forhan, Anne; Heude, Barbara; Ramus, Franck

2017-03-01

The present study aims: (i) to determine how well developmental milestones at 4, 8, 12 and 24 months may predict IQ at 5-6 years old, (ii) to identify cognitive domains during the first two years that best predict later IQ and (iii) to determine whether children with IQ in the normal range at 5-6 years old may differ from disabled (IQ < 70) and gifted children (IQ > 130) with regard to their early cognitive development. The main developmental milestones were collected through self-administered questionnaires rated by parents at 4, 8, 12 and 24 months and through parental questionnaires administered by a trained interviewer and questionnaires completed following a medical examination at 12 months. These questionnaires were derived from the Brunet-Lézine Psychomotor Development Scale and they addressed several cognitive domains (gross and fine motor skills, language and socialization). (i) Developmental milestones predict a substantial part of the later IQ variance from 24 months (R 2  ∼ 20%). (ii) Early language skills more strongly predict later IQ than the other cognitive domains. (iii) Several cognitive domains, but particularly language skills, predict disabled children at 5-6 years old (from the age of 8 months) and gifted children (from the age of 12 months). The present study provides valuable information for early developmental assessment and could contribute to a better understanding of intellectual development. Copyright © 2016 European Paediatric Neurology Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neural correlates of social cooperation and non-cooperation as a function of psychopathy.

PubMed

Rilling, James K; Glenn, Andrea L; Jairam, Meeta R; Pagnoni, Giuseppe; Goldsmith, David R; Elfenbein, Hanie A; Lilienfeld, Scott O

2007-06-01

Psychopathy is a disorder involving a failure to experience many emotions that are necessary for appropriate social behavior. In this study, we probed the behavioral, emotional, and neural correlates of psychopathic traits within the context of a dyadic social interaction. Thirty subjects were imaged with functional magnetic resonance imaging while playing an iterated Prisoner's Dilemma game with human confederates who were outside the scanner. Subjects also completed two self-report psychopathy questionnaires. Subjects scoring higher on psychopathy, particularly males, defected more often and were less likely to continue cooperating after establishing mutual cooperation with a partner. Further, they experienced more outcomes in which their cooperation was not reciprocated (cooperate-defect outcome). After such outcomes, subjects scoring high in psychopathy showed less amygdala activation, suggesting weaker aversive conditioning to those outcomes. Compared with low-psychopathy subjects, subjects higher in psychopathy also showed weaker activation within orbitofrontal cortex when choosing to cooperate and showed weaker activation within dorsolateral prefrontal and rostral anterior cingulate cortex when choosing to defect. These findings suggest that whereas subjects scoring low on psychopathy have emotional biases toward cooperation that can only be overcome with effortful cognitive control, subjects scoring high on psychopathy have an opposing bias toward defection that likewise can only be overcome with cognitive effort.

Personality Changes as a Function of Minimum Competency Test Success or Failure.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richman, Charles L.; And Others

1987-01-01

The psychological effects of success and failure on the North Carolina Minimum Competency Test (MCT) were examined. Subjects were high school students, who were pre- and post-tested using the Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale and the High School Personality Questionnaire. Self-esteem decreased following knowledge of MCT failure. (LMO)

Validation of Self-Reported Cognitive Problems with Objective Neuropsychological Performance in Manganese-Exposed Residents

EPA Science Inventory

There is a lack of validation of self-reported cognitive problems with objective neuropsychological measures. The validity of four self-reported cognitive items from a health questionnaire (HQ) and the Symptoms Checklist 90-Revised (SCL-90-R) was examined with objective clinical ...

Cultural Predictors of the Parenting Cognitions of Immigrant Chinese Mothers and Fathers in Canada

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Costigan, Catherine; Su, Tina F.

2008-01-01

This study explored the predictors of parenting cognitions among 94 married immigrant Chinese couples with early-adolescent children in Canada. Mothers and fathers separately completed questionnaires assessing their culturally based parenting cognitions (interdependent childrearing goals, family obligation expectations and Chinese parent role…

Implicit Attitudes toward Violence among Male Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Violence: A Preliminary Investigation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eckhardt, Christopher I.; Samper, Rita; Suhr, Laura; Holtzworth-Munroe, Amy

2012-01-01

Whereas cognitive variables are hypothesized to play an important role in intimate partner violence (IPV) etiology and intervention, cognitive assessment methods have largely targeted offenders' explicit, controlled cognitive processing using paper-and-pencil questionnaires prone to social desirability biases. Using an implicit measure of…

A proper metaphysics for cognitive performance.

PubMed

Van Orden, Guy C; Moreno, Miguel A; Holden, John G

2003-01-01

The general failure to individuate component causes in cognitive performance suggests the need for an alternative metaphysics. The metaphysics of control hierarchy theory accommodates the fact of self-organization in nature and the possibility that intentional actions are self-organized. One key assumption is that interactions among processes dominate their intrinsic dynamics. Scaling relations in response time variability motivate this assumption in cognitive performance.

Spatial Disorientation in Flight: Current Problems

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-10-01

intimately involved with various sensory, cognitive , and emotional processes of habituation (Guedry,1971). While repeated exposure to patterns of...stimuli normally involved in orientation and the failure of a learned cognitive skill to compensate for mismatched signals. Recently, a new concept has...It is well known that under atypical stimulation, unusual environmental conditions, or stress, the first abilities to be impaired are learned cognitive

Subjective complaints after acquired brain injury: presentation of the Brain Injury Complaint Questionnaire (BICoQ).

PubMed

Vallat-Azouvi, Claire; Paillat, Cyrille; Bercovici, Stéphanie; Morin, Bénédicte; Paquereau, Julie; Charanton, James; Ghout, Idir; Azouvi, Philippe

2018-04-01

The objective of the present study was to present a new complaint questionnaire designed to assess a wide range of difficulties commonly reported by patients with acquired brain injury. Patients (n =  619) had been referred to a community re-entry service at a chronic stage after brain injury, mainly traumatic brain injury (TBI). The Brain Injury Complaint Questionnaire (BICoQ) includes 25 questions in the following domains: cognition, behavior, fatigue and sleep, mood, and somatic problems. A self and a proxy questionnaire were given. An additional question was given to the relative, about the patient's awareness of his difficulties. The questionnaires had a good internal coherence, as measured with Cronbach's alpha. The most frequent complaints were, in decreasing order, mental slowness, memory troubles, fatigue, concentration difficulties, anxiety, and dual tasking problems. Principal component analysis with varimax rotation yielded six underlying factors explaining 50.5% of total variance: somatic concerns, cognition, and lack of drive, lack of control, psycholinguistic disorders, mood, and mental fatigue/slowness. About 52% of patients reported fewer complaints than their proxy, suggesting lack of awareness. The total complaint scores were not significantly correlated with any injury severity measure, but were significantly correlated with disability and poorer quality of life (Note: only factor 2 [cognition/lack of drive] was significantly related to disability.) The BICoQ is a simple scale that can be used in addition to traditional clinical and cognitive assessment measures, and to assess awareness of everyday life problems. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The development of a new questionnaire for cognitive complaints in vertigo: the Neuropsychological Vertigo Inventory (NVI).

PubMed

Lacroix, Emilie; Deggouj, Naima; Salvaggio, Samuel; Wiener, Valérie; Debue, Michel; Edwards, Martin Gareth

2016-12-01

Vertigo patients frequently complain of emotional and associated cognitive problems, yet currently, there is no satisfactory questionnaire to measure these associated problems. In the present paper, we propose a new internet-based Neuropsychological Vertigo Inventory (NVI; French) that evaluates attention, memory, emotion, space perception, time perception, vision, and motor abilities. The questionnaire was created using four steps: (1) open interviews with patients suffering from vertigo; (2) semi-structured interviews with an analysis grid to quantify and define the various cognitive and emotional problems reported by the patients; (3) a first version of an internet questionnaire tested on 108 vertigo participants; and (4) the selection of subscale items using principal component analyses (PCA). From the development phase, the revised NVI was composed of seven subscales, each with four items (28 items). In the validation phase, Cronbach's alphas were performed on the revised NVI for total and each subscale score, and to test extreme groups validity, the analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) taking into account age were performed between 108 vertigo and 104 non-vertigo participants. The Cronbach's alphas showed good to satisfactory coefficients for the total and for all subscale scores, demonstrating acceptable reliability. The extreme groups validity analyses (ANCOVAs) were reliable for the total scale and for four subscales. Supplementary analyses showed no effect of hearing difficulties and an inverse age effect for attention and emotion subscales, with reduced problems with increased age in the vertigo participants. The NVI provides a useful new questionnaire to determine cognitive and emotional neuropsychological complaints that are associated with vertigo.

Understanding and Resolving Failures in Human-Robot Interaction: Literature Review and Model Development

PubMed Central

Honig, Shanee; Oron-Gilad, Tal

2018-01-01

While substantial effort has been invested in making robots more reliable, experience demonstrates that robots operating in unstructured environments are often challenged by frequent failures. Despite this, robots have not yet reached a level of design that allows effective management of faulty or unexpected behavior by untrained users. To understand why this may be the case, an in-depth literature review was done to explore when people perceive and resolve robot failures, how robots communicate failure, how failures influence people's perceptions and feelings toward robots, and how these effects can be mitigated. Fifty-two studies were identified relating to communicating failures and their causes, the influence of failures on human-robot interaction (HRI), and mitigating failures. Since little research has been done on these topics within the HRI community, insights from the fields of human computer interaction (HCI), human factors engineering, cognitive engineering and experimental psychology are presented and discussed. Based on the literature, we developed a model of information processing for robotic failures (Robot Failure Human Information Processing, RF-HIP), that guides the discussion of our findings. The model describes the way people perceive, process, and act on failures in human robot interaction. The model includes three main parts: (1) communicating failures, (2) perception and comprehension of failures, and (3) solving failures. Each part contains several stages, all influenced by contextual considerations and mitigation strategies. Several gaps in the literature have become evident as a result of this evaluation. More focus has been given to technical failures than interaction failures. Few studies focused on human errors, on communicating failures, or the cognitive, psychological, and social determinants that impact the design of mitigation strategies. By providing the stages of human information processing, RF-HIP can be used as a tool to promote the development of user-centered failure-handling strategies for HRIs.

An Investigation of Emotion Recognition and Theory of Mind in People with Chronic Heart Failure

PubMed Central

Habota, Tina; McLennan, Skye N.; Cameron, Jan; Ski, Chantal F.; Thompson, David R.; Rendell, Peter G.

2015-01-01

Objectives Cognitive deficits are common in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF), but no study has investigated whether these deficits extend to social cognition. The present study provided the first empirical assessment of emotion recognition and theory of mind (ToM) in patients with CHF. In addition, it assessed whether each of these social cognitive constructs was associated with more general cognitive impairment. Methods A group comparison design was used, with 31 CHF patients compared to 38 demographically matched controls. The Ekman Faces test was used to assess emotion recognition, and the Mind in the Eyes test to measure ToM. Measures assessing global cognition, executive functions, and verbal memory were also administered. Results There were no differences between groups on emotion recognition or ToM. The CHF group’s performance was poorer on some executive measures, but memory was relatively preserved. In the CHF group, both emotion recognition performance and ToM ability correlated moderately with global cognition (r = .38, p = .034; r = .49, p = .005, respectively), but not with executive function or verbal memory. Conclusion CHF patients with lower cognitive ability were more likely to have difficulty recognizing emotions and inferring the mental states of others. Clinical implications of these findings are discussed. PMID:26529409

The effects of lifelong cognitive lifestyle on executive function in older people with Parkinson's disease.

PubMed

Hindle, John V; Martin-Forbes, Pamela A; Martyr, Anthony; Bastable, Alexandra J M; Pye, Kirstie L; Mueller Gathercole, Virginia C; Thomas, Enlli M; Clare, Linda

2017-12-01

Active lifelong cognitive lifestyles increase cognitive reserve and have beneficial effects on global cognition, cognitive decline and dementia risk in Parkinson's disease (PD). Executive function is particularly impaired even in early PD, and this impacts on quality of life. The effects of lifelong cognitive lifestyle on executive function in PD have not been studied previously. This study examined the association between lifelong cognitive lifestyle, as a proxy measure of cognitive reserve, and executive function in people with PD. Sixty-nine people diagnosed with early PD without dementia were recruited as part of the Bilingualism as a protective factor in Age-related Neurodegenerative Conditions study. Participants completed a battery of tests of executive function. The Lifetime of Experiences Questionnaire was completed as a comprehensive assessment of lifelong cognitive lifestyle. Non-parametric correlations compared clinical measures with executive function scores. Cross-sectional analyses of covariance were performed comparing the performance of low and high cognitive reserve groups on executive function tests. Correlational analyses showed that better executive function scores were associated with younger age, higher levodopa dose and higher Lifetime of Experiences Questionnaire scores. Higher cognitive reserve was associated with better motor function, but high and low cognitive reserve groups did not differ in executive function. Cognitive reserve, although associated with global cognition, does not appear to be associated with executive function. This differential effect may reflect the specific cognitive profile of PD. The long-term effects of cognitive reserve on executive function in PD require further exploration. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Evaluation of non-adherence in patients undergoing dialysis and kidney transplantation: United States transplantation practice patterns survey.

PubMed

Brar, A; Babakhani, A; Salifu, M O; Jindal, R M

2014-06-01

We performed a survey of United States transplantation centers to evaluate practice patterns in the assessment of nonadherence before and after kidney transplantation. An electronically administered, anonymous survey was sent to 181 United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) approved transplantation centers in 2012. Seventy-nine centers completed our survey. Of them, 51.3% had a protocol to evaluate medication/dialysis adherence before the listing; most common (36.4%) was the Simplified Medication Adherence Questionnaire. As an alternative to a questionnaire, the most common measure of nonadherence was the number of missed hemodialysis sessions (77.0%). The most common reason for poor adherence to dialysis regimens was difficulty with transportation (81.3%). Also, 94.4% noted the lack of a questionnaire to evaluate adherence to medications but relied on drug levels (73.4%) and self report. Only 12.9% used a questionnaire for the measurement of quality of life (Karnofsky performance scale). Of the participating centers, 27.1% used a formal cognitive testing for potential living donors. A social worker was used by most centers for nonadherent patients. Respondents indicated that patients (in the pretransplantation state) were more compliant with dialysis than with medication regimens. Finally, 37.7% of respondents noted graft failure due to medication nonadherence in 15% to 29% of their patients. There was a significant variability in the methods of screening for nonadherence while the patient was on dialysis, during pretransplantation work up, and during post-transplantation follow-up examinations. We recommend that there should be a standardized technique to evaluate nonadherence to facilitate focused clinical trials to improve adherence. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

77 FR 11124 - Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-24

... Questionnaire Design Research Laboratory (QDRL) 2012-2014, OMB No. 0920-0222 expiration 3/31/2013)-Revision... Questionnaire Design Research Laboratory (QDRL) conducts questionnaire development, pre-testing, and evaluation.... By conducting a comparative analysis of cognitive interviews, it is also possible to determine...

"Circadian cortical compensation": a longitudinal study of brain function during technical and cognitive skills in acutely sleep-deprived surgical residents.

PubMed

Leff, Daniel Richard; Orihuela-Espina, Felipe; Athanasiou, Thanos; Karimyan, Vahe; Elwell, Clare; Wong, John; Yang, Guang-Zhong; Darzi, Ara W

2010-12-01

To test the hypothesis that fatigue-induced performance decline in surgical residents is associated with changes in brain function as detected by functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Surgical residents (n = 7) participated in a prospective study involving 2-hourly objective measurements of neurocognitive skill (arithmetic calculations using Nintendo "brain training"), technical performance (surgical knot tying on a trainer, and monitoring time taken, path length and number of movements), and introspective fatigue (questionnaire-based) across 10 hours of acute sleep deprivation (10:00 PM to 8:00 PM. Simultaneously, changes in cortical oxyhemoglobin (HbO₂), deoxyhemoglobin (HHb), and total hemoglobin (HbT), inferring prefrontal function, were recorded by using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Arithmetic performance remained stable despite increasing levels of subject fatigue (time: P = 0.07, errors: P = 0.70, efficiency: P = 0.58). Technical skill improved between the first (10:00 PM and the second (12:00 AM sessions (P < 0.05) and stabilized thereafter (12:00 AM to 8:00 AM. Greater activation was required to complete cognitive versus technical drills. Stimulus type (0: cognitive, 1: technical) was found to be an independent predictor of changes in cortical excitation (HbO₂: P < 0.01, HHb: P < 0.05, HbT: P < 0.01). Cortical responses to the cognitive task increased over the course of the simulated night shift. In addition, "time interval" was observed to be an independent predictor of cortical hemodynamic change (HbO₂: P < 0.01, HbT: P < 0.01). Neurocognitive tasks may tax the sleep-deprived resident more than well-learned technical skills. Performing cognitive skills at night, such as decision making, may depend upon enhanced prefrontal recruitment indicative of a focused attentional strategy and/or compensation to sleep deprivation. Further work should focus on determining whether errors in performance are associated with attentional lapses and failure of cortical compensation.

The effects of participation in leisure activities on neuropsychiatric symptoms of persons with cognitive impairment: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Chiu, Yi-Chen; Huang, Chien-Ying; Kolanowski, Ann M; Huang, Hsiu-Li; Shyu, Yeaing Lotus; Lee, Shu-Hwa; Lin, Ching-Rong; Hsu, Wen-Chuin

2013-10-01

People with cognitive impairment have been shown to engage in few structured activities. During periods of unoccupied time or boredom, these patients most likely manifest neuropsychiatric symptoms. The purposes of this study were to (1) describe the leisure-activity indicators (variety in leisure activities, appraisal of each activity's restorative function, and leisure dysfunction, i.e. failure to appreciate the importance of restorative aspects of leisure activity), of community-dwelling older Taiwanese adults with cognitive impairment, and (2) explore the relationships between these indicators and neuropsychiatric symptoms in this population. Cross-sectional. Memory disorder and geriatric psychiatric clinics of two hospitals in northern Taiwan. Patient-family caregiver dyads (N=60). Patients' dementia severity, based on Clinical Dementia Rating scores, was 0.5-2.0. Family caregivers completed the Chinese Neuropsychiatric Inventory to assess patients' behavioral problems and the Restorative Activity Questionnaire to assess patients' participation in leisure activities, restorative experience, and leisure dysfunction. On average, patients participated in approximately five individual leisure activities, but very few group leisure activities. The top three leisure activities were watching TV, taking a walk, and talking to relatives and friends. The leisure activities in which participants least commonly engaged were fishing, attending cultural exhibitions, and chess/card playing. All leisure-activity indicators were significantly correlated with disease stage, global cognitive function, and neuropsychiatric symptoms. Two leisure-activity indicators (leisure dysfunction and restorative experiences) were significantly correlated with depressive symptoms. Only leisure dysfunction significantly and consistently predicted neuropsychiatric symptoms. These results can be used by home health or community health nurses to design tailored leisure-activity plans for improving the care quality of patients with cognitive impairment. Health professionals can develop leisure-education programmes to emphasize the value of leisure pursuit and to modify attitudes toward participating in leisure activities. Finally, parks and recreational agencies may re-examine their services and facilities to meet the increasing needs of this population. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The association between atrial fibrillation and cognitive function in patients with heart failure.

PubMed

Yang, Huifeng; Niu, Weihua; Zang, Xiaoying; Lin, Mei; Zhao, Yue

2017-02-01

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with cognitive impairment in heart failure (HF). The purpose of this study was to examine whether AF independently predicted cognitive function in HF patients after controlling for more demographic, medical and psychological characteristics, and whether the timing of AF onset in relation to HF diagnosis independently contributed to cognitive function in HF patients with AF. A total of 188 hospitalized HF patients (62.8% male, age 66.3±10.6 years) completed cognitive function assessment with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). A history of AF, along with other medical characteristics, was ascertained through a review of participants' medical charts. The timing of AF onset in relation to HF diagnosis was categorized into AF occurring prior to HF diagnosis (i.e. prior AF) and AF developing after HF diagnosis (i.e. incident AF). Altogether 72 participants had a positive diagnostic history of AF. Specifically, 41 had prior AF, and 31 developed AF subsequently. In HF patients, AF was associated with poorer performance on cognitive function after controlling for more confounders (β=-0.112, ΔR 2 =0.010, p=0.046). Among HF patients with AF, incident AF independently predicted poorer cognitive function (β=-0.238, ΔR 2 =0.027, p=0.047). AF independently contributes to cognitive function in HF patients after adjusting for more confounding variables. The timing of AF onset in relation to HF diagnosis independently predicts cognitive function in HF patients with AF. Prospective studies are needed to elucidate possible mechanisms for the association between AF and cognitive function in HF populations.

Impaired processing of self-face recognition in anorexia nervosa.

PubMed

Hirot, France; Lesage, Marine; Pedron, Lya; Meyer, Isabelle; Thomas, Pierre; Cottencin, Olivier; Guardia, Dewi

2016-03-01

Body image disturbances and massive weight loss are major clinical symptoms of anorexia nervosa (AN). The aim of the present study was to examine the influence of body changes and eating attitudes on self-face recognition ability in AN. Twenty-seven subjects suffering from AN and 27 control participants performed a self-face recognition task (SFRT). During the task, digital morphs between their own face and a gender-matched unfamiliar face were presented in a random sequence. Participants' self-face recognition failures, cognitive flexibility, body concern and eating habits were assessed with the Self-Face Recognition Questionnaire (SFRQ), Trail Making Test (TMT), Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) and Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (EDI-2), respectively. Subjects suffering from AN exhibited significantly greater difficulties than control participants in identifying their own face (p = 0.028). No significant difference was observed between the two groups for TMT (all p > 0.1, non-significant). Regarding predictors of self-face recognition skills, there was a negative correlation between SFRT and body mass index (p = 0.01) and a positive correlation between SFRQ and EDI-2 (p < 0.001) or BSQ (p < 0.001). Among factors involved, nutritional status and intensity of eating disorders could play a part in impaired self-face recognition.

A Brief Metacognition Questionnaire for the Elderly: Comparison with Cognitive Performance and Informant Ratings

PubMed Central

Buckley, Trevor; Norton, Maria C.; Deberard, M. Scott; Welsh-Bohmer, Kathleen A.; Tschanz, JoAnn T.

2009-01-01

Objective To examine the utility of a brief, metacognition questionnaire by examining its association with objective cognitive testing and informant ratings. We hypothesized that the association between self-ratings of change and both outcomes would be greater among individuals without dementia than among those with dementia. Methods Participants were 535 persons without dementia and 152 with dementia from the Cache County Memory Study who had completed a metacognition questionnaire, two administrations of the Modified Mini-Mental State Exam (3MS) and who had data on the Informant Questionnaire of Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE). Cronbach's alpha was calculated as a measure of internal consistency of the metacognition questionnaire. Multiple regression was used to examine the relationship between metacognition and 3MS change. Logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between metacognition and IQCODE ratings (no change vs. worse). Results Cronbach's alpha was 0.75. Among individuals without dementia, metacognition significantly predicted 3MS change (p=.027) and IQCODE ratings (OR=4.0, 95% CI= 1.2 – 13.8, p=.029), suggesting consistency among measures. For those with dementia, there was a weak, inverse relationship between 3MS change and metacognition (r = -0.16, p=.056). IQCODE ratings were not significantly associated with metacognition (p=.729). Degree of dementia severity did not modify the relationship between metacognition and either outcome (p>.05). Conclusions We demonstrated adequate internal consistency and evidence for validity of a brief metacognition questionnaire. The questionnaire may provide a useful adjunct to memory and functional assessments for assessing anosognosia in elderly populations. PMID:19823990

A brief metacognition questionnaire for the elderly: comparison with cognitive performance and informant ratings the Cache County Study.

PubMed

Buckley, Trevor; Norton, Maria C; Deberard, M Scott; Welsh-Bohmer, Kathleen A; Tschanz, JoAnn T

2010-07-01

To examine the utility of a brief, metacognition questionnaire by examining its association with objective cognitive testing and informant ratings. We hypothesized that the association between self-ratings of change and both outcomes would be greater among individuals without dementia than among those with dementia. Participants were 535 persons without dementia and 152 with dementia from the Cache County Memory Study who had completed a metacognition questionnaire, two administrations of the Modified Mini-Mental State Exam (3 MS) and who had data on the Informant Questionnaire of Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE). Cronbach's alpha was calculated as a measure of internal consistency of the metacognition questionnaire. Multiple regression was used to examine the relationship between metacognition and 3 MS change. Logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between metacognition and IQCODE ratings (no change vs. worse). Cronbach's alpha was 0.75. Among individuals without dementia, metacognition significantly predicted 3 MS change (p = .027) and IQCODE ratings (OR = 4.0, 95% CI = 1.2-13.8, p = .029), suggesting consistency among measures. For those with dementia, there was a weak, inverse relationship between 3 MS change and metacognition (r = -0.16, p = .056). IQCODE ratings were not significantly associated with metacognition (p = .729). Degree of dementia severity did not modify the relationship between metacognition and either outcome (p > .05). We demonstrated adequate internal consistency and evidence for validity of a brief metacognition questionnaire. The questionnaire may provide a useful adjunct to memory and functional assessments for assessing anosognosia in elderly populations. (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Making Sense of Dynamic Systems: How Our Understanding of Stocks and Flows Depends on a Global Perspective.

PubMed

Fischer, Helen; Gonzalez, Cleotilde

2016-03-01

Stocks and flows (SF) are building blocks of dynamic systems: Stocks change through inflows and outflows, such as our bank balance changing with withdrawals and deposits, or atmospheric CO2 with absorptions and emissions. However, people make systematic errors when trying to infer the behavior of dynamic systems, termed SF failure, whose cognitive explanations are yet unknown. We argue that SF failure appears when people focus on specific system elements (local processing), rather than on the system structure and gestalt (global processing). Using a standard SF task (n = 148), SF failure decreased by (a) a global as opposed to local task format; (b) individual global as opposed to local processing styles; and (c) global as opposed to local perceptual priming. These results converge toward local processing as an explanation for SF failure. We discuss theoretical and practical implications on the connections between the scope of attention and understanding of dynamic systems. Copyright © 2015 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Italian neurologists' perception on cognitive symptoms in major depressive disorder.

PubMed

Neri, G; Serrati, C; Zolo, P; Cataldo, N; Ripellino, C

2016-09-01

The assessment of cognition is an important part of major depressive disorder (MDD) evaluation and a crucial issue is the physicians' perception of cognitive dysfunction in MDD that remains nowadays a little known matter. The present study aims at investigating the understanding of neurologists' perception about cognitive dysfunction in MDD. An on-line survey addressed to 85 Italian neurologists in the period between May and June 2015 was performed. The questionnaire comprised three sections: the first section collecting information on neurologists' socio-demographic profile, the second investigating cognitive symptoms relevance in relation with different aspects and the third one explicitly focusing on cognitive symptoms in MDD. Cognitive symptoms are considered most significant among DSM-5 symptoms to define the presence of a Major Depressive Episode in a MDD, to improve antidepressant therapy adherence, patients' functionality and concurrent neurological condition, once resolved. Furthermore, an incongruity came to light from this survey: the neurologists considered cognitive symptoms a not relevant aspect to choose the antidepressant treatment in comparison with the other DSM-5 symptoms on one side, but they declared the opposite in the third part of the questionnaire focused on cognitive symptoms. Cognitive symptoms appeared to be a relevant aspect in MDD and neurologists have a clear understanding of this issue. Nevertheless, the discrepancy between neurologists' perception on cognitive symptoms and the antidepressant treatment highlights the feeling of an unmet need that could be filled increasing the awareness of existing drugs with pro-cognitive effects.

Impact of Training on Cognitive Representation of Challenging Behaviour in Staff Working with Adults with Intellectual Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Martin; Hogg, James

2008-01-01

Background: Cognitive representations of challenging behaviour among staff may influence therapeutic outcomes. This study looked at how cognitive dimensions of Identity, Cause, Consequences, Emotional Reaction and Treatment/Control are affected by training. Materials and Methods: A theoretically derived questionnaire was used to measure the impact…

Understanding Knowledge Sharing between IT Professionals--An Integration of Social Cognitive and Social Exchange Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsai, Ming-Tien; Cheng, Nai-Chang

2012-01-01

The research includes various constructs based on social exchange theory and social cognitive theory. This study mainly explored the relationships among organisational justice, trust, commitment and knowledge-sharing cognition and verified their mediating effects through two variables of trust and commitment. A survey utilising a questionnaire was…

Student Teacher Challenges: Using the Cognitive Load Theory as an Explanatory Lens

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moos, Daniel C.; Pitton, Debra

2014-01-01

Cognitive load theory (CLT) can explain the challenges faced by student teachers. This study, guided by the CLT, included 26 pre-service teachers. Participants completed a cognitive load self-report questionnaire and were interviewed at two points during their student teaching. Results revealed that student teachers decreased mental effort related…

Interrelations among University Students' Approaches to Learning, Regulation of Learning, and Cognitive and Attributional Strategies: A Person Oriented Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heikkila, Annamari; Niemivirta, Markku; Nieminen, Juha; Lonka, Kirsti

2011-01-01

This study investigated the relationships among approaches to learning, regulation of learning, cognitive and attributional strategies, stress, exhaustion, and study success. University students (N = 437) from three faculties filled in a questionnaire concerning their self-reported study behaviour, cognitive strategies, and well-being. Their…

Cranial Radiation Therapy and Damage to Hippocampal Neurogenesis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Monje, Michelle

2008-01-01

Cranial radiation therapy is associated with a progressive decline in cognitive function, prominently memory function. Impairment of hippocampal neurogenesis is thought to be an important mechanism underlying this cognitive decline. Recent work has elucidated the mechanisms of radiation-induced failure of neurogenesis. Potential therapeutic…

Motivational Processes Affecting Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dweck, Carol S.

1986-01-01

Educationally relevant conceptions of motivation are difficult to establish. A research based model of motivational processes can show how goals for cognitive tasks shape reactions to success and failure and how they influence the quality of cognitive performance. This model can aid in designing programs to change maladaptive motivational…

Executive Dysfunction and Depressive Symptoms Associated With Reduced Participation of People With Severe Congestive Heart Failure

PubMed Central

Foster, Erin R.; Cunnane, Kathleen B.; Edwards, Dorothy F.; Morrison, M. Tracy; Ewald, Gregory A.; Geltman, Edward M.; Zazulia, Allyson R.

2011-01-01

OBJECTIVE We investigated participation levels and relationships among cognition, depression, and participation for people with severe congestive heart failure (CHF). METHOD People with severe CHF (New York Heart Association Class III or IV) awaiting heart transplantation (N = 27) completed standardized tests of cognition and self-report measures of executive dysfunction, depressive symptoms, and participation. RESULTS Possible depression (64%) and cognitive impairment (15%–59%) were prevalent. Participants reported significant reductions in participation across all activity domains since CHF diagnosis (ps < .001). Worse executive dysfunction and depressive symptoms were associated with reduced participation and together accounted for 35%–46% of the variance in participation (ps < .01). CONCLUSION Participation restrictions associated with CHF are not limited to physically demanding activities and are significantly associated with executive dysfunction and depression. Cardiac rehabilitation should address cognitive and psychological functioning in the context of all life situations instead of focusing solely on physical function and disability. PMID:21675336

Relations between childhood traumatic experiences, dissociation, and cognitive models in obsessive compulsive disorder.

PubMed

Selvi, Yavuz; Besiroglu, Lutfullah; Aydin, Adem; Gulec, Mustafa; Atli, Abdullah; Boysan, Murat; Celik, Cihat

2012-03-01

Previous studies have indicated that obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is associated with childhood traumatic experiences and higher levels of dissociation. Dissociative tendency may arise when individual attempt to incorporate adverse experiences into cognitive schema. We investigated the possible links among childhood trauma, dissociation, and cognitive processes. We evaluated 95 patients with OCD using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Thought-Action Fusion Scale (TAFS), Metacognitions Questionnaire (MCQ-30), White Bear Suppression Inventory (WBSI), Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES), and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ-28). The CTQ-28 total scores were not associated with Y-BOCS total, Y-BOCS insight, BDI, TAFS, MCQ-30, and WBSI scores. The TAFS Total, MCQ-30, WBSI, and BDI scores were significantly associated with DES scores. Regression analysis revealed that MCQ-30 and WBSI scores significantly predicted the DES scores. These results suggest that in spite of pathological connotation of dissociative experiences, dissociation may primarily constitute a cognitive trait which is strongly associated with cognitive processes.

Early reading performance: a comparison of teacher-based and test-based assessments.

PubMed

Kenny, D T; Chekaluk, E

1993-04-01

An unresolved question in early screening is whether test-based or teacher-based assessments should form the basis of the classification of children at risk of educational failure. Available structured teacher rating scales are lacking in predictive validity, and teacher predictions of students likely to experience reading difficulties have yielded disappointing true positive rates, with teachers failing to identify the majority of severely disabled readers. For this study, three educational screening instruments were developed: (a) a single teacher rating, categorizing children into three levels of reading ability (advanced, average, poor); (b) a 15-item teacher questionnaire designed to measure students' cognitive and language ability, attentional and behavioral characteristics, and academic performance; and (c) a battery of language and reading tests that are predictive of, or correlate with, reading failure. The concurrent validity of each instrument was assessed in a sample of 312 Australian schoolchildren from kindergarten, Year 1, and Year 2. Students were assessed at the end of the 1989 school year after having completed 1, 2, or 3 years of schooling. The results suggest that the nature of the skills required for success in reading changes in the first 3 years of schooling. Both teachers and tests concur more closely as children progress through the elementary years and as the risk behavior (reading) becomes more accessible to direct measurement. Carefully focused teacher rating scales may be a cost-effective means of identifying children at risk of reading failure. Improved teacher rating scales should be developed and used to assist in the early screening process.

Sex Differences in Arm Muscle Fatigability With Cognitive Demand in Older Adults.

PubMed

Pereira, Hugo M; Spears, Vincent C; Schlinder-Delap, Bonnie; Yoon, Tejin; Harkins, April; Nielson, Kristy A; Hoeger Bement, Marie; Hunter, Sandra K

2015-08-01

Muscle fatigability can increase when a stressful, cognitively demanding task is imposed during a low-force fatiguing contraction with the arm muscles, especially in women. Whether this occurs among older adults (>60 years) is currently unknown. We aimed to determine if higher cognitive demands, stratified by sex, increased fatigability in older adults (>60 years). Secondarily, we assessed if varying cognitive demand resulted in decreased steadiness and was explained by anxiety or cortisol levels. Seventeen older women (70±6 years) and 13 older men (71±5 years) performed a sustained, isometric, fatiguing contraction at 20% of maximal voluntary contraction until task failure during three sessions: high cognitive demand (high CD=mental subtraction by 13); low cognitive demand (low CD=mental subtraction by 1); and control (no subtraction). Fatigability was greater when high and low CD were performed during the fatiguing contraction for the women but not for the men. In women, time to failure with high CD was 16±8 minutes and with low CD was 17±4 minutes, both of which were shorter than time to failure in control contractions (21±7 minutes; high CD mean difference: 5 minutes [95% confidence interval {CI}, 0.78-9.89], p=0.02; low CD mean difference: 4 minutes [95% CI, 0.57-7.31], p=0.03). However, in men, no differences were detected in time to failure with cognitive demand (control: 13±5 minutes; high CD mean difference: -0.09 minutes [95% CI, -2.8 to 2.7], p=1.00; low CD mean difference: 0.75 minutes [95% CI, -1.1 to 2.6], p=0.85). Steadiness decreased (force fluctuations increased) more during high CD than control. Elevated anxiety, mean arterial pressure, and salivary cortisol levels in both men and women did not explain the greater fatigability during high CD. Older women but not men showed marked increases in fatigability when low or high CD was imposed during sustained static contractions with the elbow flexor muscles and contrasts with previous findings for the lower limb. Steadiness decreased in both sexes when high CD was imposed. Older women are susceptible to greater fatigability of the upper limb with heightened mental activity during sustained postural contractions, which are the foundation of many work-related tasks.

Cognitive deficits in heart failure: Re-cognition of vulnerability as a strange new world.

PubMed

Sloan, Rebecca S; Pressler, Susan J

2009-01-01

Patients with chronic heart failure (HF) have impairment in memory, psychomotor speed, and executive function. The aim of this study was to describe how individuals with HF and cognitive deficits manage self-care in their daily lives. Using an interpretive phenomenology method, HF patients completed unstructured face-to-face interviews about their ability to manage complex health regimens and maintain their health-related quality of life. Analysis of data was aided by use of Atlas.ti computer software. The sample consisted of 12 patients (10 men; aged 43-81 years) who had previously undergone neuropsychological testing and were found to have deficits in 3 or more cognitive domains. Patients confirmed that they followed the advice of healthcare providers by adherence to medication regimens, dietary sodium restrictions, and HF self-care. One overarching theme was identified: "Re-cognition of Vulnerability: A Strange New World." This theme was further differentiated into 3 components: (1) not recognizing cognitive deficits; (2) recognizing cognitive deficits, described as (a) never could remember anything, (b) just old age, (c) HF-related change, and (d) making normal accommodations; and (3) recognizing vulnerability, explained by perception of (a) cognitive, (b) physical, and (c) social vulnerabilities, as well as perception of (d) the nearness of death. Although the study was designed to focus on the cognitive changes in HF patients, it was difficult to separate cognitive, physical, and social challenges. These changes are most useful when taken as a constellation. Healthcare professionals can use the knowledge to identify problems and interventions for HF patients.

Cognitive Dysfunction in Asian Patients with Depression (CogDAD): A Cross-Sectional Study

PubMed Central

Manit, Srisurapanont; Yee Ming, Mok; Yen Kuang, Yang; Herng-Nieng, Chan; Constantine D, Della; Zuraida, Zainal, Nor; Stephen, Jambunathan; Nurmiati, Amir; Pranabi, Kalita

2017-01-01

Background: Cognitive dysfunction is a predominant symptom of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), contributing to functional impairment. Objective: The primary objective of this study was to assess and describe perceived cognitive dysfunction amongst Asian patients diagnosed with MDD. The secondary objective was to explore the associations between depression severity, perceived cognitive dysfunction and functional disability. Methods: This was a multi-country, multi-centre, cross-sectional study. Adults with a current episode of MDD were recruited from 9 university/general hospital clinics in Asia. During a single study visit, psychiatrists assessed depression severity (Clinical Global Impression-Severity, CGI-S); patients completed questionnaires assessing depression severity (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 items, PHQ-9), perceived cognitive dysfunction (Perceived Deficit Questionnaire-Depression, PDQ-D) and functional disability (Sheehan Disability Scale, SDS). Results: Patients (n=664), predominantly women (66.3%), were aged 46.5±12.5 years, lived in urban areas (81.3%) and were employed (84.6%). 51.5% of patients were having their first depressive episode; 86.7% were receiving treatment; 82.2% had a current episode duration >8 weeks. Patients had mild-to-moderate depression (CGI-S=3.3±1.0; PHQ-9=11.3±6.9). Patients reported perceived cognitive dysfunction (PDQ-D=22.6±16.2) and functional disability (SDS=11.3±7.9). PHQ-9, PDQ-D and SDS were moderately-to-highly correlated (PHQ-9 and SDS: r=0.72; PHQ-9 and PDQ-D: r=0.69; PDQ-D and SDS, r=0.63). ANCOVA showed that after controlling for patient-reported depression severity (PHQ-9), perceived cognitive dysfunction (PDQ-D) was significantly associated with functional disability (SDS) (p<0.001). Conclusions: Asian patients with MDD reported perceived cognitive dysfunction. There is a need for physicians to evaluate cognitive dysfunction in the clinical setting in order to reach treatment goals, including functional recovery beyond remission of mood symptoms. PMID:29238395

[Transcultural adaptation into Spanish of the Patient empowerment in long-term conditions questionnaire].

PubMed

Garcimartin, Paloma; Pardo-Cladellas, Yolanda; Verdú-Rotellar, Jose-Maria; Delgado-Hito, Pilar; Astals-Vizcaino, Monica; Comin-Colet, Josep

2017-12-22

To describe the process of translation and cultural adaptation of the Patient empowerment in long-term condition to the Spanish language. Translation, cross-cultural adaptation, and pilot testing (cognitive debriefing) LOCATION: Primary and Hospital care. Ten patients admitted to a cardiology department of a University Hospital MAIN MEASUREMENTS: 1) Direct translation, 2) conciliation and synthesis of the versions by expert panel, 3) back- translation, 4) agreement on the back-translated version with the author of the original version, 5) analysis of comprehensibility through cognitive interviews. There were no differences between the direct-translated versions. The expert panel introduced changes in 23 out of the 47 items of the questionnaire. The author of the original version agreed with the version of the back-translation. In the cognitive interviews, patients reported high difficulty in one item and low difficulty in 4. The Spanish version of the Patient Empowerment in long-term conditions questionnaire is semantically and conceptually equivalent to the original tool. The assessment of the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the questionnaire will be carried out at a later stage. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

[Relationship between Quality of Life (QOL) and cognitive function among community-dwelling elderly].

PubMed

Konagaya, Yoko; Watanabe, Tomoyuki; Ohta, Toshiki; Takata, Kazuko

2009-03-01

It has become important for elderly to live better rather than to live longer. There have been many reports about quality of life (QOL) of the elderly, but we have no knowledge about the relation between the QOL and the cognitive function. We investigated the relationship between the QOL and the cognitive function among community-dwelling elderly. A total of 12,059 community-dwelling elderly were invited to join a cognitive screening study by telephone (TICS-J) combined with a mailed QOL questionnaire. Among them, 1,920 subjects (age 71.87+/-5.50 (mean+/-SD) years old, duration of education 11.08+/-2.61 years) who completed both TICS-J and QOL questionnaire were actually measured. TICS-J was administered by the previously reported method, and the QOL questionnaire was developed based on the component of QOL proposed by Lawton, and consisted of 6 subscales (daily activity, satisfaction with health, satisfaction with human support, satisfaction with economic state, symptoms of depression, and positive mental attitude). Correlations were analyzed among the scores of TICS-J, age, duration of education, and scores on each QOL subscale. Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted after QOL subscale scores, adjusting for gender, age, and duration of education, were entered as dependent variables. Four out of 6 subscales scores of QOL showed significant differences between men and women. All QOL subscale scores showed significant differences between the two groups in the TICS-J scores. Partial correlations were seen among TICS-J scores and each QOL subscale score. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed significant influence of cognitive function by TICS-J on QOL subscales scores. Cognitive function was considered to have more influence on QOL scores than gender or age. TICS-J and the QOL questionnaire in this study were useful to evaluate the outcome of welfare in community-dwelling elderly.

Pre-donation cognitions of potential living organ donors: the development of the Donation Cognition Instrument in potential kidney donors.

PubMed

Wirken, Lieke; van Middendorp, Henriët; Hooghof, Christina W; Sanders, Jan-Stephan F; Dam, Ruth E; van der Pant, Karlijn A M I; Berendsen, Elsbeth C M; Wellink, Hiske; Dackus, Henricus J A; Hoitsma, Andries J; Hilbrands, Luuk B; Evers, Andrea W M

2017-03-01

Cognitions surrounding living organ donation, including the motivation to donate, expectations of donation and worries about donation, are relevant themes during living donor evaluation. However, there is no reliable psychometric instrument assessing all these different cognitions. This study developed and validated a questionnaire to assess pre-donation motivations, expectations and worries regarding donation, entitled the Donation Cognition Instrument (DCI). Psychometric properties of the DCI were examined using exploratory factor analysis for scale structure and associations with validated questionnaires for construct validity assessment. From seven Dutch transplantation centres, 719 potential living kidney donors were included. The DCI distinguishes cognitions about donor benefits, recipient benefits, idealistic incentives, gratitude and worries about donation (Cronbach's alpha 0.76-0.81). Scores on pre-donation cognitions differed with regard to gender, age, marital status, religion and donation type. With regard to construct validity, the DCI was moderately correlated with expectations regarding donor's personal well-being and slightly to moderately to health-related quality of life. The DCI is found to be a reliable instrument assessing cognitions surrounding living organ donation, which might add to pre-donation quality of life measures in facilitating psychosocial donor evaluation by healthcare professionals. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of ERA-EDTA. All rights reserved.

Different Dimensions of Cognitive Style in Typical and Atypical Cognition: New Evidence and a New Measurement Tool.

PubMed

Mealor, Andy D; Simner, Julia; Rothen, Nicolas; Carmichael, Duncan A; Ward, Jamie

2016-01-01

We developed the Sussex Cognitive Styles Questionnaire (SCSQ) to investigate visual and verbal processing preferences and incorporate global/local processing orientations and systemising into a single, comprehensive measure. In Study 1 (N = 1542), factor analysis revealed six reliable subscales to the final 60 item questionnaire: Imagery Ability (relating to the use of visual mental imagery in everyday life); Technical/Spatial (relating to spatial mental imagery, and numerical and technical cognition); Language & Word Forms; Need for Organisation; Global Bias; and Systemising Tendency. Thus, we replicate previous findings that visual and verbal styles are separable, and that types of imagery can be subdivided. We extend previous research by showing that spatial imagery clusters with other abstract cognitive skills, and demonstrate that global/local bias can be separated from systemising. Study 2 validated the Technical/Spatial and Language & Word Forms factors by showing that they affect performance on memory tasks. In Study 3, we validated Imagery Ability, Technical/Spatial, Language & Word Forms, Global Bias, and Systemising Tendency by issuing the SCSQ to a sample of synaesthetes (N = 121) who report atypical cognitive profiles on these subscales. Thus, the SCSQ consolidates research from traditionally disparate areas of cognitive science into a comprehensive cognitive style measure, which can be used in the general population, and special populations.

Different Dimensions of Cognitive Style in Typical and Atypical Cognition: New Evidence and a New Measurement Tool

PubMed Central

Mealor, Andy D.; Simner, Julia; Rothen, Nicolas; Carmichael, Duncan A.; Ward, Jamie

2016-01-01

We developed the Sussex Cognitive Styles Questionnaire (SCSQ) to investigate visual and verbal processing preferences and incorporate global/local processing orientations and systemising into a single, comprehensive measure. In Study 1 (N = 1542), factor analysis revealed six reliable subscales to the final 60 item questionnaire: Imagery Ability (relating to the use of visual mental imagery in everyday life); Technical/Spatial (relating to spatial mental imagery, and numerical and technical cognition); Language & Word Forms; Need for Organisation; Global Bias; and Systemising Tendency. Thus, we replicate previous findings that visual and verbal styles are separable, and that types of imagery can be subdivided. We extend previous research by showing that spatial imagery clusters with other abstract cognitive skills, and demonstrate that global/local bias can be separated from systemising. Study 2 validated the Technical/Spatial and Language & Word Forms factors by showing that they affect performance on memory tasks. In Study 3, we validated Imagery Ability, Technical/Spatial, Language & Word Forms, Global Bias, and Systemising Tendency by issuing the SCSQ to a sample of synaesthetes (N = 121) who report atypical cognitive profiles on these subscales. Thus, the SCSQ consolidates research from traditionally disparate areas of cognitive science into a comprehensive cognitive style measure, which can be used in the general population, and special populations. PMID:27191169

Psychological and physical correlates of musculoskeletal symptoms in male professional divers and offshore workers

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Underwater divers are more likely to complain of musculoskeletal symptoms than a control population. Accordingly, we conducted a study to determine whether musculoskeletal symptoms reflected observable physical disorder, to ascertain the relationship between symptoms and measures of mood, memory and executive function and to assess any need for future screening. Methods A 10% random sample of responders to a prior postal health questionnaire was examined (151 divers, 120 non-diving offshore workers). Participants underwent physical examination and a neuropsychological test battery for memory and executive function. Participants also completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale for anxiety (HADSa) and depression (HADSd), and questionnaires for physical health-related quality of life (SF36 PCS), mental health-related quality of life (SF36 MCS), memory (Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ), Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ)), executive function (dysexecutive syndrome questionnaire (DEX)), musculoskeletal symptoms (MSS) and general unrelated symptom reporting. Results Of participants with moderate/severe musculoskeletal symptoms, 52% had physical signs, and of participants with no symptoms, 73% had no physical signs. There was no difference in the prevalence of signs or symptoms between groups. Musculoskeletal symptoms were associated with lower SF36 PCS for both groups. In divers, musculoskeletal symptoms were associated with higher general unrelated symptom reporting and poorer scoring for HADSa, PRMQ, CFQ and DEX with scores remaining within the normative range. A positive physical examination was associated with general unrelated symptom reporting in divers. There were no differences in neuropsychological test scores attributable to either group or musculoskeletal symptoms. Conclusions Musculoskeletal symptoms were associated with physical signs, but this was not a strong effect. Reporting of musculoskeletal symptoms by the divers studied was also associated with a tendency to report symptoms generally or somatisation, and caution should be exercised regarding their interpretation as an indication of physical disease or their use for health screening. PMID:23849557

Parasympathetic Nervous System Reactivity Moderates Associations Between Children's Executive Functioning and Social and Academic Competence.

PubMed

McQuade, Julia D; Penzel, Taylor E; Silk, Jennifer S; Lee, Kyung Hwa

2017-10-01

This study examined whether children with poor executive functioning (EF) evidenced less social and academic impairments, compared to other children, if they demonstrated adaptive parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) regulation during experiences of failure. Participants with and without clinical elevations in ADHD symptoms (N = 61; 9-13 years; 48% male; 85% Caucasian) were administered a battery of EF tests and completed manipulated social and cognitive failure tasks. While participants completed failure tasks, respiratory sinus arrhythmia reactivity (RSA-R) was measured as an indicator of PNS reactivity. Children's social and academic impairment in daily life was assessed based on parent and teacher report on multiple measures. RSA-R during social failure moderated the association between poor EF and adult-rated social impairment and RSA-R during cognitive failure moderated the association between poor EF and adult-rated academic impairment. Simple effects indicated that poor EF was significantly associated with impairment when children demonstrated RSA activation (increased PNS activity) but not when children demonstrated RSA withdrawal (decreases in PNS activity). Domain-crossed models (e.g., reactivity to social failure predicting academic impairment) were not significant, suggesting that the moderating effect of RSA-R was domain-specific. Results suggest that not all children with poor EF evidence social and academic impairment; RSA withdrawal during experiences of failure may be protective specifically for children with impaired EF skills.

Developing a Questionnaire to Evaluate College Students' Knowledge, Attitude, Behavior, Self-efficacy, and Environmental Factors Related to Canned Foods.

PubMed

Richards, Rickelle; Brown, Lora Beth; Williams, D Pauline; Eggett, Dennis L

2017-02-01

Develop a questionnaire to measure students' knowledge, attitude, behavior, self-efficacy, and environmental factors related to the use of canned foods. The Knowledge-Attitude-Behavior Model, Social Cognitive Theory, and Canned Foods Alliance survey were used as frameworks for questionnaire development. Cognitive interviews were conducted with college students (n = 8). Nutrition and survey experts assessed content validity. Reliability was measured via Cronbach α and 2 rounds (1, n = 81; 2, n = 65) of test-retest statistics. Means and frequencies were used. The 65-item questionnaire had a test-retest reliability of .69. Cronbach α scores were .87 for knowledge (9 items), .86 for attitude (30 items), .80 for self-efficacy (12 items), .68 for canned foods use (8 items), and .30 for environment (6 items). A reliable questionnaire was developed to measure perceptions and use of canned foods. Nutrition educators may find this questionnaire useful to evaluate pretest-posttest changes from canned foods-based interventions among college students. Copyright © 2016 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Assessing self-efficacy to reduce one's drinking: further evaluation of the Alcohol Reduction Strategies-Current Confidence questionnaire.

PubMed

Kraus, Shane W; Rosenberg, Harold; Bonar, Erin E; Hoffmann, Erica; Kryszak, Elizabeth; Young, Kathleen M; Ashrafioun, Lisham; Bannon, Erin E

2012-01-01

To evaluate the psychometric properties of a previously published questionnaire designed to assess young drinkers' self-efficacy to employ 31 cognitive-behavioral alcohol reduction strategies. Undergraduates (n = 353) recruited from a large Midwestern university completed the previously published Alcohol Reduction Strategies-Current Confidence questionnaire (and other measures) for a self-selected heavy drinking setting. Item loadings from a principal components analysis, a high internal consistency reliability coefficient, and a moderate mean inter-item correlation suggested that all 31 items comprised a single scale. Correlations of questionnaire scores with selected aspects of drinking history and personality provided support for criterion and discriminant validity, respectively. Women reported higher current confidence to use these strategies than did men, but current confidence did not vary as a function of recent binge status. Given this further demonstration of its psychometric qualities, this questionnaire holds promise as a clinical tool to identify clients who lack confidence in their ability to employ cognitive-behavioral coping strategies to reduce their drinking.

Development of a self-report questionnaire designed for population-based surveillance of gingivitis in adolescents: assessment of content validity and reliability.

PubMed

Quiroz, Viviana; Reinero, Daniela; Hernández, Patricia; Contreras, Johanna; Vernal, Rolando; Carvajal, Paola

2017-01-01

This study aimed to develop and assess the content validity and reliability of a cognitively adapted self-report questionnaire designed for surveillance of gingivitis in adolescents. Ten predetermined self-report questions evaluating early signs and symptoms of gingivitis were preliminary assessed by a panel of clinical experts. Eight questions were selected and cognitively tested in 20 adolescents aged 12 to 18 years from Santiago de Chile. The questionnaire was then conducted and answered by 178 Chilean adolescents. Internal consistency was measured using the Cronbach's alpha and temporal stability was calculated using the Kappa-index. A reliable final self-report questionnaire consisting of 5 questions was obtained, with a total Cronbach's alpha of 0.73 and a Kappa-index ranging from 0.41 to 0.77 between the different questions. The proposed questionnaire is reliable, with an acceptable internal consistency and a temporal stability from moderate to substantial, and it is promising for estimating the prevalence of gingivitis in adolescents.

Quantified self and comprehensive geriatric assessment: older adults are able to evaluate their own health and functional status.

PubMed

Beauchet, Olivier; Launay, Cyrille P; Merjagnan, Christine; Kabeshova, Anastasiia; Annweiler, Cédric

2014-01-01

There is an increased interest of individuals in quantifying their own health and functional status. The aim of this study was to examine the concordance of answers to a self-administered questionnaire exploring health and functional status with information collected during a full clinical examination performed by a physician among cognitively healthy adults (CHI) and older patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild-to-moderate Alzheimer disease (AD). Based on cross-sectional design, a total of 60 older adults (20 CHI, 20 patients with MCI, and 20 patients with mild-to-moderate AD) were recruited in the memory clinic of Angers, France. All participants completed a self-administered questionnaire in paper format composed of 33 items exploring age, gender, nutrition, place of living, social resources, drugs daily taken, memory complaint, mood and general feeling, fatigue, activities of daily living, physical activity and history of falls. Participants then underwent a full clinical examination by a physician exploring the same domains. High concordance between the self-administered questionnaire and physician's clinical examination was showed. The few divergences were related to cognitive status, answers of AD and MCI patients to the self-administered questionnaire being less reliable than those of CHI. Older adults are able to evaluate their own health and functional status, regardless of their cognitive status. This result needs to be confirmed and opens new perspectives for the quantified self-trend and could be helpful in daily clinical practice of primary care.

A psychometric evaluation of the Swedish version of the Responses to Positive Affect questionnaire.

PubMed

Olofsson, Malin Elisabeth; Boersma, Katja; Engh, Johannes; Wurm, Matilda

2014-11-01

Previous research mainly focused on responses to negative affect in relation to depression, and less on responses to positive affect. Cognitive responses to positive affect are interesting in the context of emotion regulation and emotion disorders: positive rumination is associated to hypomania risk and bipolar disorder. There is to date no questionnaire in Swedish that captures the phenomena of cognitive response styles. The aim of this study was to investigate the replicability of the Responses to Positive Affect questionnaire (RPA) in a newly translated Swedish version and to test its psychometric properties. Swedish undergraduates (n = 111) completed a set of self-report questionnaires in a fixed order. The hypothesized three-factor model was largely replicated in the subscales Self-focused positive rumination, Emotion-focused positive rumination and Dampening. The two positive rumination subscales were strongly associated with each other and current positive affect. The subscales showed acceptable convergent and incremental validity with concurrent measures of depression, hypomania, anxiety, repetitive negative thinking, and positive and negative affect. The model explained 25% of the variance in hypomania, but fell short in the explanation of depression. The Swedish version of the RPA shows satisfactory reliability and initial findings from a student sample indicate that it is a valid measure comparable with the original RPA questionnaire. RESULTS give emphasis to the importance of further exploration of cognitive response styles in relation to psychopathology.

On-road assessment of fitness-to-drive in persons with MS with cognitive impairment: A prospective study.

PubMed

Morrow, Sarah A; Classen, Sherrilene; Monahan, Miriam; Danter, Tim; Taylor, Robert; Krasniuk, Sarah; Rosehart, Heather; He, Wenqing

2017-08-01

Cognitive impairment is common in multiple sclerosis (MS). In other populations, cognitive impairment is known to affect fitness-to-drive. Few studies have focused on fitness-to-drive in MS and no studies have solely focused on the influence of cognitive impairment. To assess fitness-to-drive in persons with MS with cognitive impairment and low physical disability. Persons with MS, aged 18-59 years with EDSS ⩽ 4.0, impaired processing speed, and impairment on at least one measure of memory or executive function, were recruited. Cognition was assessed using the Minimal Assessment of Cognitive Function battery. A formal on-road driving assessment was conducted. Chi-square analysis examined the association between the fitness-to-drive (pass/fail) and the neuropsychological test results (normal/impaired). Bayesian statistics predicting failure of the on-road assessment were calculated. Of 36 subjects, eight (22.2%) were unfit to drive. Only the BVMTR-IR, measuring visual-spatial memory, predicted on-road driving assessment failure ( X 2 ( df = 1, N = 36) = 3.956; p = 0.047) with a sensitivity of 100%, but low specificity (35.7%) due to false positives (18/25). In persons with MS and impaired processing speed, impairment on the BVMTR-IR should lead clinicians to address fitness-to-drive.

The Effect of Guided Web-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Patients With Depressive Symptoms and Heart Failure: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Background Depressive symptoms, and the associated coexistence of symptoms of anxiety and decreased quality of life (QoL), are common in patients with heart failure (HF). However, treatment strategies for depressive symptoms in patients with HF still remain to be established. Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT), as guided self-help CBT programs, has shown good effects in the treatment of depression. Until now, ICBT has not been evaluated in patients with HF with depressive symptoms. Objective The aims of this study were to (1) evaluate the effect of a 9-week guided ICBT program on depressive symptoms in patients with HF; (2) investigate the effect of the ICBT program on cardiac anxiety and QoL; and (3) assess factors associated with the change in depressive symptoms. Methods Fifty participants were randomized into 2 treatment arms: ICBT or a Web-based moderated discussion forum (DF). The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 was used to measure depressive symptoms, the Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire (CAQ) was used to measure cardiac-related anxiety, and the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure questionnaire was used to measure QoL. Data were collected at baseline and at follow-up at the end of the 9-week intervention. Intention-to-treat analysis was used, and missing data were imputed by the Expectation-Maximization method. Between-group differences were determined by analysis of covariance with control for baseline score and regression to the mean. Results No significant difference in depressive symptoms between the ICBT and the DF group at the follow-up was found, [F(1,47)=1.63, P=.21] and Cohen´s d=0.26. Secondary within-group analysis of depressive symptoms showed that such symptoms decreased significantly in the ICBT group from baseline to the follow-up (baseline M=10.8, standard deviation [SD]=5.7 vs follow-up M=8.6, SD=4.6, t(24)=2.6, P=.02, Cohen´s d=0.43), whereas in the DF group, there was no significant change (baseline M=10.6, SD=5.0, vs follow-up M=9.8, SD=4.3, t(24)=0.93, P=.36. Cohen´s d=0.18). With regard to CAQ and QoL no significant differences were found between the groups (CAQ [d(1,47)=0.5, P=.48] and QoL [F(1,47)=2.87, P=.09]). In the ICBT group in the CAQ subscale of fear, a significant within-group decrease was shown (baseline M=1.55 vs follow-up M=1.35, P=.04). In the ICBT group, the number of logins to the Web portal correlated significantly with improvement in depressive symptoms (P=.02), whereas higher age (P=.01) and male sex (P=.048) were associated with less change in depressive symptoms. This study is underpowered because of difficulties in the recruitment of patients. Conclusions Guided ICBT adapted for persons with HF and depressive symptoms was not statistically superior to participation in a Web-based DF. However, within the ICBT group, a statically significant improvement of depressive symptoms was detected. ClinicalTrial Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01681771; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01681771 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6ikzbcuLN) PMID:27489077

The Effect of Guided Web-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Patients With Depressive Symptoms and Heart Failure: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

PubMed

Lundgren, Johan Gustav; Dahlström, Örjan; Andersson, Gerhard; Jaarsma, Tiny; Kärner Köhler, Anita; Johansson, Peter

2016-08-03

Depressive symptoms, and the associated coexistence of symptoms of anxiety and decreased quality of life (QoL), are common in patients with heart failure (HF). However, treatment strategies for depressive symptoms in patients with HF still remain to be established. Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT), as guided self-help CBT programs, has shown good effects in the treatment of depression. Until now, ICBT has not been evaluated in patients with HF with depressive symptoms. The aims of this study were to (1) evaluate the effect of a 9-week guided ICBT program on depressive symptoms in patients with HF; (2) investigate the effect of the ICBT program on cardiac anxiety and QoL; and (3) assess factors associated with the change in depressive symptoms. Fifty participants were randomized into 2 treatment arms: ICBT or a Web-based moderated discussion forum (DF). The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 was used to measure depressive symptoms, the Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire (CAQ) was used to measure cardiac-related anxiety, and the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure questionnaire was used to measure QoL. Data were collected at baseline and at follow-up at the end of the 9-week intervention. Intention-to-treat analysis was used, and missing data were imputed by the Expectation-Maximization method. Between-group differences were determined by analysis of covariance with control for baseline score and regression to the mean. No significant difference in depressive symptoms between the ICBT and the DF group at the follow-up was found, [F(1,47)=1.63, P=.21] and Cohen´s d=0.26. Secondary within-group analysis of depressive symptoms showed that such symptoms decreased significantly in the ICBT group from baseline to the follow-up (baseline M=10.8, standard deviation [SD]=5.7 vs follow-up M=8.6, SD=4.6, t(24)=2.6, P=.02, Cohen´s d=0.43), whereas in the DF group, there was no significant change (baseline M=10.6, SD=5.0, vs follow-up M=9.8, SD=4.3, t(24)=0.93, P=.36. Cohen´s d=0.18). With regard to CAQ and QoL no significant differences were found between the groups (CAQ [d(1,47)=0.5, P=.48] and QoL [F(1,47)=2.87, P=.09]). In the ICBT group in the CAQ subscale of fear, a significant within-group decrease was shown (baseline M=1.55 vs follow-up M=1.35, P=.04). In the ICBT group, the number of logins to the Web portal correlated significantly with improvement in depressive symptoms (P=.02), whereas higher age (P=.01) and male sex (P=.048) were associated with less change in depressive symptoms. This study is underpowered because of difficulties in the recruitment of patients. Guided ICBT adapted for persons with HF and depressive symptoms was not statistically superior to participation in a Web-based DF. However, within the ICBT group, a statically significant improvement of depressive symptoms was detected. Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01681771; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01681771 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6ikzbcuLN).

Bridging Human Reliability Analysis and Psychology, Part 2: A Cognitive Framework to Support HRA

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

April M. Whaley; Stacey M. L. Hendrickson; Ronald L. Boring

This is the second of two papers that discuss the literature review conducted as part of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) effort to develop a hybrid human reliability analysis (HRA) method in response to Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM) SRM-M061020. This review was conducted with the goal of strengthening the technical basis within psychology, cognitive science and human factors for the hybrid HRA method being proposed. An overview of the literature review approach and high-level structure is provided in the first paper, whereas this paper presents the results of the review. The psychological literature review encompassed research spanning the entiretymore » of human cognition and performance, and consequently produced an extensive list of psychological processes, mechanisms, and factors that contribute to human performance. To make sense of this large amount of information, the results of the literature review were organized into a cognitive framework that identifies causes of failure of macrocognition in humans, and connects those proximate causes to psychological mechanisms and performance influencing factors (PIFs) that can lead to the failure. This cognitive framework can serve as a tool to inform HRA. Beyond this, however, the cognitive framework has the potential to also support addressing human performance issues identified in Human Factors applications.« less

What success can teach us about failure: the plasma metabolome of older adults with superior memory and lessons for Alzheimer's disease.

PubMed

Mapstone, Mark; Lin, Feng; Nalls, Mike A; Cheema, Amrita K; Singleton, Andrew B; Fiandaca, Massimo S; Federoff, Howard J

2017-03-01

As the world population ages, primary prevention of age-related cognitive decline and disability will become increasingly important. Prevention strategies are often developed from an understanding of disease pathobiology, but models of biological success may provide additional useful insights. Here, we studied 224 older adults, some with superior memory performance (n = 41), some with normal memory performance (n = 109), and some with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease (AD; n = 74) to understand metabolomic differences which might inform future interventions to promote cognitive health. Plasma metabolomics revealed significant differential abundance of 12 metabolites in those with superior memory relative to controls (receiver operating characteristic area under the curve [AUC] = 0.89) and the inverse abundance pattern in the mild cognitive impairment, AD (AUC = 1.0) and even preclinical AD groups relative to controls (AUC = 0.97). The 12 metabolites are components of key metabolic pathways regulating oxidative stress, inflammation, and nitric oxide bioavailability. These findings from opposite ends of the cognitive continuum highlight the role of these pathways in superior memory abilities and whose failure may contribute to age-related memory impairment. These pathways may be targeted to promote successful cognitive aging. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Parents' Cognitions and Expectations about Their Pre-School Children: The Contribution of Parental Anxiety and Child Anxiety

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wheatcroft, Rebecca; Creswell, Cathy

2007-01-01

This study investigated the relative associations between parent and child anxiety and parents' cognitions about their children. One hundred and four parents of children aged 3-5 years completed questionnaires regarding their own anxiety level, their child's anxiety level and their cognitions about the child, specifically parents' expectations…

The Effects of Relaxation Training with Cognitive or Nondirective Therapy and the Role of Relaxation-Induced Anxiety in the Treatment of Generalized Anxiety.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Borkovec, T. D.; And Others

1987-01-01

Provided 30 volunteers with generalized anxiety disorder with training in progressive muscle relaxation. Clients were also given cognitive or nondirective therapy. All showed substantial reductions in anxiety measured by psychiatric assessor ratings, questionnaires, and daily self-monitoring. Relaxation plus cognitive therapy produced…

The Relationship between Specific Cognitive Domains, Fear of Falling, and Falls in People with Multiple Sclerosis

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

The primary aim was to examine the relationship between seven definite aspects of cognition measured by a computerized cognitive testing tool on the history falls in people with mild to moderate MS (PwMS). Secondary aims focused on whether cognition performance is correlated to fear of falling, walking velocity, and a patient-rated measure of walking ability. One hundred and one PwMS were included in the study analysis. Fifty-two had a history of at least one fall during the past year. Outcome measures included a computerized cognitive test battery designed to evaluate multiple cognitive domains, gait speed, and self-reported questionnaires; 12-item MS walking scale (MSWS-12); and Falls Efficacy Scale International. Significant differences between fallers and nonfallers were exhibited in attention and verbal function, scoring 7.5% (P = 0.013) and 6.2% (P = 0.05), respectively, below the parallel scores of the nonfallers. Attention was the only cognitive component significantly correlated with the MSWS-12 self-reported questionnaire. Fear of falling was significantly correlated with 6 (out of 7) definite cognitive variables. The present findings support the concept that when evaluating and attempting to reduce fall risk, emphasis should be placed not only on traditional fall risk factors like muscle strength and motor function, but also on cognitive function. PMID:25165694

Characterizing “fibrofog”: Subjective appraisal, objective performance, and task-related brain activity during a working memory task

PubMed Central

Walitt, Brian; Čeko, Marta; Khatiwada, Manish; Gracely, John L.; Rayhan, Rakib; VanMeter, John W.; Gracely, Richard H.

2016-01-01

The subjective experience of cognitive dysfunction (“fibrofog”) is common in fibromyalgia. This study investigated the relation between subjective appraisal of cognitive function, objective cognitive task performance, and brain activity during a cognitive task using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Sixteen fibromyalgia patients and 13 healthy pain-free controls completed a battery of questionnaires, including the Multiple Ability Self-Report Questionnaire (MASQ), a measure of self-perceived cognitive difficulties. Participants were evaluated for working memory performance using a modified N-back working memory task while undergoing Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) fMRI measurements. Fibromyalgia patients and controls did not differ in working memory performance. Subjective appraisal of cognitive function was associated with better performance (accuracy) on the working memory task in healthy controls but not in fibromyalgia patients. In fibromyalgia patients, increased perceived cognitive difficulty was positively correlated with the severity of their symptoms. BOLD response during the working memory task did not differ between the groups. BOLD response correlated with task accuracy in control subjects but not in fibromyalgia patients. Increased subjective cognitive impairment correlated with decreased BOLD response in both groups but in different anatomic regions. In conclusion, “fibrofog” appears to be better characterized by subjective rather than objective impairment. Neurologic correlates of this subjective experience of impairment might be separate from those involved in the performance of cognitive tasks. PMID:26955513

Characterizing "fibrofog": Subjective appraisal, objective performance, and task-related brain activity during a working memory task.

PubMed

Walitt, Brian; Čeko, Marta; Khatiwada, Manish; Gracely, John L; Rayhan, Rakib; VanMeter, John W; Gracely, Richard H

2016-01-01

The subjective experience of cognitive dysfunction ("fibrofog") is common in fibromyalgia. This study investigated the relation between subjective appraisal of cognitive function, objective cognitive task performance, and brain activity during a cognitive task using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Sixteen fibromyalgia patients and 13 healthy pain-free controls completed a battery of questionnaires, including the Multiple Ability Self-Report Questionnaire (MASQ), a measure of self-perceived cognitive difficulties. Participants were evaluated for working memory performance using a modified N-back working memory task while undergoing Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) fMRI measurements. Fibromyalgia patients and controls did not differ in working memory performance. Subjective appraisal of cognitive function was associated with better performance (accuracy) on the working memory task in healthy controls but not in fibromyalgia patients. In fibromyalgia patients, increased perceived cognitive difficulty was positively correlated with the severity of their symptoms. BOLD response during the working memory task did not differ between the groups. BOLD response correlated with task accuracy in control subjects but not in fibromyalgia patients. Increased subjective cognitive impairment correlated with decreased BOLD response in both groups but in different anatomic regions. In conclusion, "fibrofog" appears to be better characterized by subjective rather than objective impairment. Neurologic correlates of this subjective experience of impairment might be separate from those involved in the performance of cognitive tasks.

Reading Success and Failure among Chinese Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hsu, Chen-chin

Drawing on a cross-national study of children's reading, a study examined the correlates of reading success and failure in Taiwan. Subjects, 240 randomly selected Taipei fifth graders, were administered a reading test, cognitive test, and mathematics achievement test. A structured interview with each child's mother and classroom behavior…

Modeling Cognitive Strategies during Complex Task Performing Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mazman, Sacide Guzin; Altun, Arif

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine individuals' computer based complex task performing processes and strategies in order to determine the reasons of failure by cognitive task analysis method and cued retrospective think aloud with eye movement data. Study group was five senior students from Computer Education and Instructional Technologies…

The Cognitive Foundations of Learning To Read: A Framework.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wren, Sebastian

Southwest Educational Research Laboratory's (SEDL's) reading project examines early literacy in Grades K-2 and the prevention of early reading failure. The goals of this effort include the following: developing a framework of the cognitive foundations of learning to read that organizes research information; using that framework to organize…

Personality, cognitive styles and Morningness-Eveningness disposition in a sample of Yoga trainees

PubMed Central

Cavallera, Guido M.; Gatto, Massimo; Boari, Giuseppe

2014-01-01

Background Yoga is a psychophysical, spiritual science of holistic living, aiming towards body and mind development; it can influence well-being, cognitive processes, personality (Gunas), psychophysiological parameters, and human health. Since it has been observed that Morningness-Eveningness disposition is associated with personality, and that personality can characterize people practicing Yoga, in this exploratory study we posited that Morningness-Eveningness might be associated with personality in Yoga trainees. Since Yoga can have influences over cognitive perspectives, and since it has been observed that Morningness-Eveningness disposition can associate with cognitive processes, we investigated a sample of Yoga trainees with reference to relationship with styles of learning and thinking (relevant aspects of cognitive functioning) and also with Morningness-Eveningness disposition. Material/Method We tested 184 Yoga trainees using the following questionnaires: Styles of Learning and Thinking (Torrance), Big Five Questionnaire (Caprara, Barbaranelli, Borgogni), and reduced Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (Natale). Results We found that Morning types score significantly higher than Evening types on Conscientiousness, Friendliness, Scrupulousness, Openness to Culture, emotional Stability, emotion Control, they score higher than intermediate types on Conscientiousness, Friendliness, Scrupulousness. Moreover, data showed that the high majority of subjects, also with reference to Morningness-Eveningness disposition, have right-sided styles of learning and thinking, pointing out a tendency towards right-sided cognitive precessing in the whole sample. Personality traits of the Yoga trainees were also investigated. Conclusions Data are discussed with reference to existing literature, psychological and neuroscientific perspectives are suggested, previous studies about Yoga published on Medical Science Monitor are also considered. PMID:24531385

Psychological Inflexibility and Child Anxiety.

PubMed

Simon, Ellin; Verboon, Peter

2016-01-01

Psychological flexibility is the main outcome of acceptance commitment therapy. Insight into the usefulness of measuring psychological flexibility is an important step to enable studies on the effectiveness of acceptance commitment therapy in middle-aged children (8-10 years). For this purpose, we examined the factor structure, the construct validity and the reliability of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth. The Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth taps psychological inflexibility (the opposite of psychological flexibility) in children and adolescents. Although the questionnaire has been extensively validated in older children, this is not the case for middle-aged children. The Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth contains 17 items and is constituted of the subscales cognitive fusion, experiential avoidance and behavioral ineffectiveness. A shortened 8-item version also exists, the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth-8, which does not distinguish between these subscales. We performed a confirmatory factor analysis. Additionally, we assessed the relationship between psychological flexibility and child anxiety. Children, aged 8-10 years, were recruited via regular primary schools. Of the 459 approached children, 267 (58 %) parents signed informed consents for their children (Age: M  = 9.18; SD  = .79; Sex: n boys  = 137, 51 %). Children completed the questionnaires during regular classes. In this sample, the 17-item version of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth was less appropriate for measuring psychological inflexibility than the 8-item version. Furthermore, we found a significant positive relationship between psychological inflexibility and child anxiety. We argue that acceptance commitment therapy would be an interesting candidate for intervening early on in dysfunctional child anxiety, as acceptance commitment therapy's cognitive elements require cognitive skills that children are likely to master early on.

Cognitive interviews guide design of a new CAM patient expectations questionnaire.

PubMed

Sherman, Karen J; Eaves, Emery R; Ritenbaugh, Cheryl; Hsu, Clarissa; Cherkin, Daniel C; Turner, Judith A

2014-01-25

No consistent relationship exists between pre-treatment expectations and therapeutic benefit from various complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies in clinical trials. However, many different expectancy measures have been used in those studies, with no validated questionnaires clearly focused on CAM and pain. We undertook cognitive interviews as part of a process to develop and validate such a questionnaire. We reviewed questions about expectations of benefits of acupuncture, chiropractic, massage, or yoga for pain. Components of the questions - verbs, nouns, response options, terms and phrases describing back pain - were identified. Using seven different cognitive interview scripts, we conducted 39 interviews to evaluate how individuals with chronic low back pain understood these individual components in the context of expectancy questions for a therapy they had not yet received. Chosen items were those with the greatest agreement and least confusion among participants, and were closest to the meanings intended by the investigators. The questionnaire drafted for psychometric evaluation had 18 items covering various domains of expectancy. "Back pain" was the most consistently interpreted descriptor for this condition. The most understandable response options were 0-10 scales, a structure used throughout the questionnaire, with 0 always indicating no change, and 10 anchored with an absolute descriptor such as "complete relief". The use of words to describe midpoints was found to be confusing. The word "expect" held different and shifting meanings for participants. Thus paired items comparing "hope" and "realistically expect" were chosen to evaluate 5 different aspects of treatment expectations (back pain; back dysfunction and global effects; impact of back pain on specific areas of life; sleep, mood, and energy; coping). "Impact of back pain" on various areas of life was found to be a consistently meaningful concept, and more global than "interference". Cognitive interviews identified wordings with considerable agreement among both participants and investigators. Some items widely used in clinical studies had different meanings to participants than investigators, or were confusing to participants. The final 18-item questionnaire is undergoing psychometric evaluation with goals of streamlining as well as identifying best items for use when questionnaire length is constrained.

Effect of a structured course involving goal management training in older adults: A randomised controlled trial

PubMed Central

van Hooren, Susan A.H.; Valentijn, Susanne A.M.; Bosma, Hans; Ponds, Rudolf W.H.M.; van Boxtel, Martin P.J.; Levine, Brian; Robertson, Ian; Jolles, Jelle

2007-01-01

Objective The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of a structured 6-week neuropsychological course on the executive functioning of older adults with cognitive complaints. Methods A randomised controlled design was used involving 69 community dwelling individuals aged 55 years and older. Both objective and subjective measures were included to assess executive functioning. General linear model with repeated measures analysis of variance was used to examine the intervention effects. Results After the intervention, the participants in the intervention group were significantly less annoyed by their cognitive failures, were better able to manage their executive failures and reported less anxiety symptoms than those in the waiting list control group. Conclusion These findings indicate that a combination of psycho-education and training has the potential to change the attitude of older individuals towards their cognitive functioning. Practice implications Because this training focussed on cognitive functions that are among the first to decline in older adults and the subjective evaluation of the people after training was quite favourable, the proposed intervention may be considered a valuable contribution to cognitive interventions for older adults. PMID:16956743

Peak oxygen uptake and left ventricular ejection fraction, but not depressive symptoms, are associated with cognitive impairment in patients with chronic heart failure.

PubMed

Steinberg, Gerrit; Lossnitzer, Nicole; Schellberg, Dieter; Mueller-Tasch, Thomas; Krueger, Carsten; Haass, Markus; Ladwig, Karl Heinz; Herzog, Wolfgang; Juenger, Jana

2011-01-01

The aim of the present study was to assess cognitive impairment in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and its associations with depressive symptoms and somatic indicators of illness severity, which is a matter of controversy. Fifty-five patients with CHF (mean age 55.3 ± 7.8 years; 80% male; New York Heart Association functional class I-III) underwent assessment with an expanded neuropsychological test battery (eg, memory, complex attention, mental flexibility, psychomotor speed) to evaluate objective and subjective cognitive impairment. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (SCID) and a self-report inventory (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [HADS]). A comprehensive clinical dataset, including left ventricular ejection fraction, peak oxygen uptake, and a 6-minute walk test, was obtained for all patients. Neuropsychological functioning revealed impairment in 56% of patients in at least one measure of our neuropsychological test battery. However, the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) could only detect cognitive impairment in 1.8% of all patients, 24% had HADS scores indicating depressive symptoms, and 11.1% met SCID criteria for a depressive disorder. No significant association was found between depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment. Left ventricular ejection fraction was related to subjective cognitive impairment, and peak oxygen uptake was related to objective cognitive impairment. Cognitive functioning was substantially reduced in patients with CHF and should therefore be diagnosed and treated in routine clinical practice. Caution is advised when the MMSE is used to identify cognitive impairment in patients with CHF.

Self-care and quality of life of heart failure patients at a multidisciplinary heart function clinic.

PubMed

Seto, Emily; Leonard, Kevin J; Cafazzo, Joseph A; Masino, Caterina; Barnsley, Jan; Ross, Heather J

2011-01-01

Multidisciplinary heart function clinics aim to improve self-care through patient education and to provide clinical management. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the self-care and quality of life of patients attending a multidisciplinary heart function clinic and to explore the relationship between self-care and quality of life. One hundred outpatients attending a multidisciplinary heart function clinic were asked to complete a questionnaire. The questionnaire included the Self-care of Heart Failure Index (SCHFI) and the Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire, which were used to assess self-care behavior and quality of life, respectively. Self-care practices and perceived barriers were also assessed through semistructured interviews with each patient. : The returned questionnaires (n = 94) were used to compute the following SCHFI maintenance, management, and confidence scores: 60.8 (SD, 19.3), 62.0 (SD, 20.7), and 55.9 (SD, 19.7), respectively. Higher SCHFI scores indicate better self-care. None of the self-care dimensions reached the self-care adequacy cut point of 70. The average score on the Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire was 49.9 (SD, 25.4), indicating a moderate health-related quality of life. Lower ejection fraction, older age, and better quality of life were associated with better self-care. Determinants of better quality of life were older age, better functional capacity, higher self-care confidence, and fewer comorbidities. The patient interviews revealed that better quality of life is associated with higher self-care confidence and barriers to self-care caused anxiety to the patients. The self-care barriers were found to include lack of self-care education, financial constraints, lack of perceived benefit, and low self-efficacy. Patients attending a large multidisciplinary Canadian heart failure clinic do not perform adequate self-care as measured with the SCHFI and report only a moderate quality of life. Increasing self-care through education and tools that target self-care barriers are required and may help improve quality of life.

Aboriginal prisoners and cognitive impairment: the impact of dual disadvantage on Social and Emotional Wellbeing.

PubMed

Shepherd, S M; Ogloff, J R P; Shea, D; Pfeifer, J E; Paradies, Y

2017-04-01

Negligible information is available regarding the Social and Emotional Wellbeing (SEWB) needs of Aboriginal Australian individuals in custody with cognitive impairment. This is problematic given that Aboriginal people with cognitive impairment often experience dual disadvantage in the context of the justice system. This study sought to ascertain the relationship between cognitive impairment and mental health/cultural needs (SEWB) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in custody. A sample of 122 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were administered a culturally themed semi-structured questionnaire in custodial settings in Victoria, Australia. The questionnaire included measures of cognitive impairment, SEWB and forensic needs. Analyses were performed to determine differences in the presence of SEWB and unmet custodial needs by level of cognitive impairment. Findings revealed a diminished level of wellbeing for cognitively impaired participants across several factors. Cognitive impairment was associated with poorer coping mechanisms, additional experiences of racism, difficulties handling emotions, discomfort around non-Aboriginal people and reduced access to meaningful activities in custody. All participants regardless of their level of impairment recognised the importance of cultural engagement; however, cognitively impaired participants had greater difficulty accessing/practicing cultural activities. Culturally responsive disability assistance should be available at all phases of the justice system for Indigenous people with cognitive impairment to ensure that equitable care is accessible and needs are addressed. © 2017 MENCAP and International Association of the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Extracorporeal life support for critical enterovirus 71 rhombencephalomyelitis: long-term neurologic follow-up.

PubMed

Lee, Hsiu-Fen; Chi, Ching-Shiang; Jan, Sheng-Ling; Fu, Yun-Ching; Huang, Fang-Liang; Chen, Po-Yen; Wang, Chung-Chi; Wei, Hao-Ji

2012-04-01

Enterovirus 71 rhombencephalomyelitis with cardiopulmonary dysfunction has become an endemic problem in Taiwan since an epidemic outbreak in 1998. Such cases frequently involve significant morbidity and mortality. From October 2000-June 2008, we collected 10 consecutive patients diagnosed with enterovirus 71 rhombencephalomyelitis complicated by left heart failure, with or without pulmonary edema, and surviving more than 3 months after receiving extracorporeal life support. Follow-up neurologic outcomes were analyzed prospectively. The median duration of neurologic follow-up was 7 years and 2 months. Significant morbidities included bulbar dysfunction, respiratory failure, and flaccid quadriparesis. Eight patients exhibited bulbar dysfunction, and feeding tubes could be removed from four patients (median, 15.5 months). Respiratory failure was observed in seven patients. Three patients were gradually withdrawn from their tracheostomy tube (median period, 30 months). Intelligence tests revealed four patients with normal cognitive function, one with borderline cognitive function, and one with mild mental retardation. Four were bedridden survivors. Extracorporeal life support for critical enterovirus 71 rhombencephalomyelitis demonstrated decreased neurologic sequelae during long-term follow-up, allowing for decannulation of feeding and tracheostomy tubes, and resulting in improved cognitive function. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Attitudes and learning difficulties in middle school science in South Korea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jung, Eun Sook

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between cognitive and attitudinal aspects of learning science, concentrating mainly on the influence of cognitive understanding and learning difficulty on attitudes to science. This theme is selected, in particular, because it is reported that Korean students at secondary level do not enjoy studying science and have not enough confidence, although their achievements are high. Johnstone's information processing model (1993) is used to account for cognitive aspects of science education. Learning processes are understood in terms of student's own knowledge construction through the operation of perception filters, processing in working memory space and storing in long term memory. In particular, the overload of student's working memory space is considered as the main factor causing learning difficulty and, in consequence, learning failure. The research took place in one middle school located in Seoul, the capital city in South Korea. 364 students aged 13 and 350 aged 15 participated. In order to try to find relationships between cognitive and affective factors of science learning, individual student's working memory space was measured and a questionnaire designed to gather information about students' attitudes was prepared and given to all students. To determine the working memory space capacity of the students, the Figural Intersection Test (F.I.T), designed by Pascual-Leone, was used. Two kinds of analysis, comparison and correlation, were performed with data from the Figural Intersection Test and the questionnaire applied to students. For the comparison of attitudes between age 13 and 15, the distributions of frequencies of responses were analyzed for each particular statement in a question. The Chi-square (?[2]) test was applied to judge the statistically significant differences in responses of the two groups. The levels of significance used were 0.05, 0.01 and 0.001. In order to see whether there is difference of opinions related to various aspects of learning science between age 13 and 15, and between high and middle and low working memory capacity groups, students responses were compared by just looking at the distribution of percentages without doing more statistics. Correlation coefficients were calculated to see if student's working memory capacity is linked with attitudes. As a result of data analyses from the working memory test and the questionnaire, it is seen that working memory space is related to some student attitudes towards science and their way of studying. Compared to students with high working memory capacity, students who have low working memory capacity are likely to lose their interest in science, feel science is difficult, and have low confidence about studying science. In addition, they tend to depend on memorization when they study science, consider science as a future career less, and are less motivated to study science by attitudinal factors such as "I really enjoy studying science", "Science is useful in my life". This exploratory study has suggested some important issues which need addressed in developing positive attitudes as well as encouraging meaningful learning.

Will students pass a competitive exam that they failed in their dreams?

PubMed

Arnulf, Isabelle; Grosliere, Laure; Le Corvec, Thibault; Golmard, Jean-Louis; Lascols, Olivier; Duguet, Alexandre

2014-10-01

We tested whether dreams can anticipate a stressful exam and how failure/success in dreams affect next-day performance. We collected information on students' dreams during the night preceding the medical school entrance exam. Demographic, academic, sleep and dream characteristics were compared to the students' grades on the exam. Of the 719 respondents to the questionnaire (of 2324 total students), 60.4% dreamt of the exam during the night preceding it. Problems with the exam appeared in 78% of dreams and primarily involved being late and forgetting answers. Reporting a dream about the exam on the pre-exam night was associated with better performance on the exam (p=.01). The frequency of dreams concerning the exam during the first term predicted proportionally higher performance on the exam (R=0.1, p=.01). These results suggest that the negative anticipation of a stressful event in dreams is common and that this episodic simulation provides a cognitive gain. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Self-report measures of distractibility as correlates of simulated driving performance.

PubMed

Kass, Steven J; Beede, Kristen E; Vodanovich, Stephen J

2010-05-01

The present study investigated the relationship between self-reported measures pertaining to attention difficulties and simulated driving performance while distracted. Thirty-six licensed drivers participated in a simulator driving task while engaged in a cell phone conversation. The participants completed questionnaires assessing their tendency toward boredom, cognitive failures, and behaviors associated with attention deficit and hyperactivity. Scores on these measures were significantly correlated with various driving outcomes (e.g., speed, lane maintenance, reaction time). Significant relationships were also found between one aspect of boredom proneness (i.e., inability to generate interest or concentrate) and self-reports of past driving behavior (moving violations). The current study may aid in the understanding of how individual differences in driver distractibility may contribute to unsafe driving behaviors and accident involvement. Additionally, such measures may assist in the identification of individuals at risk for committing driving errors due to being easily distracted. The benefits and limitations of conducting and interpreting simulation research are discussed. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Age-related differences in cognition across the adult lifespan in autism spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Lever, Anne G; Geurts, Hilde M

2016-06-01

It is largely unknown how age impacts cognition in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We investigated whether age-related cognitive differences are similar, reduced or increased across the adult lifespan, examined cognitive strengths and weaknesses, and explored whether objective test performance is related to subjective cognitive challenges. Neuropsychological tests assessing visual and verbal memory, generativity, and theory of mind (ToM), and a self-report measure assessing cognitive failures were administered to 236 matched participants with and without ASD, aged 20-79 years (IQ > 80). Group comparisons revealed that individuals with ASD had higher scores on visual memory, lower scores on generativity and ToM, and similar performance on verbal memory. However, ToM impairments were no longer present in older (50+ years) adults with ASD. Across adulthood, individuals with ASD demonstrated similar age-related effects on verbal memory, generativity, and ToM, while age-related differences were reduced on visual memory. Although adults with ASD reported many cognitive failures, those were not associated with neuropsychological test performance. Hence, while some cognitive abilities (visual and verbal memory) and difficulties (generativity and semantic memory) persist across adulthood in ASD, others become less apparent in old age (ToM). Age-related differences characteristic of typical aging are reduced or parallel, but not increased in individuals with ASD, suggesting that ASD may partially protect against an age-related decrease in cognitive functioning. Despite these findings, adults with ASD experience many cognitive daily challenges, which highlights the need for adequate social support and the importance of further research into this topic, including longitudinal studies. Autism Res 2016, 9: 666-676. © 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Two-Step Screening for Depressive Symptoms and Prediction of Mortality in Patients With Heart Failure.

PubMed

Lee, Kyoung Suk; Moser, Debra K; Pelter, Michele; Biddle, Martha J; Dracup, Kathleen

2017-05-01

Comorbid depression in patients with heart failure is associated with increased risk for death. In order to effectively identify depressed patients with cardiac disease, the American Heart Association suggests a 2-step screening method: administering the 2-item Patient Health Questionnaire first and then the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire. However, whether the 2-step method is better for predicting poor prognosis in heart failure than is either the 2-item or the 9-item tool alone is not known. To determine whether the 2-step method is better than either the 2-item or the 9-item questionnaire alone for predicting all-cause mortality in heart failure. During a 2-year period, 562 patients with heart failure were assessed for depression by using the 2-step method. With the 2-step method, results are considered positive if patients endorse either depressed mood or anhedonia on the 2-item screen and have scores of 10 or higher on the 9-item screen. Screening results with the 2-step method were not associated with all-cause mortality. Patients with scores positive for depression on either the 2-item or 9-item screen alone had 53% and 60% greater risk, respectively, for all-cause death than did patients with scores negative for depression after adjustments for covariates (hazard ratio, 1.530; 95% CI, 1.029-2.274 for the 2-item screen; hazard ratio, 1.603; 95% CI, 1.079-2.383 for the 9-item screen). The 2-step method has no clear advantages compared with the 2-item screen alone or the 9-item screen alone for predicting adverse prognostic effects of depressive symptoms in heart failure. ©2017 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.

Stress in telephone helpline nurses is associated with failures of concentration, attention and memory, and with more conservative referral decisions.

PubMed

Allan, Julia L; Farquharson, Barbara; Johnston, Derek W; Jones, Martyn C; Choudhary, Carolyn J; Johnston, Marie

2014-05-01

Nurses working for telephone-based medical helplines must maintain attentional focus while quickly and accurately processing information given by callers to make safe and appropriate treatment decisions. In this study, both higher levels of general occupational stress and elevated stress levels on particular shifts were associated with more frequent failures of attention, memory, and concentration in telephone nurses. Exposure to a stressful shift was also associated with a measurable increase in objectively assessed information-processing errors. Nurses who experienced more frequent cognitive failures at work made more conservative decisions, tending to refer patients on to other health professionals more often than other nurses. As stress is associated with cognitive performance decrements in telephone nursing, stress-reduction interventions could improve the quality and safety of care that callers to medical helplines receive. © 2013 The British Psychological Society.

Effects of Explicit Instruction in Cognitive and Metacognitive Reading Strategies on Iranian EFL Students' Reading Performance and Strategy Transfer

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aghaie, Reza; Zhang, Lawrence Jun

2012-01-01

This study explored the impact of explicit teaching of reading strategies on English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) students' reading performance in Iran. The study employed a questionnaire adapted from Chamot and O'Malley's (1994) cognitive and metacognitive strategies framework. To test the effects of explicit teaching of cognitive and…

Validity of dietary eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid intakes determined by interviewer-administrated food frequency questionnaire among older adults with mild-to-moderate cognitive impairment or dementia

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Epidemiological research is increasingly focused on elderly populations, many of whom exhibit mild to moderate cognitive impairments. This presents a challenge for collection and interpretation of self-reported dietary data. There are few reports on the impact of cognitive function and dementia o...

Habitual coffee consumption enhances attention and vigilance in hemodialysis patients.

PubMed

Nikić, Petar M; Andrić, Branislav R; Stojimirović, Biljana B; Trbojevic-Stanković, Jasna; Bukumirić, Zoran

2014-01-01

Coffee drinking is the main source of caffeine intake among adult population in the western world. It has been reported that low to moderate caffeine intake has beneficial effect on alertness and cognitive functions in healthy subjects. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of habitual coffee consumption on cognitive function in hemodialysis patients. In a cross-sectional study, 86 patients from a single-dialysis centre underwent assessment by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment tool and evaluation for symptoms of fatigue, mood, and sleep disorders by well-validated questionnaires. The habitual coffee use and the average daily caffeine intake were estimated by participants' response to a dietary questionnaire. Sixty-seven subjects (78%) consumed black coffee daily, mostly in low to moderate dose. Cognitive impairment was found in three-quarters of tested patients. Normal mental performance was more often in habitual coffee users (25% versus 16%). Regular coffee drinkers achieved higher mean scores on all tested cognitive domains, but a significant positive correlation was found only for items that measure attention and concentration (P = 0.024). Moderate caffeine intake by habitual coffee consumption could have beneficial impact on cognitive function in hemodialysis patients due to selective enhancement of attention and vigilance.

Cognitive anchoring on self-generated decisions reduces operator reliance on automated diagnostic aids.

PubMed

Madhavan, Poornima; Wiegmann, Douglas A

2005-01-01

Automation users often disagree with diagnostic aids that are imperfectly reliable. The extent to which users' agreements with an aid are anchored to their personal, self-generated diagnoses was explored. Participants (N = 75) performed 200 trials in which they diagnosed pump failures using an imperfectly reliable automated aid. One group (nonforced anchor, n = 50) provided diagnoses only after consulting the aid. Another group (forced anchor, n = 25) provided diagnoses both before and after receiving feedback from the aid. Within the nonforced anchor group, participants' self-reported tendency to prediagnose system failures significantly predicted their tendency to disagree with the aid, revealing a cognitive anchoring effect. Agreement rates of participants in the forced anchor group indicated that public commitment to a diagnosis did not strengthen this effect. Potential applications include the development of methods for reducing cognitive anchoring effects and improving automation utilization in high-risk domains.

Stressing schizotypy: the modulating role of stress-relieving behaviours and intellectual capacity on functional hemispheric asymmetry.

PubMed

Herzig, Daniela A; Mohr, Christine

2013-01-01

Relative cognitive impairments are common along the schizophrenia spectrum reflecting potential psychopathological markers. Yet stress, a vulnerability marker in schizophrenia (including its spectrum), is likewise related to cognitive impairments. We investigated whether one such cognitive marker (attenuated functional hemispheric asymmetry) during stressful life periods might be linked to individuals' schizotypal features or rather to individuals' stress-related experiences and behaviours. A total of 58 students performed a left hemisphere dominant (lateralised lexical decisions) and right hemisphere dominant (sex decisions on composite faces) task. In order to account for individual differences in stress sensitivity we separated participants into groups of high or low cognitive reserve according to their average current marks. In addition, participants filled in questionnaires on schizotypy (short O-LIFE), perceived stress, stress response, and a newly adapted questionnaire that enquired about potential stress compensation behaviour (elevated substance use). The most important finding was that enhanced substance use and cognitive disorganisation contributed to a right and left hemisphere shift in language dominance, respectively. We discuss that (i) former reports on right hemisphere shifts in language dominance with positive schizotypy might be explained by an associated higher substance use and (ii) cognitive disorganisation relates to unstable cognitive functioning that depend on individuals' life circumstances, contributing to published reports on inconsistent laterality-schizotypy relationships.

Analysis of risk factors for mild cognitive impairment based on word list memory test results and questionnaire responses in healthy Japanese individuals registered in an online database.

PubMed

Ogawa, Masayo; Sone, Daichi; Maruo, Kazushi; Shimada, Hiroyuki; Suzuki, Keisuke; Watanabe, Hiroshi; Matsuda, Hiroshi; Mizusawa, Hidehiro

2018-01-01

Although the development of effective therapeutic drugs and radical treatment options for dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains urgent, progress in recent clinical trials of AD drugs has been less than adequate. In order to advance the progress of clinical trials, it is necessary to establish more efficient methods of recruitment. In Japan, there are registration systems stratified by mild cognitive impairment and preclinical and clinical stages of early and advanced stage dementia, but there is no registration system for healthy individuals yet. Therefore, in the present study, we developed a large-scale, internet-based health registry to investigate factors associated with cognitive function among registered participants. A total of 1038 participants completed the initial questionnaire and word list memory test. Among these participants, 353 individuals completed a second questionnaire and memory test. Stepwise multiple regression analysis was performed using IBM SPSS version 23.0 for Windows at a statistical significance level of p<0.05. We found that mood, motivation, and a decreased ability to perform activities of daily living were significantly associated with cognitive function. The results of the present study suggest that maintaining social involvement is important to prevent decreases in physical activity, daily function, mood, and motivation.

Cognitive Impairment among Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Compared to Normal Individuals.

PubMed

Samareh Fekri, Mitra; Hashemi-Bajgani, Seyed-Mehdi; Naghibzadeh-Tahami, Ahmad; Arabnejad, Fateme

2017-01-01

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The complications of COPD are numerous, and cognitive impairment is one of the most common complications that relates to mortality and morbidity directly. The present study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the prevalence of cognitive impairment in patients with COPD in comparison to normal individuals. In this case-control study, 87 patients with COPD, whose diagnoses were confirmed by a pulmonologist based on the spirometry test findings, were included. The mini-mental state examination (MMSE) questionnaire was administered for assessing the cognitive impairment. Arterial oxygen saturation was measured. The MMSE questionnaires were administered to 60 healthy, age-and-sex-matched individuals without a history of myocardial infarction or cerebrovascular infarction, and their arterial oxygen saturations were measured. The data were analyzed using the SPSS (version 20) software. In the case group, 42 patients (48.27%) had no cognitive impairment, 39 (44.82%) had mild, and 6 (6.89%) had moderate cognitive impairment. In the control group, 38 (63.33%) had no cognitive impairment, 20 (33.33%) mild and 2 (3.33 %) moderate cognitive impairment. There were significant relationships between the cognitive impairment and arterial oxygen saturation, severity of COPD, and higher age. The prevalence of cognitive impairment was 51.71% in the case group and 36.66% in the control group. According the results of the present study, COPD increased the risk of cognitive impairment significantly and is related to the severity of COPD, arterial oxygen saturation, and higher age.

Cognitive Training and Reading Remediation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mahapatra, Shamita

2015-01-01

Reading difficulties are experienced by children either because they fail to decode the words and thus are unable to comprehend the text or simply fail to comprehend the text even if they are able to decode the words and read them out. Failure in word decoding results from a failure in phonological coding of written information, whereas, reading…

Too Many Boys Are Failing in American Schools: What Can We Do about It?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, Barbara T.; Hilliard, Ann

2013-01-01

This research studied those factors that impact the failure of boys in American schools. Multiple areas were explored. Among the broadly investigated area were: physiological, social and cognitive. Attributing to the failure of boys included brain structure, cultural standards, teaching practices, economics, environmental factors, and familial…

Effect of failure/success feedback and the moderating influence of personality on reward motivation.

PubMed

Anand, Deepika; Oehlberg, Katherine A; Treadway, Michael T; Nusslock, Robin

2016-01-01

While motivation to pursue goals is often assumed to be a trait-like characteristic, it is influenced by a variety of situational factors. In particular, recent experiences of success or failure, as well as cognitive responses to these outcomes, may shape subsequent willingness to expend effort for future rewards. To date, however, these effects have not been explicitly tested. In the present study, 131 healthy individuals received either failure or success feedback on a cognitive task. They were then instructed to either ruminate or distract themselves from their emotions. Finally, they completed the Effort Expenditure for Rewards Task, a laboratory measure of reward motivation. Results indicate that participants who received failure feedback relied more strongly on the reward magnitude when choosing whether to exert greater effort to obtain larger rewards, though this effect only held under conditions of significant uncertainty about whether the effort would be rewarded. Further, participants with high levels of trait inhibition were less responsive to reward value and probability when choosing whether to expend greater effort, results that echo past studies of effort-based decision-making in psychological disorders.

Facial expression perception correlates with verbal working memory function in schizophrenia.

PubMed

Hagiya, Kumiko; Sumiyoshi, Tomiki; Kanie, Ayako; Pu, Shenghong; Kaneko, Koichi; Mogami, Tamiko; Oshima, Sachie; Niwa, Shin-ichi; Inagaki, Akiko; Ikebuchi, Emi; Kikuchi, Akiko; Yamasaki, Syudo; Iwata, Kazuhiko; Nakagome, Kazuyuki

2015-12-01

Facial emotion perception is considered to provide a measure of social cognition. Numerous studies have examined the perception of emotion in patients with schizophrenia, and the majority has reported impaired ability to recognize facial emotion perception. We aimed to investigate the correlation between facial expression recognition and other domains of social cognition and neurocognition in Japanese patients with schizophrenia. Participants were 52 patients with schizophrenia and 53 normal controls with no history of psychiatric diseases. All participants completed the Hinting Task and the Social Cognition Screening Questionnaire. The Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia was administered only to the patients. Facial emotion perception measured by the Facial Emotion Selection Test (FEST) was compared between the patients and normal controls. Patients performed significantly worse on the FEST compared to normal control subjects. The FEST total score was significantly positively correlated with scores of the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia attention subscale, Hinting Task, Social Cognition Screening Questionnaire Verbal Working Memory and Metacognition subscales. Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that verbal working memory function was positively related to the facial emotion perception ability in patients with schizophrenia. These results point to the concept that facial emotion perception and some types of working memory use common cognitive resources. Our findings may provide implications for cognitive rehabilitation and related interventions in schizophrenia. © 2015 The Authors. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences © 2015 Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology.

Comparative Analysis of Results from a Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire Between International Students from West Asia and Xinjiang College Students in China.

PubMed

Hu, Hongxing; Alsron, Bahargul; Xu, Bin; Hao, Wei

2016-12-25

The Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) is a cognitive and emotional tool measuring how individuals deal with stressful life events. However differences exist in the results of CERQ among individuals. This study was conducted to investigate the CERQ results and depressive symptoms of students at our university (both local and international students) in order to provide further guidance for psychological interventions. 255 sophomore and junior international students (171 male and 84 female) and 262 sophomore and junior Chinese students (124 male and 138 female) were investigated using CERQ, ASLEC and SDS questionnaires. Results were analyzed using SPSS 16.0. Compared to Chinese students, international students more often used cognitive adjustment methods such as "positive refocusing","re-focus on planning" and "catastrophizing". In regression equations where depression symptoms were used as the dependent variable, "self-blaming" and "catastrophizing"positively contributed to depression symptoms in international students, while"acceptance" was negatively correlated with depression symptoms.In Chinese students, "life events score" and "catastrophizing"were positively correlated withdepression symptoms, while "positive re-evaluating" was negatively correlated with depression symptoms. Among students of different races, positive coping methods were negatively correlated with depression symptoms and could possibly prevent the occurrence of depression, while negative coping methods were positively correlated with depression.Encouraging students to use adaptive coping methods during psychological intervention is an effective way to adjust cognitions and behavior for depression prevention.

One-year follow-up of cognitive behavioral therapy for phobic postural vertigo.

PubMed

Holmberg, Johan; Karlberg, Mikael; Harlacher, Uwe; Magnusson, Måns

2007-09-01

Phobic postural vertigo is characterized by dizziness in standing and walking despite normal clinical balance tests. Patients sometimes exhibit anxiety reactions and avoidance behavior to specific stimuli. Different treatments are possible for PPV, including vestibular rehabilitation exercises, pharmacological treatment, and cognitive behavioral therapy. We recently reported significant benefits of cognitive behavioural therapy for patients with phobic postural vertigo. This study presents the results of a one-year follow-up of these patients. Swedish translations of the following questionnaires were administered: (Dizziness Handicap Inventory, Vertigo Symptom Scale, Vertigo Handicap Questionnaire, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) were administered to 20 patients (9 men and 11 women; mean age 43 years, range 23-59 years) one year after completion of cognitive behavioral therapy. Test results were similar to those obtained before treatment, showing that no significant treatment effects remained. Cognitive behavioral therapy has a limited long-term effect on phobic postural vertigo. This condition is more difficult to treat than panic disorder with agoraphobia. Vestibular rehabilitation exercises and pharmacological treatment might be the necessary components of treatment.

Diagnosis of cognitive impairment and the assessment of driving safety: a survey of Canterbury GPs.

PubMed

Hoggarth, Petra A

2013-12-13

To assess how GPs in Canterbury determine the driving ability of their older patients with cognitive impairment. A 10-item questionnaire was sent to 514 Canterbury GPs via the mail system of three Primary Health Organisations. GPs could either post or fax back responses anonymously and were also able to add their own comments. 185 GPs returned completed questionnaires (36% response rate). Six of 10 items were rated in the middle of the response range, indicating a middling level of agreement. All but three GPs reported using a cognitive screening test and most talked to their patients about the need to plan for driving cessation. GPs did not frequently report referring for on-road driving assessments and many commented they would appreciate a more structured guideline with specific recommendations. There is room for improvement in the amount of information provided to GPs about how to best assess older patients with cognitive impairment for fitness to drive. Recommendations of specific cognitive screens and a flowchart format would be a valuable addition.

Cognitive task performance and frequency of alcohol usage in young adults.

PubMed

Harvanko, Arit M; Odlaug, Brian L; Schreiber, Liana R N; Grant, Jon E

2012-06-01

The goal of our study was to examine cognitive effects of alcohol in young adults at varied levels of alcohol usage using well-validated computerized cognitive measures. One hundred fifty-five young adults (mean age: 21.15 ± 3.092 years; 25.8% female), free from non-alcohol-related psychiatric diagnoses and drug use, underwent selected tests from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery in conjunction with the Barratt Impulsivity Scale, Eysenck Impulsivity Questionnaire, and the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire. Study participants were grouped according to alcohol frequency: nondrinkers, at-risk drinkers (subsyndromal alcohol usage), and alcohol use disorder. At-risk drinkers and individuals with alcohol use disorders bet significantly more overall on the Cambridge Gambling Task than nondrinkers. There were no significant differences noted between groups on the Spatial Working Memory task or Intra-dimensional/Extra-dimensional Set Shift task. Individuals with alcohol use disorders endorsed higher impulsivity than at-risk and nondrinkers on the Barratt Impulsivity Scale and Eysenck Impulsivity Questionnaire. Individuals with alcohol use disorders and at-risk drinkers also endorsed higher venturesomeness than nondrinkers on the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire. Results from the Cambridge Gambling Task suggest that even at a subsyndromal level, young adults make risky decisions that mirror those seen in individuals with alcohol use disorders.

Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) for renal fatigue (BReF): a feasibility randomised-controlled trial of CBT for the management of fatigue in haemodialysis (HD) patients.

PubMed

Picariello, Federica; Moss-Morris, Rona; Macdougall, Iain C; Norton, Sam; Da Silva-Gane, Maria; Farrington, Ken; Clayton, Hope; Chilcot, Joseph

2018-03-08

Fatigue is one of the most common and disabling symptoms in end-stage kidney disease, particularly among in-centre haemodialysis patients. This two-arm parallel group feasibility randomised controlled trial will determine whether a fully powered efficacy trial is achievable by examining the feasibility of recruitment, acceptability and potential benefits of a cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT)-based intervention for fatigue among in-centre haemodialysis patients. We aim to recruit 40 adult patients undergoing in-centre haemodialysis at secondary care outpatient dialysis units, who meet clinical levels of fatigue. Patients will be randomised individually (using a 1:1 ratio) to either a 4-6 weeks' CBT-based intervention (intervention arm) or to a waiting-list control (control arm). The primary feasibility outcomes include descriptive data on numbers within each recruiting centre meeting eligibility criteria, rates of recruitment, numbers retained postrandomisation and treatment adherence. To assess the potential benefits of the cognitive-behavioural therapy for renal fatigue intervention, secondary self-report outcomes include measures of fatigue severity (Chalder Fatigue Questionnaire), fatigue-related functional impairment (Work and Social Adjustment Scale), sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9) and anxiety (Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7). Changes in fatigue perceptions (Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire), cognitive and behavioural responses to fatigue (Cognitive and Behavioural Responses to Symptoms Questionnaire), sleep hygiene behaviours (Sleep Hygiene Index) and physical activity (International Physical Activity Questionnaire-short form) will also be explored. These self-report measures will be collected at baseline and 3 months postrandomisation. Nested qualitative interviews will be conducted postintervention to explore the acceptability of the intervention and identify any areas in need of improvement. The statistician and assessor will be blinded to treatment allocation. A National Health Service (NHS) Research Ethics Committee approved the study. Any amendments to the protocol will be submitted to the NHS Committee and study sponsor. ISRCTN91238019;Pre-results. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Cognitive Awareness Prototype Development on User Interface Design

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosli, D'oria Islamiah

2015-01-01

Human error is a crucial problem in manufacturing industries. Due to the misinterpretation of information on interface system design, accidents or death may occur at workplace. Lack of human cognition criteria in interface system design is also one of the contributions to the failure in using the system effectively. Therefore, this paper describes…

Frontostriatal Maturation Predicts Cognitive Control Failure to Appetitive Cues in Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Somerville, Leah H.; Hare, Todd; Casey, B. J.

2011-01-01

Adolescent risk-taking is a public health issue that increases the odds of poor lifetime outcomes. One factor thought to influence adolescents' propensity for risk-taking is an enhanced sensitivity to appetitive cues, relative to an immature capacity to exert sufficient cognitive control. We tested this hypothesis by characterizing interactions…

Fear Control an Danger Control: A Test of the Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Witte, Kim

1994-01-01

Explores cognitive and emotional mechanisms underlying success and failure of fear appeals in context of AIDS prevention. Offers general support for Extended Parallel Process Model. Suggests that cognitions lead to fear appeal success (attitude, intention, or behavior changes) via danger control processes, whereas the emotion fear leads to fear…

Cognitive and Noncognitive Predictors of Academic Difficulty and Attrition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cariaga-Lo, Liza D.; Enarson, Cam E.; Crandall, Sonia J.; Zaccaro, Daniel J.; Richards, Boyd F.

1997-01-01

A study investigated when medical students are at greatest risk of academic failure and which cognitive or noncognitive factors place them at risk. Subjects were 658 medical students matriculating at Wake Forest University (North Carolina) over five years. Results suggest the majority of academic delays occur in the first two years. Specific…

Hypoxic Adaptation during Development: Relation to Pattern of Neurological Presentation and Cognitive Disability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kirkham, Fenella J.; Datta, Avijit K.

2006-01-01

Children with acute hypoxic-ischaemic events (e.g. stroke) and chronic neurological conditions associated with hypoxia frequently present to paediatric neurologists. Failure to adapt to hypoxia may be a common pathophysiological pathway linking a number of other conditions of childhood with cognitive deficit. There is evidence that congenital…

Exploring the Motivation Orientation and Learning Strategies of First Year University Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watson, Mark; McSorley, Michelle; Foxcroft, Cheryl; Watson, Andrea

2004-01-01

Both internationally and within South Africa the failure rates at universities are presently high and throughput and graduation rates are low. It is thus imperative that the cognitive and non-cognitive predictors related to identifying learners who will succeed academically are explored. This paper focuses on two potentially important…

The Cognitive and Academic Impact of Sickle Cell Disease

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Day, Sara; Chismark, Elisabeth

2006-01-01

Sickle cell disease (SCD) affects over 30,000 students in the United States. Central nervous system complications are widespread among students with SCD and include stroke, silent cerebral infarction, and cognitive impairment. The effects of these complications may lead to academic failure, limited career options, and for some, total disability.…

Anxiety state affects information processing speed in patients with multiple sclerosis.

PubMed

Goretti, Benedetta; Viterbo, R G; Portaccio, E; Niccolai, C; Hakiki, B; Piscolla, E; Iaffaldano, P; Trojano, M; Amato, M P

2014-04-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of anxiety on the cognitive performance of a clinical sample of relapsing-remitting (RR) MS patients. One hundred ninety patients (140 females) were included in the study and assessed through the beck depression inventory, the state-trait anxiety inventory and the Rao's brief repeatable battery which assesses cognitive domains most frequently impaired in MS. As for neuropsychological performance, a total of 76 (40%) subjects fulfilled our criterion for cognitive impairment. Tests most frequently failed by cognitive impairment (CI) patients were those assessing complex attention and information processing speed [Simbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), Paced Auditory Serial Auditory Test (PASAT) 3 and 2] and verbal memory. In the univariate analysis, state anxiety was related to failure on the SDMT (p = 0.042), and marginally, to failure on the PASAT-3 (p = 0.068), and to the presence of CI (p = 0.082). Moderate/severe depression was detected in 38 (20%) patients and fatigue in 109 (57%). Higher depression scores were related to impairment on the ST (OR = 1.05; 95% CI 1.01-1.10; p = 0.029).

Power of the desired self: Influence of induced perceptions of the self on reasoning.

PubMed

Augustinova, Maria; Collange, Julie; Sanitioso, Rasyid Bo; Musca, Serban C

2011-12-01

This research shows that the motivation to posses a desired characteristic (or to avoid an undesired one) results in self-perceptions that guide people's use of base rate in the Lawyer-Engineer problem (Kahneman & Tversky, 1973). In four studies, participants induced to believe (or recall, Exp. 2) that a rational cognitive style is success-conducive (or an intuitive cognitive style failure-conducive) subsequently viewed themselves as more rational and relied more on base rate in their probability estimates than those induced to believe that a rational cognitive style is failure-conducive (or an intuitive cognitive style success-conducive). These findings show that the desired self had an influence on reasoning in the self-unrelated lawyer-engineer task, since the use of base rates was mediated by changes in participants' perceptions of their own rationality. These findings therefore show that the desired self, through the working self-concept that it entails, constitutes another factor influencing people's use of distinct modes of reasoning. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Free and Cued Recall Memory in Parkinson’s Disease Associated with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment

PubMed Central

Costa, Alberto; Monaco, Marco; Zabberoni, Silvia; Peppe, Antonella; Perri, Roberta; Fadda, Lucia; Iannarelli, Francesca; Caltagirone, Carlo; Carlesimo, Giovanni A.

2014-01-01

The hypothesis has been advanced that memory disorders in individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) are related to either retrieval or consolidation failure. However, the characteristics of the memory impairments of PD patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment have not been clarified. This study was aimed at investigating whether memory deficits in PD patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (PDaMCI) are due to failure of retrieval or consolidation processes. Sixteen individuals with PDaMCI, 20 with amnestic mild cognitive impairment without PD (aMCINPD), and 20 healthy controls were recruited. Participants were administered the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test. An index of cueing was computed for each subject to capture the advantage in retrieval of cued compared to free recall. Individuals with PDaMCI performed worse than healthy controls on the free recall (p<0.01) but not the cued recall (p>0.10) task, and they performed better than aMCINPD subjects on both recall measures (p<0.01). The index of cueing of subjects with PD was comparable to that of healthy controls (p>0.10) but it was significantly higher than that of the aMCINPD sample (p<0.01). Moreover, PD patients’ performance on free recall trials was significantly predicted by scores on a test investigating executive functions (i.e., the Modified Card Sorting Test; p = 0.042). Findings of the study document that, in subjects with amnestic mild cognitive impairment associated to PD, episodic memory impairment is related to retrieval rather than to consolidation failure. The same data suggest that, in these individuals, memory deficits might be due to altered frontal-related executive functioning. PMID:24465977

Free and cued recall memory in Parkinson's disease associated with amnestic mild cognitive impairment.

PubMed

Costa, Alberto; Monaco, Marco; Zabberoni, Silvia; Peppe, Antonella; Perri, Roberta; Fadda, Lucia; Iannarelli, Francesca; Caltagirone, Carlo; Carlesimo, Giovanni A

2014-01-01

The hypothesis has been advanced that memory disorders in individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) are related to either retrieval or consolidation failure. However, the characteristics of the memory impairments of PD patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment have not been clarified. This study was aimed at investigating whether memory deficits in PD patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (PDaMCI) are due to failure of retrieval or consolidation processes. Sixteen individuals with PDaMCI, 20 with amnestic mild cognitive impairment without PD (aMCINPD), and 20 healthy controls were recruited. Participants were administered the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test. An index of cueing was computed for each subject to capture the advantage in retrieval of cued compared to free recall. Individuals with PDaMCI performed worse than healthy controls on the free recall (p<0.01) but not the cued recall (p>0.10) task, and they performed better than aMCINPD subjects on both recall measures (p<0.01). The index of cueing of subjects with PD was comparable to that of healthy controls (p>0.10) but it was significantly higher than that of the aMCINPD sample (p<0.01). Moreover, PD patients' performance on free recall trials was significantly predicted by scores on a test investigating executive functions (i.e., the Modified Card Sorting Test; p = 0.042). Findings of the study document that, in subjects with amnestic mild cognitive impairment associated to PD, episodic memory impairment is related to retrieval rather than to consolidation failure. The same data suggest that, in these individuals, memory deficits might be due to altered frontal-related executive functioning.

Explanation of the variance in quality of life and activity capacity of patients with heart failure by laboratory data.

PubMed

Athanasopoulos, Leonidas V; Dritsas, Athanasios; Doll, Helen A; Cokkinos, Dennis V

2010-08-01

This study was conducted to explain the variance in quality of life (QoL) and activity capacity of patients with congestive heart failure from pathophysiological changes as estimated by laboratory data. Peak oxygen consumption (peak VO2) and ventilation (VE)/carbon dioxide output (VCO2) slope derived from cardiopulmonary exercise testing, plasma N-terminal prohormone of B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), and echocardiographic markers [left atrium (LA), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF)] were measured in 62 patients with congestive heart failure, who also completed the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire and the Specific Activity Questionnaire. All regression models were adjusted for age and sex. On linear regression analysis, peak VO2 with P value less than 0.001, VE/VCO2 slope with P value less than 0.01, LVEF with P value less than 0.001, LA with P=0.001, and logNT-proBNP with P value less than 0.01 were found to be associated with QoL. On stepwise multiple linear regression, peak VO2 and LVEF continued to be predictive, accounting for 40% of the variability in Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire score. On linear regression analysis, peak VO2 with P value less than 0.001, VE/VCO2 slope with P value less than 0.001, LVEF with P value less than 0.05, LA with P value less than 0.001, and logNT-proBNP with P value less than 0.001 were found to be associated with activity capacity. On stepwise multiple linear regression, peak VO2 and LA continued to be predictive, accounting for 53% of the variability in Specific Activity Questionnaire score. Peak VO2 is independently associated both with QoL and activity capacity. In addition to peak VO2, LVEF is independently associated with QoL, and LA with activity capacity.

Questions raised by a reasoned action approach: comment on Ogden (2003).

PubMed

Ajzen, Icek; Fishbein, Martin

2004-07-01

In her critique of social cognition or reasoned action models, J. Ogden (see record 2003-05896-016) claimed that such models are not falsifiable and thus cannot be tested, that the postulated relations among model components are true by definition, and that questionnaires used to test the models may create rather than assess cognitions and thus influence later behavior. The authors of this comment challenge all 3 arguments and contend that the findings Ogden regarded as requiring rejection of the models are, in fact, consistent with them, that there is good evidence for the validity of measures used to assess the models' major constructs, and that the effect of completing a questionnaire on cognitions and subsequent behavior is an empirical question. Copyright 2004 American Psychological Association

Work stressors, perseverative cognition and objective sleep quality: a longitudinal study among Dutch Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) Pilots.

PubMed

Radstaak, Mirjam; Geurts, Sabine A E; Beckers, Debby G J; Brosschot, Jos F; Kompier, Michiel A J

2014-01-01

This longitudinal study examined the associations between work stressors, perseverative cognition and subjective and objective sleep quality. We hypothesized work stressors to be associated with (i) poor nocturnal sleep quality and (ii) higher levels of perseverative cognition during a free evening. We further hypothesized (iii) perseverative cognition to be associated with poor nocturnal sleep quality and (iv) the association between work stressors and sleep quality to be mediated by perseverative cognition. The participants were 24 pilots working for the Dutch Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS). They completed six questionnaires: at the end of three consecutive day shifts and each morning following the shifts. The questionnaires addressed work stressors (workload, distressing shifts and work-related conflicts), subjective sleep quality and perseverative cognition. Participants wore actigraphs to assess sleep onset latency, total sleep time and number of awakenings. Correlation analysis revealed that (i) distressing shifts were related to delayed sleep onset (r=0.50, p=0.026) and that workload was related to impaired sleep quality (e.g., subjective sleep quality: r=-0.42, p=0.044). Moreover, (ii) distressing shifts were positively related to perseverative cognition (r=0.62, p=0.002), (iii) perseverative cognition delayed sleep onset (r=0.74, p<0.001) and (iv) mediated the association between distressing shifts and sleep onset latency. Perseverative cognition may be an explanatory mechanism in the association between work stressors and poor sleep.

Relationships Among Cognitive Function and Cerebral Blood Flow, Oxidative Stress, and Inflammation in Older Heart Failure Patients.

PubMed

Kure, Christina E; Rosenfeldt, Franklin L; Scholey, Andrew B; Pipingas, Andrew; Kaye, David M; Bergin, Peter J; Croft, Kevin D; Wesnes, Keith A; Myers, Stephen P; Stough, Con

2016-07-01

The mechanisms for cognitive impairment in heart failure (HF) are unclear. We investigated the relative contributions of cerebral blood flow velocity (BFV), oxidative stress, and inflammation to HF-associated cognitive impairment. Thirty-six HF patients (≥60 years) and 40 healthy controls (68 ± 7 vs 67 ± 5 years, P > .05; 69% vs 50% male, P > .05) completed the Cognitive Drug Research computerized assessment battery and Stroop tasks. Common carotid (CCA) and middle cerebral arterial BFV were obtained by transcranial Doppler. Blood samples were collected for oxidant (diacron-reactive oxygen metabolites; F2-isoprostanes), antioxidant (coenzyme Q10; CoQ10), and inflammatory markers (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein). Compared with controls, patients exhibited impaired attention (Cognitive Drug Research's Power of Attention domain, congruent Stroop) and executive function (incongruent Stroop). Multiple regression modeling showed that CCA-BFV and CoQ10 but not group predicted performance on attention and executive function. Additionally, in HF patients, CCA-BFV and CoQ10 (β = -0.34 vs β = -0.35) were significant predictors of attention, and CCA-BFV (β = -0.34) was a predictor of executive function. Power of Attention and executive function is impaired in older HF patients, and reduced CCA-BFV and CoQ10 are associated with worse cognition. Interventions addressing these mechanisms may improve cognition in older HF patients. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Combined Use of Self-Efficacy Scale for Oral Health Behaviour and Oral Health Questionnaire: A Pilot Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soutome, Sakiko; Kajiwara, Kazumi; Oho, Takahiko

2012-01-01

Objective: To examine whether the combined use of a task-specific self-efficacy scale for oral health behaviour (SEOH) and an oral health questionnaire (OHQ) would be useful for evaluating subjects' behaviours and cognitions. Design: Questionnaires. Methods: One hundred and eighty-five students completed the SEOH and OHQ. The 30-item OHQ uses a…

Associations between Physical and Cognitive Doping – A Cross-Sectional Study in 2.997 Triathletes

PubMed Central

Dietz, Pavel; Ulrich, Rolf; Dalaker, Robert; Striegel, Heiko; Franke, Andreas G.; Lieb, Klaus; Simon, Perikles

2013-01-01

Purpose This study assessed, for the first time, prevalence estimates for physical and cognitive doping within a single collective of athletes using the randomized response technique (RRT). Furthermore, associations between the use of legal and freely available substances to improve physical and cognitive performance (enhancement) and illicit or banned substances to improve physical and cognitive performance (doping) were examined. Methods An anonymous questionnaire using the unrelated question RRT was used to survey 2,997 recreational triathletes in three sports events (Frankfurt, Regensburg, and Wiesbaden) in Germany. Prior to the survey, statistical power analyses were performed to determine sample size. Logistic regression was used to predict physical and cognitive enhancement and the bootstrap method was used to evaluate differences between the estimated prevalences of physical and cognitive doping. Results 2,987 questionnaires were returned (99.7%). 12-month prevalences for physical and cognitive doping were 13.0% and 15.1%, respectively. The prevalence estimate for physical doping was significantly higher in athletes who also used physical enhancers, as well as in athletes who took part in the European Championship in Frankfurt compared to those who did not. The prevalence estimate for cognitive doping was significantly higher in athletes who also used physical and cognitive enhancers. Moreover, the use of physical and cognitive enhancers were significantly associated and also the use of physical and cognitive doping. Discussion The use of substances to improve physical and cognitive performance was associated on both levels of legality (enhancement vs. doping) suggesting that athletes do not use substances for a specific goal but may have a general propensity to enhance. This finding is important for understanding why people use such substances. Consequently, more effective prevention programs against substance abuse and doping could be developed. PMID:24236038

[The Relationship Between Quality of Life and Psychological and Behavioral Factors in Patients With Heart Failure Following Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy].

PubMed

Huang, Jing; Fang, Jin-Bo; Zhao, Yi-Heng

2018-06-01

While cardiac resynchronization therapy improves the quality of life of patients with heart failure, some psychological and behavioral factors still affect the quality of life of these patients. However, information on the factors that affect the quality of life of these patients is limited. To describe the quality of life and investigate the relationship between quality of life and behavioral and psychological factors such as depression, smoking, drinking, water and sodium restrictions, exercise, and adherence in patients with chronic heart failure following cardiac resynchronization therapy. This cross-sectional study was conducted using the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale, Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire, and Cardiac Depression Scale. A convenience sample of 141 patients with heart failure following cardiac resynchronization therapy were recruited from a tertiary academic hospital in Chengdu. The mean overall score of the Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire was 30.89 (out of a total possible score of 105). Water restrictions, sodium restrictions, depression, and exercise were all shown to significantly predict quality of life among the participants. This paper describes the quality of life and defines the behavioral factors that affect the quality of life of patients with heart failure following cardiac resynchronization therapy. The findings suggest that nurses should manage and conduct health education for patients in order to improve their quality of life.

Functional impairment in patients with major depressive disorder: the 2-year PERFORM study

PubMed Central

Hammer-Helmich, Lene; Haro, Josep Maria; Jönsson, Bengt; Tanguy Melac, Audrey; Di Nicola, Sylvie; Chollet, Julien; Milea, Dominique; Rive, Benoît; Saragoussi, Delphine

2018-01-01

Background The Prospective Epidemiological Research on Functioning Outcomes Related to Major depressive disorder (PERFORM) study describes the course of depressive symptoms, perceived cognitive symptoms, and functional impairment over 2 years in outpatients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and investigates the patient-related factors associated with functional impairment. Methods This was a 2-year observational study in 1,159 outpatients with MDD aged 18–65 years who were either initiating antidepressant monotherapy or undergoing their first switch of antidepressant. Functional impairment was assessed by the Sheehan Disability Scale and the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment questionnaire. Patients assessed depression severity using the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire and severity of perceived cognitive symptoms using the five-item Perceived Deficit Questionnaire. To investigate which patient-related factors were associated with functional impairment, univariate analyses of variance were performed to identify relevant factors that were then included in multivariate analyses of covariance at baseline, month 2, months 6 and 12 combined, and months 18 and 24 combined. Results The greatest improvement in depressive symptoms, perceived cognitive symptoms, and functional impairment was seen immediately (within 2 months) following initiation or switch of antidepressant therapy, followed by more gradual improvement and long-term stabilization. Improvement in perceived cognitive symptoms was less marked than improvement in depressive symptoms during the acute treatment phase. Functional impairment in patients with MDD was not only associated with severity of depressive symptoms but also independently associated with severity of perceived cognitive symptoms when adjusted for depression severity throughout the 2 years of follow-up. Conclusion These findings highlight the burden of functional impairment in MDD and the importance of recognizing and managing cognitive symptoms in daily practice. PMID:29386897

Functional impairment in patients with major depressive disorder: the 2-year PERFORM study.

PubMed

Hammer-Helmich, Lene; Haro, Josep Maria; Jönsson, Bengt; Tanguy Melac, Audrey; Di Nicola, Sylvie; Chollet, Julien; Milea, Dominique; Rive, Benoît; Saragoussi, Delphine

2018-01-01

The Prospective Epidemiological Research on Functioning Outcomes Related to Major depressive disorder (PERFORM) study describes the course of depressive symptoms, perceived cognitive symptoms, and functional impairment over 2 years in outpatients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and investigates the patient-related factors associated with functional impairment. This was a 2-year observational study in 1,159 outpatients with MDD aged 18-65 years who were either initiating antidepressant monotherapy or undergoing their first switch of antidepressant. Functional impairment was assessed by the Sheehan Disability Scale and the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment questionnaire. Patients assessed depression severity using the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire and severity of perceived cognitive symptoms using the five-item Perceived Deficit Questionnaire. To investigate which patient-related factors were associated with functional impairment, univariate analyses of variance were performed to identify relevant factors that were then included in multivariate analyses of covariance at baseline, month 2, months 6 and 12 combined, and months 18 and 24 combined. The greatest improvement in depressive symptoms, perceived cognitive symptoms, and functional impairment was seen immediately (within 2 months) following initiation or switch of antidepressant therapy, followed by more gradual improvement and long-term stabilization. Improvement in perceived cognitive symptoms was less marked than improvement in depressive symptoms during the acute treatment phase. Functional impairment in patients with MDD was not only associated with severity of depressive symptoms but also independently associated with severity of perceived cognitive symptoms when adjusted for depression severity throughout the 2 years of follow-up. These findings highlight the burden of functional impairment in MDD and the importance of recognizing and managing cognitive symptoms in daily practice.

Smoking status and cognitive performance among vocational school students in Beijing, China.

PubMed

Hu, Pengjuan; Huang, Lili; Zhou, Shuang; Shi, Qiang; Xiao, Dan; Wang, Chen

2018-02-01

In countries where smoking is associated with lower socioeconomic status, smokers tend to perform worse on cognitive tasks than non-smokers. China is now undergoing a similar process with a recent study showing that there is a reduced cognitive performance in middle aged but not in elderly smokers. We examined the links between smoking status and cognitive functioning among vocational school students in Beijing, China. A total of 213 students aged 16-20 (98 smokers and 115 non-smokers) were recruited from three vocational schools in Beijing. Participants completed three subtests of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) (information, arithmetic, digit span) and Dysexecutive Questionnaire (DEX). Smokers also completed a cigarette smoking questionnaire and Fagerstrom Test of Nicotine Dependence (FTND). Smokers performed worse than non-smokers in tests of arithmetic and digit span forward (t = 4.25, 2.05, both P < .05). Scores on digit span backward did not differentiate smokers and non-smokers, but among smokers, the performance on this subtest was related to the age of starting smoking (r = 0.26, p < .001). Cognitive performance in smokers was not related to tobacco dependence or intensity of smoking. Compared to non-smokers, smokers had a higher total DEX score and higher scores on three of its five subscales (Inhibition, Knowing-doing dissociation and Social regulation, all p < .05). Another subscale, In-resistance, did not differentiate smokers and non-smokers, but differentiated smokers with lower and higher levels of nicotine dependence (t = -2.12, p < .05). Smokers performed worse on some cognitive tasks than non-smokers and scored higher on a questionnaire assessing executive dysfunction. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Failure rate of inferior alveolar nerve block among dental students and interns

PubMed Central

AlHindi, Maryam; Rashed, Bayan; AlOtaibi, Noura

2016-01-01

Objectives: To report the failure rate of inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) among dental students and interns, causes of failure, investigate awareness of different IANB techniques, and to report IANB-associated complications. Methods: A 3-page questionnaire containing 13 questions was distributed to a random sample of 350 third to fifth years students and interns at the College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on January 2011. It included demographic questions (age, gender, and academic level) and questions on IANB failure frequency and reasons, actions taken to overcome the failure, and awareness of different anesthetic techniques, supplementary techniques, and complications. Results: Of the 250 distributed questionnaires, 238 were returned (68% response rate). Most (85.7%) of surveyed sample had experienced IANB failure once or twice. The participants attributed the failures most commonly (66.45%) to anatomical variations. The most common alternative technique used was intraligamentary injection (57.1%), although 42.8% of the sample never attempted any alternatives. Large portion of the samples stated that they either lacked both knowledge of and training for other techniques (44.9%), or that they had knowledge of them but not enough training to perform them (45.8%). Conclusion: To decrease IANB failure rates for dental students and interns, knowledge of landmarks, anatomical variation and their training in alternatives to IANB, such as the Gow-Gates and Akinosi techniques, both theoretically and clinically in the dental curriculum should be enhanced. PMID:26739980

Failure rate of inferior alveolar nerve block among dental students and interns.

PubMed

AlHindi, Maryam; Rashed, Bayan; AlOtaibi, Noura

2016-01-01

To report the failure rate of inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) among dental students and interns, causes of failure, investigate awareness of different IANB techniques, and to report IANB-associated complications.   A 3-page questionnaire containing 13 questions was distributed to a random sample of 350 third to fifth years students and interns at the College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on January 2011. It included demographic questions (age, gender, and academic level) and questions on IANB failure frequency and reasons, actions taken to overcome the failure, and awareness of different anesthetic techniques, supplementary techniques, and complications.   Of the 250 distributed questionnaires, 238 were returned (68% response rate). Most (85.7%) of surveyed sample had experienced IANB failure once or twice. The participants attributed the failures most commonly (66.45%) to anatomical variations. The most common alternative technique used was intraligamentary injection (57.1%), although 42.8% of the sample never attempted any alternatives. Large portion of the samples stated that they either lacked both knowledge of and training for other techniques (44.9%), or that they had knowledge of them but not enough training to perform them (45.8%).  To  decrease IANB failure rates for dental students and interns, knowledge of landmarks, anatomical variation and their training in alternatives to IANB, such as the Gow-Gates and Akinosi techniques, both theoretically and clinically in the dental curriculum should be enhanced.

Cognitive Deficits and Related Brain Lesions in Patients With Chronic Heart Failure.

PubMed

Frey, Anna; Sell, Roxane; Homola, György A; Malsch, Carolin; Kraft, Peter; Gunreben, Ignaz; Morbach, Caroline; Alkonyi, Bálint; Schmid, Eric; Colonna, Isabella; Hofer, Edith; Müllges, Wolfgang; Ertl, Georg; Heuschmann, Peter; Solymosi, László; Schmidt, Reinhold; Störk, Stefan; Stoll, Guido

2018-05-31

This study sought to determine the spectrum of brain lesions seen in heart failure (HF) patients and the extent to which lesion type contributes to cognitive impairment. Cognitive deficits have been reported in patients with HF. A total of 148 systolic and diastolic HF patients (mean age 64 ± 11 years; 16% female; mean left ventricular ejection fraction 43 ± 8%) were extensively evaluated within 2 days by cardiological, neurological, and neuropsychological testing and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A total of 288 healthy, sex- and age-matched subjects sampled from the Austrian Stroke Prevention Study served as MRI controls. Deficits in reaction times were apparent in 41% of patients and deficits in verbal memory in 46%. On brain MRI, patients showed more advanced medial temporal lobe atrophy (MTA) (Scheltens score) compared to controls (2.1 ± 0.9 vs. 1.0 ± 0.6; p < 0.001). The degree of MTA was strongly associated with the severity of cognitive impairment, whereas the extent of white matter hyperintensities was similar in patients and controls. Moreover, patients had a 2.7-fold increased risk for presence of clinically silent lacunes. HF patients exhibit cognitive deficits in the domains of attention and memory. MTA but not white matter lesion load seems to be related to cognitive impairment. Copyright © 2018 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Translating questionnaire items for a multi-lingual worker population: the iterative process of translation and cognitive interviews with English-, Spanish-, and Chinese-speaking workers.

PubMed

Fujishiro, Kaori; Gong, Fang; Baron, Sherry; Jacobson, C Jeffery; DeLaney, Sheli; Flynn, Michael; Eggerth, Donald E

2010-02-01

The increasing ethnic diversity of the US workforce has created a need for research tools that can be used with multi-lingual worker populations. Developing multi-language questionnaire items is a complex process; however, very little has been documented in the literature. Commonly used English items from the Job Content Questionnaire and Quality of Work Life Questionnaire were translated by two interdisciplinary bilingual teams and cognitively tested in interviews with English-, Spanish-, and Chinese-speaking workers. Common problems across languages mainly concerned response format. Language-specific problems required more conceptual than literal translations. Some items were better understood by non-English speakers than by English speakers. De-centering (i.e., modifying the English original to correspond with translation) produced better understanding for one item. Translating questionnaire items and achieving equivalence across languages require various kinds of expertise. Backward translation itself is not sufficient. More research efforts should be concentrated on qualitative approaches to developing useful research tools. Published 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Classroom based cognitive behavioural therapy in reducing symptoms of depression in high risk adolescents: pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial

PubMed Central

Sayal, Kapil; Phillips, Rhiannon; Taylor, John A; Spears, Melissa; Anderson, Rob; Araya, Ricardo; Lewis, Glyn; Millings, Abigail; Montgomery, Alan A

2012-01-01

Objective To compare the effectiveness of classroom based cognitive behavioural therapy with attention control and usual school provision for adolescents at high risk of depression. Design Three arm parallel cluster randomised controlled trial. Setting Eight UK secondary schools. Participants Adolescents (n=5030) aged 12-16 years in school year groups 8-11. Year groups were randomly assigned on a 1:1:1 ratio to cognitive behavioural therapy, attention control, or usual school provision. Allocation was balanced by school, year, number of students and classes, frequency of lessons, and timetabling. Participants were not blinded to treatment allocation. Interventions Cognitive behavioural therapy, attention control, and usual school provision provided in classes to all eligible participants. Main outcome measures Outcomes were collected by self completed questionnaire administered by researchers. The primary outcome was symptoms of depression assessed at 12 months by the short mood and feelings questionnaire among those identified at baseline as being at high risk of depression. Secondary outcomes included negative thinking, self worth, and anxiety. Analyses were undertaken on an intention to treat basis and accounted for the clustered nature of the design. Results 1064 (21.2%) adolescents were identified at high risk of depression: 392 in the classroom based cognitive behavioural therapy arm, 374 in the attention control arm, and 298 in the usual school provision arm. At 12 months adjusted mean scores on the short mood and feelings questionnaire did not differ for cognitive behavioural therapy versus attention control (−0.63, 95% confidence interval −1.85 to 0.58, P=0.41) or for cognitive behavioural therapy versus usual school provision (0.97, −0.20 to 2.15, P=0.12). Conclusion In adolescents with depressive symptoms, outcomes were similar for attention control, usual school provision, and cognitive behavioural therapy. Classroom based cognitive behavioural therapy programmes may result in increased self awareness and reporting of depressive symptoms but should not be undertaken without further evaluation and research. Trial registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN19083628. PMID:23043090

Peak oxygen uptake and left ventricular ejection fraction, but not depressive symptoms, are associated with cognitive impairment in patients with chronic heart failure

PubMed Central

Steinberg, Gerrit; Lossnitzer, Nicole; Schellberg, Dieter; Mueller-Tasch, Thomas; Krueger, Carsten; Haass, Markus; Ladwig, Karl Heinz; Herzog, Wolfgang; Juenger, Jana

2011-01-01

Background The aim of the present study was to assess cognitive impairment in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and its associations with depressive symptoms and somatic indicators of illness severity, which is a matter of controversy. Methods and results Fifty-five patients with CHF (mean age 55.3 ± 7.8 years; 80% male; New York Heart Association functional class I–III) underwent assessment with an expanded neuropsychological test battery (eg, memory, complex attention, mental flexibility, psychomotor speed) to evaluate objective and subjective cognitive impairment. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (SCID) and a self-report inventory (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [HADS]). A comprehensive clinical dataset, including left ventricular ejection fraction, peak oxygen uptake, and a 6-minute walk test, was obtained for all patients. Neuropsychological functioning revealed impairment in 56% of patients in at least one measure of our neuropsychological test battery. However, the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) could only detect cognitive impairment in 1.8% of all patients, 24% had HADS scores indicating depressive symptoms, and 11.1% met SCID criteria for a depressive disorder. No significant association was found between depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment. Left ventricular ejection fraction was related to subjective cognitive impairment, and peak oxygen uptake was related to objective cognitive impairment. Conclusion Cognitive functioning was substantially reduced in patients with CHF and should therefore be diagnosed and treated in routine clinical practice. Caution is advised when the MMSE is used to identify cognitive impairment in patients with CHF. PMID:22267941

Iron deficiency is a key determinant of health-related quality of life in patients with chronic heart failure regardless of anaemia status.

PubMed

Comín-Colet, Josep; Enjuanes, Cristina; González, Gina; Torrens, Ainhoa; Cladellas, Mercè; Meroño, Oona; Ribas, Nuria; Ruiz, Sonia; Gómez, Miquel; Verdú, José Maria; Bruguera, Jordi

2013-10-01

To evaluate the effect of iron deficiency (ID) and/or anaemia on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). We undertook a post-hoc analysis of a cohort of CHF patients in a single-centre study evaluating cognitive function. At recruitment, patients provided baseline information and completed the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure questionnaire (MLHFQ) for HRQoL (higher scores reflect worse HRQoL). At the same time, blood samples were taken for serological evaluation. ID was defined as serum ferritin levels <100 ng/mL or serum ferritin <800 ng/mL with transferrin saturation <20%. Anaemia was defined as haemoglobin ≤12 g/dL. A total of 552 CHF patients were eligible for inclusion, with an average age of 72 years and 40% in NYHA class III or IV. The MLHFQ overall summary scores were 41.0 ± 24.7 among those with ID, vs. 34.4 ± 26.4 for non-ID patients (P = 0.003), indicating worse HRQoL. When adjusted for other factors associated with HRQoL, ID was significantly associated with worse MLHFQ overall summary (P = 0.008) and physical dimension scores (P = 0.002), whereas anaemia was not (both P > 0.05). Increased levels of soluble transferrin receptor were also associated with impaired HRQoL (P ≤ 0.001). Adjusting for haemoglobin and C-reactive protein, ID was more pronounced in patients with anaemia compared with those without (P < 0.001). In patients with CHF, ID but not anaemia was associated with reduced HRQoL, mostly due to physical factors.

Three screening methods for cognitive dysfunction using the Mini-Mental State Examination and Korean Dementia Screening Questionnaire.

PubMed

Choi, Seong Hye; Park, Moon Ho

2016-02-01

To screen for and determine cognitive dysfunction, cognitive tests and/or informant reports are commonly used. However, these cognitive tests and informant reports are not always available. The present study investigated three screening methods using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) as the cognitive test, and the Korean dementia screening questionnaire (KDSQ) as the informant report. Participants were recruited from the Korea Clinical Research Center for Dementia of South Korea, and included 2861 patients with Alzheimer's disease (dementia), 3519 patients with mild cognitive impairment and 1375 controls with no cognitive dysfunction. Three screening methods were tested: (i) MMSE alone (MMSE(cut-off) ); (ii) a conventional combination of MMSE and KDSQ (MMSE+KDSQ(cut-off) ); and (iii) a decision tree with MMSE and KDSQ (MMSE+KDSQ(decision tree) ). For discriminating any cognitive dysfunction from controls, MMSE+KDSQ(cut-off) had the highest area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (0.784). For discriminating dementia from controls, MMSE+KDSQ(cut-off) had the highest area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (0.899). For discriminating mild cognitive impairment from controls, MMSE(cut-off) had the highest area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (0.683). MMSE+KDSQ(decision tree) showed the highest sensitivity for all discriminations. For overall classification accuracy, MMSE+KDSQ(decision tree) had the highest value (70.0%). These three methods had different advantageous properties for screening and staging cognitive dysfunction. As there might be different availability across clinical settings, these three methods can be selected and used according to situational needs. © 2015 Japan Geriatrics Society.

Cognitive function and its relationship to other psychosocial factors in lymphoma survivors.

PubMed

Krolak, Dorothy; Collins, Barbara; Weiss, Lorelle; Harris, Cheryl; Van der Jagt, Richard

2017-03-01

The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of cognitive disturbance in lymphoma survivors and to explore relationships between cognitive function and other psychosocial factors. A package of standardized questionnaires was sent to 622 lymphoma patients treated at the Ottawa Hospital in the preceding 5 years. Patients with central nervous system involvement were excluded. The questionnaires addressed cognitive function, pain, insomnia, fatigue, and mood. Of the patients in the sampling frame, 54 % responded to the survey and 42 % met inclusion/exclusion criteria. Sixteen percent (99/622) agreed to undergo computerized neuropsychological testing with CNS vital signs (CNSVS). Scores on the objective and subjective cognitive measures were compared to those of a healthy female control group from a previous study. The lymphoma group scored significantly lower than the controls on a cognitive rating scale (p = .018) and on CNSVS (p = .035). The difference on the CNSVS was primarily due to poorer attention and executive function scores in the lymphoma patients. The patients also had a higher frequency of impairment on both the objective (p = .009) and subjective (p < .001) cognitive measures. Among the lymphoma survivors, fatigue and anxiety were related to subjective cognitive disturbance (p < .001 for both), whereas pain was the only psychosocial measure associated with objective cognitive performance (p < .001). These results suggest that cognitive disturbance may be a significant survivorship issue for lymphoma patients and should be more thoroughly investigated in this population.

Psychometric properties of the Symptom Status Questionnaire-Heart Failure.

PubMed

Heo, Seongkum; Moser, Debra K; Pressler, Susan J; Dunbar, Sandra B; Mudd-Martin, Gia; Lennie, Terry A

2015-01-01

Many patients with heart failure (HF) experience physical symptoms, poor health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and high rates of hospitalization. Physical symptoms are associated with HRQOL and are major antecedents of hospitalization. However, reliable and valid physical symptom instruments have not been established. Therefore, this study examined the psychometric properties of the Symptom Status Questionnaire-Heart Failure (SSQ-HF) in patients with HF. Data on symptoms using the SSQ-HF were collected from 249 patients (aged 61 years, 67% male, 45% in New York Heart Association functional class III/IV). Internal consistency reliability was assessed using Cronbach's α. Item homogeneity was assessed using item-total and interitem correlations. Construct validity was assessed using factor analysis and testing hypotheses on known relationships. Data on depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory II), HRQOL (Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire), and event-free survival were collected to test known relationships. Internal consistency reliability was supported: Cronbach's α was .80. Item-total correlation coefficients and interitem correlation coefficients were acceptable. Factor analysis supported the construct validity of the instrument. More severe symptoms were associated with more depressive symptoms, poorer HRQOL, and more risk for hospitalization, emergency department visit, or death, controlling for covariates. The findings of this study support the reliability and validity of the SSQ-HF. Clinicians and researchers can use this instrument to assess physical symptoms in patients with HF.

The HUMTICK study: protocol for a prospective cohort study on post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome and the disease and cost burden of Lyme borreliosis in Belgium.

PubMed

Geebelen, Laurence; Lernout, Tinne; Kabamba-Mukadi, Benoît; Saegeman, Veroniek; Sprong, Hein; Van Gucht, Steven; Beutels, Philippe; Speybroeck, Niko; Tersago, Katrien

2017-01-01

In Belgium, different routine surveillance systems are in place to follow-up Lyme borreliosis trends. However, accurate data on the disease and monetary burden for the different clinical manifestations are lacking. Despite recommended antibiotic treatment, a proportion of Lyme patients report persisting aspecific symptoms for six months or more (e.g. fatigue, widespread musculoskeletal pain, cognitive difficulties), a syndrome now named "post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome" (PTLDS). Controversy exists on the cause, incidence and severity of PTLDS. This study aims to estimate the incidence of PTLDS in patients with Lyme borreliosis and to quantify the disease burden and economic costs associated with the different clinical manifestations of Lyme borreliosis in Belgium. The project is a prospective cohort study in which about 600 patients with an erythema migrans and 100 patients with disseminated Lyme borreliosis will be followed up. Questionnaires, including the SF-36 vitality and pain subscale, the Cognitive Failure Questionnaire and the EQ-5D-5L, will be used to collect information on acute and persisting symptoms and the impact on quality of life. Symptom frequency and severity will be compared with self-reported pre-Lyme health status, a control group and existing Belgian population norms. Additionally, information on the associated costs and possible risk factors for the development of PTLDS will be collected. A study of the health burden will allow evaluation of the relative importance of Lyme borreliosis in Belgium and information on the economic cost will help to formulate cost-effective measures. There are only few prospective studies conducted estimating the incidence of PTLDS and even though discussion exists about the prevalence of subjective symptoms in the general population, a control group of non-Lyme borreliosis participants has often not been included.

Multilingualism, Empathy and Multicompetence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dewaele, Jean-Marc; Wei, Li

2012-01-01

The present study investigates the link between multilingualism and the personality trait of cognitive empathy among 2158 mono- and multilinguals. Data were collected through an online questionnaire. Statistical analyses revealed that the knowledge of more languages was not linked to cognitive empathy. Bilingual upbringing and the experience of…

Self-Efficacy and Academic Achievement--A Case from Turkey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Köseoglu, Yaman

2015-01-01

The issues of motivational inclinations, cognitive and meta-cognitive approaches and resource management abilities of university students are considered in predicting academic achievement. First-year university students filled in the Motivated Strategies Learning Questionnaire, completed the Implicit Theories of Intelligence Scale, answered the…

Styles, Strategies & Tasks: Are They Related?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parnrod, Urarat; Darasawang, Pornapit; Singhasiri, Wareesiri

2014-01-01

This qualitative study aims at investigating the relationship among cognitive styles, learning strategies and task. In order to determine the dominant cognitive styles of the subjects, questionnaires designed by Kolb (2005) were distributed to 778 engineering students. From the data analysis, it was found that two cognitive…

Evaluating a Web-Based Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Maladaptive Perfectionism in University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Radhu, Natasha; Daskalakis, Zafiris J.; Arpin-Cribbie, Chantal A.; Irvine, Jane; Ritvo, Paul

2012-01-01

Objective: This study assessed a Web-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for maladaptive perfectionism, investigating perfectionism, anxiety, depression, negative automatic thoughts, and perceived stress. Participants: Participants were undergraduate students defined as maladaptive perfectionists through a screening questionnaire at an urban…

Is the Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy measuring two or five dimensions? Evidence in a French sample.

PubMed

Myszkowski, Nils; Brunet-Gouet, Eric; Roux, Paul; Robieux, Léonore; Malézieux, Antoine; Boujut, Emilie; Zenasni, Franck

2017-09-01

Although many instruments measure empathy, most of them focus on specific facets (e.g., Spreng et al., 2009) or specific contexts (e.g. Wang et al., 2003) of empathy. For this reason, the Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy (QCAE; Reniers et al., 2011) was recently built to grasp the general construct of empathy through its Affective-Cognitive duality, although not providing clear-cut results about the bidimensionality of the scale. In this study, Confirmatory Factor Analyses were conducted on the responses of 418 adults on the French QCAE (backtranslated for this study). A total of 8 models were tested - including the models of the original investigation. The 5-correlated factors model had the best fit, and the pattern of correlations between the factors did not support the Cognitive-Affective distinction. The QCAE is discussed as showing signs of psychometrical robustness, but also as a tool that is more 5-dimensional than bidimensional. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

White matter changes and word finding failures with increasing age.

PubMed

Stamatakis, Emmanuel A; Shafto, Meredith A; Williams, Guy; Tam, Phyllis; Tyler, Lorraine K

2011-01-07

Increasing life expectancy necessitates the better understanding of the neurophysiological underpinnings of age-related cognitive changes. The majority of research examining structural-cognitive relationships in aging focuses on the role of age-related changes to grey matter integrity. In the current study, we examined the relationship between age-related changes in white matter and language production. More specifically, we concentrated on word-finding failures, which increase with age. We used Diffusion tensor MRI (a technique used to image, in vivo, the diffusion of water molecules in brain tissue) to relate white matter integrity to measures of successful and unsuccessful picture naming. Diffusion tensor images were used to calculate Fractional Anisotropy (FA) images. FA is considered to be a measure of white matter organization/integrity. FA images were related to measures of successful picture naming and to word finding failures using voxel-based linear regression analyses. Successful naming rates correlated positively with white matter integrity across a broad range of regions implicated in language production. However, word finding failure rates correlated negatively with a more restricted region in the posterior aspect of superior longitudinal fasciculus. The use of DTI-MRI provides evidence for the relationship between age-related white matter changes in specific language regions and word finding failures in old age.

Failures of cognitive control or attention? The case of stop-signal deficits in schizophrenia.

PubMed

Matzke, Dora; Hughes, Matthew; Badcock, Johanna C; Michie, Patricia; Heathcote, Andrew

2017-05-01

We used Bayesian cognitive modelling to identify the underlying causes of apparent inhibitory deficits in the stop-signal paradigm. The analysis was applied to stop-signal data reported by Badcock et al. (Psychological Medicine 32: 87-297, 2002) and Hughes et al. (Biological Psychology 89: 220-231, 2012), where schizophrenia patients and control participants made rapid choice responses, but on some trials were signalled to stop their ongoing response. Previous research has assumed an inhibitory deficit in schizophrenia, because estimates of the mean time taken to react to the stop signal are longer in patients than controls. We showed that these longer estimates are partly due to failing to react to the stop signal ("trigger failures") and partly due to a slower initiation of inhibition, implicating a failure of attention rather than a deficit in the inhibitory process itself. Correlations between the probability of trigger failures and event-related potentials reported by Hughes et al. are interpreted as supporting the attentional account of inhibitory deficits. Our results, and those of Matzke et al. (2016), who report that controls also display a substantial although lower trigger-failure rate, indicate that attentional factors need to be taken into account when interpreting results from the stop-signal paradigm.

Long-term follow-up on health-related quality of life in major depressive disorder: a 2-year European cohort study

PubMed Central

Saragoussi, Delphine; Christensen, Michael Cronquist; Hammer-Helmich, Lene; Rive, Benoît; Touya, Maëlys; Haro, Josep Maria

2018-01-01

Background Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with significant impairments in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and everyday functioning. This cohort study investigated the long-term development of HRQoL in patients with MDD and its association with patient characteristics, including depressive symptom severity and cognitive symptoms. Methods The Prospective Epidemiological Research on Functioning Outcomes Related to Major depressive disorder (PERFORM) study was a longitudinal cohort study conducted in 1,159 outpatients aged 18–65 years with MDD in France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, and the UK. The patients were either initiating antidepressant monotherapy or undergoing their first switch of antidepressant. HRQoL was assessed using the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 12-item Health Survey (SF-12) up to month 12 and the EuroQol Five Dimensions questionnaire up to month 24 (UK only). Depressive symptom severity was assessed up to month 24 by the patient-reported Patient Health Questionnaire and cognitive symptoms by the Perceived Deficit Questionnaire. Multivariate analyses were performed to identify patient characteristics associated with HRQoL. Results Mental HRQoL was severely impaired at baseline versus normative data (mean [SD] SF-12 mental component summary [MCS], 26.5 [9.2]); mean (SD) physical component summary (PCS) total score was 45.2 (12.1). SF-12 MCS improved over 12 months of follow-up (38.7 [11.6] at month 12), while SF-12 PCS remained stable (45.3 [11.1]). At each assessment time point, there was a clear pattern of lower SF-12 MCS and PCS total score in patients experiencing greater cognitive problems. The mean EuroQol Five Dimensions questionnaire utility index score generally decreased (i.e., worsened) with increasing severity of cognitive and depressive symptoms at all time points up to 24 months. Multivariate analyses identified both depression severity and cognitive symptoms as strongly and significantly associated with poor HRQoL. Conclusion These findings highlight the importance of recognizing and managing residual symptoms in patients with MDD, including the cognitive symptoms, to restore long-term psychosocial functioning. PMID:29872301

Long-term follow-up on health-related quality of life in major depressive disorder: a 2-year European cohort study.

PubMed

Saragoussi, Delphine; Christensen, Michael Cronquist; Hammer-Helmich, Lene; Rive, Benoît; Touya, Maëlys; Haro, Josep Maria

2018-01-01

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with significant impairments in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and everyday functioning. This cohort study investigated the long-term development of HRQoL in patients with MDD and its association with patient characteristics, including depressive symptom severity and cognitive symptoms. The Prospective Epidemiological Research on Functioning Outcomes Related to Major depressive disorder (PERFORM) study was a longitudinal cohort study conducted in 1,159 outpatients aged 18-65 years with MDD in France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, and the UK. The patients were either initiating antidepressant monotherapy or undergoing their first switch of antidepressant. HRQoL was assessed using the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 12-item Health Survey (SF-12) up to month 12 and the EuroQol Five Dimensions questionnaire up to month 24 (UK only). Depressive symptom severity was assessed up to month 24 by the patient-reported Patient Health Questionnaire and cognitive symptoms by the Perceived Deficit Questionnaire. Multivariate analyses were performed to identify patient characteristics associated with HRQoL. Mental HRQoL was severely impaired at baseline versus normative data (mean [SD] SF-12 mental component summary [MCS], 26.5 [9.2]); mean (SD) physical component summary (PCS) total score was 45.2 (12.1). SF-12 MCS improved over 12 months of follow-up (38.7 [11.6] at month 12), while SF-12 PCS remained stable (45.3 [11.1]). At each assessment time point, there was a clear pattern of lower SF-12 MCS and PCS total score in patients experiencing greater cognitive problems. The mean EuroQol Five Dimensions questionnaire utility index score generally decreased (i.e., worsened) with increasing severity of cognitive and depressive symptoms at all time points up to 24 months. Multivariate analyses identified both depression severity and cognitive symptoms as strongly and significantly associated with poor HRQoL. These findings highlight the importance of recognizing and managing residual symptoms in patients with MDD, including the cognitive symptoms, to restore long-term psychosocial functioning.

A multidisciplinary cognitive behavioural programme for coping with chronic neuropathic pain following spinal cord injury: the protocol of the CONECSI trial

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Most people with a spinal cord injury rate neuropathic pain as one of the most difficult problems to manage and there are no medical treatments that provide satisfactory pain relief in most people. Furthermore, psychosocial factors have been considered in the maintenance and aggravation of neuropathic spinal cord injury pain. Psychological interventions to support people with spinal cord injury to deal with neuropathic pain, however, are sparse. The primary aim of the CONECSI (COping with NEuropathiC Spinal cord Injury pain) trial is to evaluate the effects of a multidisciplinary cognitive behavioural treatment programme on pain intensity and pain-related disability, and secondary on mood, participation in activities, and life satisfaction. Methods/Design CONECSI is a multicentre randomised controlled trial. A sample of 60 persons with chronic neuropathic spinal cord injury pain will be recruited from four rehabilitation centres and randomised to an intervention group or a waiting list control group. The control group will be invited for the programme six months after the intervention group. Main inclusion criteria are: having chronic (> 6 months) neuropathic spinal cord injury pain as the worst pain complaint and rating the pain intensity in the last week as 40 or more on a 0-100 scale. The intervention consists of educational, cognitive, and behavioural elements and encompasses 11 sessions over a 3-month period. Each meeting will be supervised by a local psychologist and physical therapist. Measurements will be perfomed before starting the programme/entering the control group, and at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. Primary outcomes are pain intensity and pain-related disability (Chronic Pain Grade questionnaire). Secondary outcomes are mood (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), participation in activities (Utrecht Activities List), and life satisfaction (Life Satisfaction Questionnaire). Pain coping and pain cognitions will be assessed with three questionnaires (Coping Strategy Questionnaire, Pain Coping Inventory, and Pain Cognition List). Discussion The CONECSI trial will reveal the effects of a multidisciplinary cognitive behavioural programme for people with chronic neuropathic spinal cord injury pain. This intervention is expected to contribute to the rehabilitation treatment possibilities for this population. Trial Registration Dutch Trial Register NTR1580. PMID:20961406

Academic Control and Action Control in the Achievement of College Students: A Longitudinal Field Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perry, Raymond P.; Hladkyj, Steven; Pekrun, Reinhard H.; Pelletier, Sarah T.

2001-01-01

Two measures, perceived academic control and action control (i.e., preoccupation with failure), were administered to college students. Achievement-related cognitions, emotions, motivation, and final grades were measured at the end of the course. Of note, high-control, high-failure-preoccupied students outperformed the other groups by one to two…

HIGHER EDUCATION OF SOUTHWESTERN INDIANS WITH REFERENCE TO SUCCESS AND FAILURE.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MCGRATH, G.D.; AND OTHERS

REPORTED HERE ARE EVALUATIVE FINDINGS OF FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE SUCCESS OR FAILURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION FOR SOUTHWESTERN INDIANS. DATA PREVIOUSLY COLLECTED BY GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, INDIAN TRIBES, AND OTHERS WERE COLLECTED AND ORGANIZED FOR ANALYSIS. INTERVIEWS AND QUESTIONNAIRES WERE THEN USED TO OBTAIN DATA FROM 43 HIGHER EDUCATION…

User and Library Failures in an Undergraduate Library.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Rita Hoyt; Granade, Warner

1978-01-01

A survey was conducted in the undergraduate library at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, to determine the availability rate of library materials. The results indicated that 53.8 percent of the titles searched were located on the shelves. Reasons for failure, recommendations for improvement, the questionnaire used, and data tables are…

Smoking Cessation Failure among Korean Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Sung Reul; Kim, Hyun Kyung; Kim, Ji Young; Kim, Hye Young; Ko, Sung Hee; Park, Minyoung

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to identify smoking cessation failure subgroups among Korean adolescents. Participants were 379 smoking adolescents who joined a smoking cessation program. A questionnaire and a cotinine urine test were administered before the program began. Three months after the program ended, the cotinine urine test was repeated. A…

The impact of cardiac arrest on the long-term wellbeing and caregiver burden of family caregivers: a prospective cohort study.

PubMed

van Wijnen, Helena Gfm; Rasquin, Sascha Mc; van Heugten, Caroline M; Verbunt, Jeanine A; Moulaert, Véronique Rm

2017-09-01

The purpose was to gain insight in the functioning of caregivers of cardiac arrest survivors at 12 months after a cardiac arrest. Secondly, the course of the wellbeing of the caregivers during the first year was studied. Finally, factors that are associated with a higher care burden at 12 months after the cardiac arrest were investigated. A total of 195 family caregivers of cardiac arrest survivors were included. Quality of life (SF-36, EuroQol-VAS), caregiver strain (CSI) and emotional functioning (HADS, IES) were measured at two weeks, three months and one year after the cardiac arrest. Thereby, the caregiver was asked to fill out the cognitive failure questionnaire (CFQ) to evaluate their view on the cognitive status of the patient. Caregiver strain was high in 16 (15%) of the caregivers at 12 months. Anxiety was present in 33 (25%) caregivers and depression in 18 (14%) caregivers at 12 months. The repeated measures MANOVA showed that during the first year the following variables improved significantly: SF-36 domains social and mental health, role physical, role emotional and vitality, caregiver strain, HADS and IES ( P<0.001). At 12 months caregiver strain correlated significantly (explained variance 63%, P=0.03) with caregiver HADS ( P=0.01), EuroQol-VAS ( P=0.02), and the CFQ ( P<0.001), all measured at 12 months after the cardiac arrest. Overall wellbeing of the caregivers improves during the first year up to normal levels, but caregivers with emotional problems or perceived cognitive problems at 12 months are at risk for developing a higher care burden.

Heart failure patients monitored with telemedicine: patient satisfaction, a review of the literature.

PubMed

Kraai, I H; Luttik, M L A; de Jong, R M; Jaarsma, T; Hillege, H L

2011-08-01

Remote monitoring of the clinical status of heart failure patients has developed rapidly and is the subject of several trials. Patient satisfaction is an important outcome, as recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to use in clinical research, and should be included in studies concerning remote monitoring. The objective of this review is to describe the current state of the literature on patient satisfaction with noninvasive telemedicine, regarding definition, measurement, and overall level of patient satisfaction with telemedicine. The Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane, and Cinahl databases were searched using heart failure-, satisfaction-, and telemedicine-related search terms. The literature search identified 193 publications, which were reviewed by 2 independent reviewers. Fourteen articles were included. None of the articles described a clear definition or concept of patient satisfaction with telemedicine. Patient satisfaction with telemedicine was measured with self-developed questionnaires or face-to-face or telephonic interviews. None of the articles used the same questionnaire or telephonic survey to measure patient satisfaction. Only one questionnaire was assessed for validity and reliability. In general, patients seemed to be satisfied or very satisfied with the use of telemedicine. Measurement of patient satisfaction is still underexposed in telemedicine research and the measurement of patient satisfaction with telemedicine underappreciated with poorly constructed questionnaires. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Immediate effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation on six-minute walking test, Borg scale questionnaire and hemodynamic responses in patients with chronic heart failure.

PubMed

Ganguie, Majid Ashraf; Moghadam, Behrouz Attarbashi; Ghotbi, Nastaran; Shadmehr, Azadeh; Masoumi, Mohammad

2017-12-01

[Purpose] This study examined the immediate effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation on a six-minute walking test, Borg scale questionnaire and hemodynamic responses in patients with chronic heart failure. [Subjects and Methods] Thirty patients with stable systolic chronic heart failure came to the pathophysiology laboratory three times. The tests were randomly performed in three sessions. In one session, current was applied to the quadriceps muscles of both extremities for 30 minutes and a six-minute walking test was performed immediately afterward. In another session, the same procedure was followed except that the current intensity was set to zero. In the third session, the patients walked for six minutes without application of a current. The distance covered in each session was measured. At the end of each session, the subjects completed a Borg scale questionnaire. [Results] The mean distance traveled in the six-minute walking test and the mean score of the Borg scale questionnaire were significantly different across sessions. The mean systolic and diastolic pressures showed no significant differences across sessions. [Conclusion] The increase in distance traveled during the six-minute walking test and decrease in fatigue after the use of current may be due to a decrease in sympathetic overactivity and an increase in peripheral and muscular microcirculation in these patients.

Immediate effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation on six-minute walking test, Borg scale questionnaire and hemodynamic responses in patients with chronic heart failure

PubMed Central

Ganguie, Majid Ashraf; Moghadam, Behrouz Attarbashi; Ghotbi, Nastaran; Shadmehr, Azadeh; Masoumi, Mohammad

2017-01-01

[Purpose] This study examined the immediate effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation on a six-minute walking test, Borg scale questionnaire and hemodynamic responses in patients with chronic heart failure. [Subjects and Methods] Thirty patients with stable systolic chronic heart failure came to the pathophysiology laboratory three times. The tests were randomly performed in three sessions. In one session, current was applied to the quadriceps muscles of both extremities for 30 minutes and a six-minute walking test was performed immediately afterward. In another session, the same procedure was followed except that the current intensity was set to zero. In the third session, the patients walked for six minutes without application of a current. The distance covered in each session was measured. At the end of each session, the subjects completed a Borg scale questionnaire. [Results] The mean distance traveled in the six-minute walking test and the mean score of the Borg scale questionnaire were significantly different across sessions. The mean systolic and diastolic pressures showed no significant differences across sessions. [Conclusion] The increase in distance traveled during the six-minute walking test and decrease in fatigue after the use of current may be due to a decrease in sympathetic overactivity and an increase in peripheral and muscular microcirculation in these patients. PMID:29643590

Measuring subjective complaints of attention and performance failures - development and psychometric validation in tinnitus of the self-assessment scale APSA

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background There is a need for a validated self-assessment questionnaire for cognitive impairment in subjects reporting subjective tinnitus. The objective was to develop a patient-reported outcome measure. Methods This was a prospective, non-interventional, multicultural study. The 30-item “Attention and Performance Self-Assessment Scale” (APSA) was linguistically validated in Germany, Mexico and USA and was analyzed for content and structure. The analysis included descriptive statistics of baseline data, item characteristics, test-retest reliability (intra-class correlation coefficients, ICC), definition of internal consistency (Cronbach’ s alpha), and explorative and confirmatory factor analysis to define the structure of the scale. Correlations with various tinnitus scales and subscales from the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were done to estimate convergent validity. Results The data for 211 subjects aged 30 through 60 years, (mean= 48.5 years, SD= 8.3) with mild to moderate tinnitus (mean Tinnitus Handicap Inventory-12 (THI-12) total score 11.2, SD= 5.3) were analyzed. The majority of subjects had sub-clinical scores for anxiety and depression (HADS below 11 points). Sequential principal factor analyses of the APSA resulted in a subscale which included 20 (APS20) of the original 30 items and two correlated subscales (AP-F1, AP-F2) defined by 9 items each. Both factor solutions were confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis. Test retest reliability of the APS20, AP-F1 and AP-F2 (ICC ≥ 0.87) and internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha ≥ 0.89) are high. APS20 correlated moderately high with HADS (depression: 0.54; anxiety: 0.62) and THI-12 total (0.52). In a few cases, AP-F2 correlated higher than AP-F1 with other scales (e.g. HADS-depression with AP-F1: only 0.46, but AP-F2: 0.59). Conclusions APS20, AP-F1, and AP-F2 have good psychometrical properties. The scales will add value to the assessment of cognitive aspects of quality of life and mental health in the population with subjective tinnitus. The subscales AP-F1 and AP-F2 may be helpful for detecting specific cognitive failures and may be sensitive to different interventional effects. PMID:23714398

Causes of catastrophic failure in complex systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, David A.

2010-08-01

Root causes of mission critical failures and major cost and schedule overruns in complex systems and programs are studied through the post-mortem analyses compiled for several examples, including the Hubble Space Telescope, the Challenger and Columbia Shuttle accidents, and the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant accident. The roles of organizational complexity, cognitive biases in decision making, the display of quantitative data, and cost and schedule pressure are all considered. Recommendations for mitigating the risk of similar failures in future programs are also provided.

Lower Neurocognitive Function in U-2 Pilots: Relationship to White Matter Hyperintensities

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-07-09

dysfunction and cognition in older adults with heart failure. Cogn Behav Neurol 2008;21:65–72. 14. Gunstad J, Keary TA, Spitznagel MB, et al. Blood...pressure and cognitive function in older adults with cardiovascular disease. Int J Neurosci 2009;119:2228–2242. 15. Kantarci K, Weigand SD, Przybelski SA, et

Association between glycemic load and cognitive function in community-dwelling older adults: Results from the Brain in Motion study.

PubMed

Garber, Anna; Csizmadi, Ilona; Friedenreich, Christine M; Sajobi, Tolulope T; Longman, Richard S; Tyndall, Amanda V; Drogos, Lauren L; Davenport, Margie H; Poulin, Marc J

2017-07-17

Impaired glucose tolerance is a risk factor for non-age-related cognitive decline and is also associated with measures of physical activity (PA) and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF). A low glycemic load (GL) diet can aid in the management of blood glucose levels, but little is known about its effect on cognition with poor glucoregulation. We assessed the relation between GL and cognitive function by glucoregulation and possible mediatory effects by CRF and PA in older adults from the Brain in Motion Study. A cross-sectional analysis of 194 cognitively healthy adults aged ≥55 years (mean = 65.7, SD = 6.1) was conducted. GL was assessed using a quantitative food frequency questionnaire, and glucoregulation was characterized on the HOMA-IR index. Subjects also completed a cognitive assessment, CRF testing, a validated self-reported PA questionnaire, and a blood draw. Multiple linear regression models adjusted for significant covariates were used to evaluate the relation between GL and cognition, and mediation by CRF and PA was also assessed. GL was inversely associated with global cognition (β = -0.014; 95% CI -0.024, -0.004) and figural memory (β = -0.035; 95% CI -0.052, -0.018) in subjects with poor glucoregulation. Neither CRF nor PA mediated these relations. In subjects with good glucoregulation, no association was found between GL and cognitive function (p > 0.05). A low GL diet is associated with better cognitive function in older adults with poor glucoregulation. This study provides supportive evidence for the role of GL in maintaining better cognitive function during the aging process. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.

Influences of deep learning, need for cognition and preparation time on open- and closed-book test performance.

PubMed

Heijne-Penninga, Marjolein; Kuks, Jan B M; Hofman, W H Adriaan; Cohen-Schotanus, Janke

2010-09-01

The ability to master discipline-specific knowledge is one of the competencies medical students must acquire. In this context, 'mastering' means being able to recall and apply knowledge. A way to assess this competency is to use both open- and closed-book tests. Student performance on both tests can be influenced by the way the student processes information. Deep information processing is expected to influence performance positively. The personal preferences of students in relation to how they process information in general (i.e. their level of need for cognition) may also be of importance. In this study, we examined the inter-relatedness of deep learning, need for cognition and preparation time, and scores on open- and closed-book tests. This study was conducted at the University Medical Centre Groningen. Participants were Year 2 students (n = 423). They were asked to complete a questionnaire on deep information processing, a scale for need for cognition on a questionnaire on intellectualism and, additionally, to write down the time they spent on test preparation. We related these measures to the students' scores on two tests, both consisting of open- and closed-book components and used structural equation modelling to analyse the data. Both questionnaires were completed by 239 students (57%). The results showed that need for cognition positively influenced both open- and closed-book test scores (beta-coefficients 0.05 and 0.11, respectively). Furthermore, study outcomes measured by open-book tests predicted closed-book test results better than the other way around (beta-coefficients 0.72 and 0.11, respectively). Students with a high need for cognition performed better on open- as well as closed-book tests. Deep learning did not influence their performance. Adding open-book tests to the regularly used closed-book tests seems to improve the recall of knowledge that has to be known by heart. Need for cognition may provide a valuable addition to existing theories on learning.

The effect of heart failure nurse consultations on heart failure patients' illness beliefs, mood and quality of life over a six-month period.

PubMed

Lucas, Rebecca; Riley, Jillian P; Mehta, Paresh A; Goodman, Helen; Banya, Winston; Mulligan, Kathleen; Newman, Stanton; Cowie, Martin R

2015-01-01

To explore the effect contact with a heart failure nurse can have on patients' illness beliefs, mood and quality of life. There is growing interest in patients' illness beliefs and the part they play in a patients understanding of chronic disease. Secondary analysis on two independent datasets. Patients were recruited from five UK hospitals, four in London and one in Sussex. Patients were recruited from an inpatient and outpatient setting. The first dataset recruited 174 patients with newly diagnosed heart failure, whilst the second dataset recruited 88 patients with an existing diagnosis of heart failure. Patients completed the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Illness Perception Questionnaire and the Treatment Representations Inventory at baseline and six months. We used a linear regression model to assess the association that contact with a heart failure nurse had on mood, illness beliefs and quality of life over a six-month period. Patients who had contact with a heart failure nurse were more satisfied with their treatment and more likely to believe that their heart failure was treatable. Contact with a heart failure nurse did not make a statistically significant difference to mood or quality of life. This study has shown that contact with a heart failure nurse can improve patient satisfaction with treatment decisions but has less influence on a patient's beliefs about their personal control, treatment control and treatment concerns. With appropriate support, skills and training, heart failure nurses could play an important role in addressing individual patient's beliefs. There is a need to further investigate this. Exploring patients' illness beliefs and mood could help to enhance person-centred care. Heart failure nurses would need additional training in the techniques used. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

77 FR 27064 - Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork Reduction Act Review

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-08

... should be received within 30 days of this notice. Proposed Project NCHS Questionnaire Design Research... effectiveness, efficiency, and quality of health services in the United States. The Questionnaire Design.... By conducting a comparative analysis of cognitive interviews, it is also possible to determine...

Measurement of Psychological Disorders Using Cognitive Diagnosis Models

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Templin, Jonathan L.; Henson, Robert A.

2006-01-01

Cognitive diagnosis models are constrained (multiple classification) latent class models that characterize the relationship of questionnaire responses to a set of dichotomous latent variables. Having emanated from educational measurement, several aspects of such models seem well suited to use in psychological assessment and diagnosis. This article…

Mass Media Influence on Adolescent Consumer Behavior.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, Roy L.; And Others

Questionnaires completed by 607 middle school and high school students provided data about the learning of selected advertising-related cognitions among adolescents and on the short-term effect of these cognitions and other communication variables on adolescent consumption behavior. Among the findings were the following: susceptibility to…

Older Adults' Strategic Behavior: Effects of Individual versus Collaborative Cognitive Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saczynski, Jane; Margrett, Jennifer; Willis, Sherry

2004-01-01

Changes in strategic behavior were examined in older married couples participating in a cognitive intervention study. Participants were randomly assigned to: Questionnaire Control, Individual Training, or Collaborative Training. Trained participants completed inductive reasoning training sessions at home individually or as a couple. Participants…

The Faces Symbol Test, a newly developed screening instrument to assess cognitive decline related to multiple sclerosis: first results of the Berlin Multi-Centre FST Validation Study.

PubMed

Scherer, P; Penner, I K; Rohr, A; Boldt, H; Ringel, I; Wilke-Burger, H; Burger-Deinerth, E; Isakowitsch, K; Zimmermann, M; Zahrnt, S; Hauser, R; Hilbert, K; Tiel-Wilck, K; Anvari, K; Behringer, A; Peglau, I; Friedrich, H; Plenio, A; Benesch, G; Ehret, R; Nippert, I; Finke, G; Schulz, I; Bergtholdt, B; Breitkopf, S; Kaskel, P; Reischies, F; Kugler, J

2007-04-01

Reliable, language-independent, short screening instruments to test for cognitive function in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) remain rare, despite the high number of patients affected by cognitive decline. We developed a new, short screening instrument, the Faces Symbol Test (FST), and compared its diagnostic test characteristics with a composite of the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) and the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT), in 108 MS patients and 33 healthy controls. An Informant-Report Questionnaire, a Self-Report Questionnaire, and a neurologist's estimation of the Every Day Life Cognitive Status were also applied to the MS patients. The statistical analyses comprised of a receiver operating characteristic analysis for test accuracy and for confounding variables. The PASAT and DSST composite score estimated that 36.5% of the MS patients had cognitive impairment. The FST estimated that 40.7% of the MS patients were cognitively impaired (sensitivity 84%; specificity 85%). The FST, DSST and PASAT results were significantly correlated with the patients' physical impairment, as measured by the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). The results suggest that the FST might be a culture-free, sensitive, and practical short screening instrument for the detection of cognitive decline in patients with MS, including those in the early stages.

[Treatment of cognitive and psychoemotional disorders in poststroke patients].

PubMed

Kovalchuk, V V

2014-01-01

To evaluate the efficacy of the drug sermion (nicergoline) in poststroke patients with cognitive and psychoemotional disorders. The study included 880 patients, including 440 patients with depression and 440 with cognitive impairment, mean age of patients was 69,6 years. The restoration of cognitive functions was followed up using MMSE scales, psychoemotional condition was assessed with the Beck Depression Questionnaire and the Wakefield Depression Scale. The efficacy of sermion has been demonstrated. Application of this drug in the rehabilitation of stroke patients significantly contributes to the improvement of cognitive functions and normalization of mental and emotional state of patients.

Development of a rapid screening instrument for mild cognitive impairment and undiagnosed dementia.

PubMed

Steenland, N Kyle; Auman, Courtney M; Patel, Purvi M; Bartell, Scott M; Goldstein, Felicia C; Levey, Allan I; Lah, James J

2008-11-01

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) often presages development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We recently completed a cross-sectional study to test the hypothesis that a combination of a brief cognitive screening instrument (Mini-Cog) with a functional scale (Functional Activities Questionnaire; FAQ) would accurately identify individuals with MCI and undiagnosed dementia. The Mini-Cog consists of a clock drawing task and 3-item recall, and takes less than 5 minutes to administer. The FAQ is a 30-item questionnaire completed by an informant. In addition to the Mini-Cog and FAQ, a traditional cognitive test battery was administered, and two neurologists and a neuropsychologist determined a consensus diagnosis of Normal, MCI, or Dementia. A classification tree algorithm was used to pick optimal cutpoints, and, using these cutpoints, the combined Mini-Cog and FAQ (MC-FAQ) predicted the consensus diagnosis with an accuracy of 83% and a weighted kappa of 0.81. When the population was divided into Normal and Abnormal, the sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value were 89%, 90%, and 95%, respectively. The MC-FAQ discriminates individuals with MCI from cognitively normal individuals and those with dementia, and its ease of administration makes it an attractive screening instrument to aid detection of cognitive impairment in the elderly.

Cognitive assessment in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis by means of P300-Brain Computer Interface: a preliminary study.

PubMed

Poletti, Barbara; Carelli, Laura; Solca, Federica; Lafronza, Annalisa; Pedroli, Elisa; Faini, Andrea; Zago, Stefano; Ticozzi, Nicola; Meriggi, Paolo; Cipresso, Pietro; Lulé, Dorothée; Ludolph, Albert C; Riva, Giuseppe; Silani, Vincenzo

To investigate the use of P300-based Brain Computer Interface (BCI) technology for the administration of motor-verbal free cognitive tests in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). We recruited 15 ALS patients and 15 age- and education-matched healthy subjects. All participants underwent a BCI-based neuropsychological assessment, together with two standard cognitive screening tools (FAB, MoCA), two psychological questionnaires (BDI, STAI-Y) and a usability questionnaire. For patients, clinical and respiratory examinations were also performed, together with a behavioural assessment (FBI). Correlations were observed between standard cognitive and BCI-based neuropsychological assessment, mainly concerning execution times in the ALS group. Moreover, patients provided positive rates concerning the BCI perceived usability and subjective experience. Finally, execution times at the BCI-based neuropsychological assessment were useful to discriminate patients from controls, with patients achieving lower processing speed than controls regarding executive functions. The developed motor-verbal free neuropsychological battery represents an innovative approach, that could provide relevant information for clinical practice and ethical issues. Its use for cognitive evaluation throughout the course of ALS, currently not available by means of standard assessment, must be addressed in further longitudinal validation studies. Further work will be aimed at refining the developed system and enlarging the cognitive spectrum investigated.

Habitual Coffee Consumption Enhances Attention and Vigilance in Hemodialysis Patients

PubMed Central

Nikić, Petar M.; Andrić, Branislav R.; Stojimirović, Biljana B.; Trbojevic-Stanković, Jasna; Bukumirić, Zoran

2014-01-01

Objective. Coffee drinking is the main source of caffeine intake among adult population in the western world. It has been reported that low to moderate caffeine intake has beneficial effect on alertness and cognitive functions in healthy subjects. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of habitual coffee consumption on cognitive function in hemodialysis patients. Methods. In a cross-sectional study, 86 patients from a single-dialysis centre underwent assessment by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment tool and evaluation for symptoms of fatigue, mood, and sleep disorders by well-validated questionnaires. The habitual coffee use and the average daily caffeine intake were estimated by participants' response to a dietary questionnaire. Results. Sixty-seven subjects (78%) consumed black coffee daily, mostly in low to moderate dose. Cognitive impairment was found in three-quarters of tested patients. Normal mental performance was more often in habitual coffee users (25% versus 16%). Regular coffee drinkers achieved higher mean scores on all tested cognitive domains, but a significant positive correlation was found only for items that measure attention and concentration (P = 0.024). Conclusions. Moderate caffeine intake by habitual coffee consumption could have beneficial impact on cognitive function in hemodialysis patients due to selective enhancement of attention and vigilance. PMID:24895603

The Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Cognitive Function of Alzheimer's Disease Patients.

PubMed

Yang, Si-Yu; Shan, Chun-Lei; Qing, He; Wang, Wei; Zhu, Yi; Yin, Meng-Mei; Machado, Sergio; Yuan, Ti-Fei; Wu, Ting

2015-01-01

To evaluate the effect of moderate intensity of aerobic exercise on elderly people with mild Alzheimer's disease, we recruited fifty volunteers aged 50 years to 80 years with cognitive impairment. They were randomized into two groups: aerobic group (n=25) or control group (n=25). The aerobic group was treated with cycling training at 70% of maximal intensity for 40 min/d, 3 d/wk for 3 months. The control group was only treated with heath education. Both groups were received cognitive evaluation, laboratory examination before and after 3 months. The results showed that the Minimum Mental State Examination score, Quality of Life Alzheimer's Disease score and the plasma Apo-a1 level was significantly increased (P<0.05), the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-cognition score, Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire score was significantly decreased.(P<0.05) in aerobic group before and after 3 months in aerobic group. For the control group, there was no significant difference in scores of Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-cognition, Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire, Quality of Life Alzheimer's Disease, Apo-a1 (P>0.05), while Minimum Mental State Examination scores decreased significantly after 3 months (P<0.05). In conclusion, moderate intensity of aerobic exercise can improve cognitive function in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease.

Treatment of phobic postural vertigo. A controlled study of cognitive-behavioral therapy and self-controlled desensitization.

PubMed

Holmberg, J; Karlberg, M; Harlacher, U; Rivano-Fischer, M; Magnusson, M

2006-04-01

In balance clinic practice, phobic postural vertigo is a term used to define a population with dizziness and avoidance behavior often as a consequence of a vestibular disorder. It has been described as the most common form of dizziness in middle aged patients in dizziness units. Anxiety disorders are common among patients with vestibular disorders. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is an effective treatment for anxiety disorders, and vestibular rehabilitation exercises are effective for vestibular disorders. This study compared the effect of additional cognitive-behavioral therapy for a population with phobic postural vertigo with the effect of self-administered vestibular rehabilitation exercises. 39 patients were recruited from a population referred for otoneurological investigation. Treatment effects were evaluated with the Dizziness Handicap Inventory, Vertigo Symptom Scale, Vertigo Handicap Questionnaire, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. All patients had a self treatment intervention based on education about the condition and recommendation of self exposure by vestibular rehabilitation exercises. Every second patient included was offered additional cognitive behavioral therapy. Fifteen patients with self treatment and 16 patients with cognitive- behavioral treatment completed the study. There was significantly larger effect in the group who received cognitive behavioral therapy than in the self treatment group in Vertigo Handicap Questionnaire and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale and its subscales. Cognitive-behavioral therapy has an additional effect as treatment for a population with phobic postural vertigo. A multidisciplinary approach including medical treatment, cognitive-behavioral therapy and physiotherapy is suggested.

The relationship of community activities with cognitive impairment and depressive mood independent of mobility disorder in Japanese older adults.

PubMed

Okura, Mika; Ogita, Mihoko; Yamamoto, Miki; Nakai, Toshimi; Numata, Tomoko; Arai, Hidenori

This study aimed to examine the relationship of participating in community activities (CA) with cognitive impairment and depressive mood independent of mobility disorder (MD) among older Japanese people. Elderly residents in institutions or those requiring long-term care insurance services were excluded; questionnaires were mailed to 5401 older adults in 2013. The response rate was 94.3% (n=5094). We used multiple imputation to manage missing data. The questionnaire addressed physical fitness, memory, mood, and CA. Participants were divided into two groups (good and bad) based on the median scores for physical fitness, memory, and mood. We identified items related to periodically performed CA, cognitive impairment, and depressive mood, and examined correlations between scores on these sets of items. The mean age was 75.9 years; 58.4% of participants were women. The following CA significantly predicted reduced cognitive impairment and depressive mood independent of MD: volunteer activity, community activity, visiting friends at home, pursuing hobbies, paid work, farm work, and daily shopping. These results were corrected for age, sex, and response method (mail or home-visit). Higher CA scores were associated with lower cognitive impairment and lower depressive mood independent of MD. CA is negatively associated with cognitive impairment and depressive mood among community-dwelling elderly independent of MD; promoting CA may protect against cognitive impairment and depressive mood in this population. However, MD, cognitive impairment, and depressive mood may lead to reduced CA. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Actively station: Effects on global cognition of mature adults and healthy elderly program using eletronic games

PubMed Central

Ordonez, Tiago Nascimento; Borges, Felipe; Kanashiro, Camila Sato; Santos, Carolina Carneiro das Neves; Hora, Samara Santos; Lima-Silva, Thais Bento

2017-01-01

Studies show that aging is accompanied by decline in cognitive functions but also indicate that interventions, such as training on electronic games, can enhance performance and promote maintenance of cognitive abilities in healthy older adults. Objective To investigate the effects of an electronic game program, called Actively Station, on the performance of global cognition of adults aged over 50 years. Methods 124 mature and elderly adults enrolled in the "Actively Station" cognitive stimulation program of São Caetano do Sul City, in the State of São Paulo, participated in training for learning of electronic games. Participants were divided into two groups: training group (TG) n=102 and control group (CG) n=22. Protocol: a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination Revised (ACE-R), the Memory Complaint Questionnaire (MAC-Q), the scale of frequency of forgetfulness, the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15), the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI), the Global Satisfaction with Life Scale, and two scales on learning in the training. Results The cognitive performance of the TG improved significantly after the program, particularly in the domains of language and memory, and there was a decrease on the anxiety index and frequency of memory complaints, when compared to the CG. Conclusion These findings suggest that the acquisition of new knowledge and the use of new stimuli, such as electronic games, can promote improvements in cognition and mood and reduce the frequency of memory complaints. PMID:29213510

Comparative Analysis of Results from a Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire Between International Students from West Asia and Xinjiang College Students in China

PubMed Central

HU, Hongxing; ALSRON, Bahargul; XU, Bin; HAO, Wei

2016-01-01

Background The Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) is a cognitive and emotional tool measuring how individuals deal with stressful life events. However differences exist in the results of CERQ among individuals. Objective This study was conducted to investigate the CERQ results and depressive symptoms of students at our university (both local and international students) in order to provide further guidance for psychological interventions. Methods 255 sophomore and junior international students (171 male and 84 female) and 262 sophomore and junior Chinese students (124 male and 138 female) were investigated using CERQ, ASLEC and SDS questionnaires. Results were analyzed using SPSS 16.0. Result Compared to Chinese students, international students more often used cognitive adjustment methods such as “positive refocusing”,“re-focus on planning” and “catastrophizing”. In regression equations where depression symptoms were used as the dependent variable, “self-blaming” and “catastrophizing”positively contributed to depression symptoms in international students, while“acceptance” was negatively correlated with depression symptoms.In Chinese students, “life events score” and “catastrophizing”were positively correlated withdepression symptoms, while “positive re-evaluating” was negatively correlated with depression symptoms. Conclusion Among students of different races, positive coping methods were negatively correlated with depression symptoms and could possibly prevent the occurrence of depression, while negative coping methods were positively correlated with depression.Encouraging students to use adaptive coping methods during psychological intervention is an effective way to adjust cognitions and behavior for depression prevention. PMID:28638209

Brief cognitive and behavioral screening in children with new-onset epilepsy: a pilot feasibility trial.

PubMed

Triplett, Regina L; Asato, Miya R

2015-01-01

Minimal work has used psychometrically robust measures in a systematic fashion to identify and monitor children at risk for cognitive and behavioral comorbidities in current epilepsy care. We piloted a computerized cognitive battery and behavioral questionnaire for children with newly diagnosed epilepsy to determine clinical feasibility and acceptability to parents and patients. We recruited medication-naïve children (ages 8-17 years) with recent-onset seizures and typical developmental history from an outpatient child neurology clinic. Children completed the CNS Vital Signs computerized battery, whereas parents completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Post-test interviews with parents and patients were completed regarding the acceptability of the assessment procedures. Forty-four families were eligible, and 39 agreed to participate (89%). All assessments were completed in less than 45 minutes. Parents rated testing in clinic as convenient and important, expressing strong interest in the cognitive and behavioral impact of epilepsy and medication. Children also rated the testing procedure as acceptable and agreed that they would recommend it to peers. Our brief battery was tolerated and well received by children and their parents. Computerized testing of children along with a parent questionnaire is a psychometrically viable approach that is acceptable to families. Our protocol is time efficient for clinical use with the potential to detect early cognitive and behavioral difficulties related to epilepsy. Ongoing longitudinal study will provide further information regarding the success of our screening methods in monitoring for disease- or treatment-related changes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Caffeine at work.

PubMed

Smith, Andrew P

2005-08-01

There is a large literature on the effects of caffeine on performance. Most of the studies have been conducted in the laboratory and further information is required on the effects of caffeine consumption on performance and safety at work. The present studies aimed to determine whether the level of caffeine consumption influenced changes in alertness and performance over the working day. Secondary analyses of a large epidemiological database were also conducted to examine associations between caffeine consumption and cognitive failures and accidents at work. In the first study 110 volunteers, all of whom were regular caffeine consumers, rated their alertness and carried out a simple reaction time task before and after work on a Monday and Friday. Caffeine consumption during the day was recorded and volunteers were sub-divided into low and high consumers on the basis of a median split (220 mg/day). The second study involved secondary analyses of a database formed by combining the Bristol Stress and Health at Work and Cardiff Health and Safety at Work studies. In the first analyses associations between caffeine consumption and frequency of cognitive failures were examined in a sample of 1253 white-collar workers. The second set of analyses examined associations between caffeine consumption and accidents at work in a sample of 1555 workers who were especially at risk of having an accident. The results from the first study showed that those who consumed higher levels of caffeine reported significantly greater increases in alertness over the working day and a significantly smaller slowing of reaction time. The results from the second study demonstrated significant associations between caffeine consumption and fewer cognitive failures and accidents at work. After controlling for possible confounding factors it was found that higher caffeine consumption was associated with about half the risk of frequent/very frequent cognitive failures and a similar reduction in risk for accidents at work. Overall, the results from the three analyses show that caffeine consumption may have benefits for performance and safety at work. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Predictors of heart failure self-care in patients who screened positive for mild cognitive impairment.

PubMed

Davis, Karen K; Himmelfarb, Cheryl R Dennison; Szanton, Sarah L; Hayat, Matthew J; Allen, Jerilyn K

2015-01-01

Heart failure (HF) is associated with cognitive impairment, which could negatively affect a patient's abilities to carry out self-care, potentially resulting in higher hospital readmission rates. Factors associated with self-care in patients experiencing mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are not known. This descriptive correlation study aimed to assess levels of HF self-care and knowledge and to determine the predictors of self-care in HF patients who screen positive for MCI. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment was used to screen for MCI. In 125 patients with MCI hospitalized with HF, self-care (Self-care of Heart Failure Index) and HF knowledge (Dutch Heart Failure Knowledge Scale) were assessed. We used multiple regression analysis to test a model of variables hypothesized to predict self-care maintenance, management, and confidence. Mean (SD) HF knowledge scores (11.24 [1.84]) were above the level considered to be adequate (defined as >10). Mean (SD) scores for self-care maintenance (63.57 [19.12]), management (68.35 [20.24]), and confidence (64.99 [16.06]) were consistent with inadequate self-care (defined as scores <70). In multivariate analysis, HF knowledge, race, greater disease severity, and social support explained 22% of the variance in self-care maintenance (P < .001); age, education level, and greater disease severity explained 19% of the variance in self-care management (P < .001); and younger age and higher social support explained 20% of the variance in self-care confidence scores (P < .001). Blacks, on average, scored significantly lower in self-care maintenance (P = .03). In this sample, patients who screened positive for MCI, on average, had adequate HF knowledge yet inadequate self-care scores. These models show the influence of modifiable and nonmodifiable predictors for patients who screened positive for MCI across the domains of self-care. Health professionals should consider screening for MCI and identifying interventions that address HF knowledge and social support. Further research is needed to explain the racial differences in self-care.

Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Spiritual Well-Being and Emotional Intelligence of the Elderly Mourners.

PubMed

Solaimani Khashab, Abas; Ghamari Kivi, Hosain; Fathi, Davod

2017-04-01

Objective: Grief is one of the most painful experiences of the humans after linking emotions. In the literature of trauma, grief and mourning can be seen on many topics. Intervention and treatment of grief seems necessary as the period of mourning is prolonged. Thus, this study aimed at understanding the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy on spiritual well-being and emotional intelligence in the elderly bereavement. Method: This was an experimental study with pre-and posttest design, and control group. The population of this study was the elderly mourners in city of Ardabil in 15-2014. After conducting clinical interviews and diagnostic tests using the sampling method, 30 elderly mourners selected. Spiritual Well-Being questionnaire and Emotional Intelligence questionnaire were used for data collection. The questionnaire and pretest-posttest were used in this study. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance. Results: The results of the data analysis revealed that cognitive behavioral therapy increased spiritual well-being and emotional intelligence of the mourners was not significantly different between the 2 groups (P<0.01). However, the means of Spiritual Well-Being and Emotional Intelligence at pretest was not significant in the intervention group compared with the control group (P>0.05). Conclusion: Method of cognitive behavioral therapy helps confront the emotional drain and grief acceptance, increasing the spiritual well-being and emotional intelligence of the elderly bereavement.‏.

Using social cognitive theory to explain consumers' behavioral intentions in response to direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising.

PubMed

Young, Henry N; Lipowski, Earlene E; Cline, Rebecca J W

2005-06-01

Previous research describing consumers' communication behaviors in response to direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) suggests a social cognitive rationale to explain DTCA-related communication behavior. Guided by social cognitive theory, the objective of this study was to explore outcome expectancy and self-efficacy beliefs as predictors of individuals' intentions to communicate with their physicians about an advertised drug. One hundred and seven female college students completed a questionnaire, read an advertisement for an oral contraceptive drug, and completed a second questionnaire. The questionnaires assessed participants' self-efficacy and outcome expectancy beliefs, intended communication behavior, and demographic information. Pearson product-moment correlation analyses showed that outcome expectancy (r=0.75, P<.01) and self-efficacy (r=0.21, P<.05) beliefs were associated positively with intentions to communicate with physicians in response to DTCA. However, ordinary least squares regression analyses revealed that only outcome expectancy beliefs predicted intended communication behavior (B=1.56, P<.01). Results also showed that participants had a relatively greater likelihood of requesting information about, than requesting a prescription for, the advertised drug [t(106)=14.75, P<.01]. The results identify cognitive factors that guide consumers' plans for interacting with physicians in response to DTCA. Health care providers can use these results to guide communication with patients regarding DTCA and meet patients' drug-related informational expectations.

Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Spiritual Well-Being and Emotional Intelligence of the Elderly Mourners

PubMed Central

Solaimani Khashab, Abas; Ghamari Kivi, Hosain; Fathi, Davod

2017-01-01

Objective: Grief is one of the most painful experiences of the humans after linking emotions. In the literature of trauma, grief and mourning can be seen on many topics. Intervention and treatment of grief seems necessary as the period of mourning is prolonged. Thus, this study aimed at understanding the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy on spiritual well-being and emotional intelligence in the elderly bereavement. Method: This was an experimental study with pre-and posttest design, and control group. The population of this study was the elderly mourners in city of Ardabil in 15-2014. After conducting clinical interviews and diagnostic tests using the sampling method, 30 elderly mourners selected. Spiritual Well-Being questionnaire and Emotional Intelligence questionnaire were used for data collection. The questionnaire and pretest-posttest were used in this study. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance. Results: The results of the data analysis revealed that cognitive behavioral therapy increased spiritual well-being and emotional intelligence of the mourners was not significantly different between the 2 groups (P<0.01). However, the means of Spiritual Well-Being and Emotional Intelligence at pretest was not significant in the intervention group compared with the control group (P>0.05). Conclusion: Method of cognitive behavioral therapy helps confront the emotional drain and grief acceptance, increasing the spiritual well-being and emotional intelligence of the elderly bereavement.‏ PMID:28659981

Associations Between Penetration Cognitions, Genital Pain, and Sexual Well-being in Women with Provoked Vestibulodynia.

PubMed

Anderson, Alexandra B; Rosen, Natalie O; Price, Lisa; Bergeron, Sophie

2016-03-01

Provoked vestibulodynia (PVD) is a common vulvovaginal pain condition that negatively impacts women's psychological and sexual well-being. Controlled studies have found that women with PVD report greater negative and less positive cognitions about penetration; however, associations between these types of cognitions and women's pain and sexual well-being remain unknown. Further, researchers have yet to examine how interpersonal variables such as sexual communication may impact the association between women's penetration cognitions and PVD outcomes. We examined associations between vaginal penetration cognitions and sexual satisfaction, sexual function, and pain in women with PVD, as well as the moderating role of sexual communication. Seventy-seven women (M age = 28.32, SD = 6.19) diagnosed with PVD completed the catastrophic and pain cognitions and positive cognitions subscales of the Vaginal Penetration Cognition Questionnaire, as well as the Dyadic Sexual Communication Scale. Participants also completed measures of sexual satisfaction, sexual function, and pain. Dependent measures were the (i) Global Measure of Sexual Satisfaction Scale; (ii) Female Sexual Function Index; and (iii) Present Pain Intensity scale of the McGill Pain Questionnaire, with reference to pain during vaginal intercourse. Women's lower catastrophic and pain cognitions, higher positive cognitions, and higher sexual communication were each uniquely associated with higher sexual satisfaction and sexual function. Lower catastrophic and pain cognitions also were associated with women's lower pain. For women who reported higher sexual communication, as positive cognitions increased, there was a significantly greater decrease in pain intensity during intercourse compared to women who reported lower levels of sexual communication. Findings may inform cognitive-behavioral interventions aimed at improving the pain and sexual well-being of women with PVD. Targeting the couple's sexual communication and women's penetration cognitions may improve women's sexual adjustment and reduce pain. Copyright © 2016 International Society for Sexual Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Questionnaire-Based Study on Chinese University Students' Demotivation to Learn English

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Chili; Zhou, Ting

2017-01-01

This paper, adopting questionnaire survey method, investigated 367 non-key local university English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students' demotivation to learn English. The collected data revealed that there were two main categories of demotivators: internal factors ("lack of intrinsic interest," "experience of failure and lack of…

Affective Variables Indicating Success for Compensatory Education Projects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cavin, Alonzo; And Others

This document is a study of the importance of affective variables and the implications of these variables in student success or failure. A 28 item questionnaire was administered to 30 college students enrolled in a compensatory education program. The questionnaire assessed attitudes toward professors, administrators, peers, toward relevance of…

Cognitive function is associated with prison behaviour among women in prison but not with subjective perception of adjustment to prison.

PubMed

Rocha, Nuno B F; Fonseca, Duarte A; Marques, Alina B; Rocha, Susana A; Hoaken, Peter N S

2015-12-01

There is considerable evidence that aspects of cognitive function, especially executive function, are associated with antisocial behaviour and violence, but most research to date has measured current cognition and previous criminal behaviour. Furthermore, this research has been conducted almost exclusively with male offenders. The aim of this study is to examine relationships between a wide range of cognitive functions and behaviours among women in prison. Our hypotheses were that cognitive functioning would be associated with both more-or-less contemporaneously observed behaviour problems and self-rated adjustment to the environment. Forty-five drug-free imprisoned female offenders were individually assessed on a battery of cognitive measures. Prison staff rated their behaviour on the Prison Behaviour Rating Scale and the women rated their own sense of adjustment to the environment on the Prison Adjustment Questionnaire. Stepwise hierarchical regressions indicated that attention was independently associated with behaviours reflecting tension, depression, isolation, fear, victimisation and worry, whereas processing speed was independently associated with behaviours reflecting lack of energy, mental slowness and lack of awareness of the surrounding environment and total Prison Adjustment Questionnaire score. There was no relationship between cognitive functioning and subjective perception of adjustment to prison. Results indicate that cognition contributes to some of the behavioural problems displayed by inmates in the prison context. Future studies should evaluate the role of programmes to improve cognitive processes in also improving prison behaviour and also test for continuities and discontinuities with post-release integrative success. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Body-self unity and self-esteem in patients with rheumatic diseases.

PubMed

Bode, Christina; van der Heij, Anouk; Taal, Erik; van de Laar, Mart A F J

2010-12-01

Perceptions and evaluations of the own body are important sources of self-esteem. Having a rheumatic disease challenges maintenance of positive self-esteem due to consequences of the disease such as unfavorable sensations as pain and limited (physical) functioning. We expect that a positive experience of the own body in spite of a rheumatic disease (body-self harmony) will be associated with higher levels of self-esteem and that experiencing the body as unworthy part of the own person or as disabler for own strivings (body-self alienation) will result in lower levels of self-esteem. For this explorative study, the body experience questionnaire (BEQ) measuring body-self unity was developed and piloted. One hundred sixty-eight patients visiting the outpatient rheumatology clinic of the Medisch Spectrum Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands, completed a questionnaire on touchscreen computers to measure body-self unity (BEQ), illness cognitions (illness cognition questionnaire), pain intensity, functional limitations (health assessment questionnaire disability index), self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale) and demographics. To analyze predictors of self-esteem, hierarchical regression analyses were employed. The BEQ revealed a two-factor structure with good reliability (subscale harmony, four items, Cronbach's α = 0.76; subscale alienation, six items, Cronbach's α = 0.84). The final model of the hierarchical regression analyses showed that self-esteem can be predicted by the illness cognitions helplessness and acceptance, by harmony and most strongly by alienation from the body. R(2) of the final model was 0.50. The relationship between functional limitations and self-esteem was totally mediated by the psychological constructs body-self unity and illness cognitions. This explorative study showed the importance of the unity of body and self for self-esteem in patients with a rheumatic disease.

Changes in medical students' motivation and self-regulated learning: a preliminary study.

PubMed

Kim, Kyong-Jee; Jang, Hye W

2015-12-28

To investigate whether medical students' motivation and Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) change over time to enhance our understanding of these constructs as dependent variables in medical education. A cohort of first-year students (n=43) at a medical school in South Korea completed a self-report questionnaire on motivation and SRL--the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). The same questionnaire was administered to the same cohort in the beginning of Year 2. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test was conducted to determine if changes in participants' MSLQ scores occurred between in Years 1 and 2. Forty-one students completed the questionnaires in both years (95% response rate). Participants' motivation scores significantly increased, whereas their SRL scores decreased significantly after they went through Year 1. The most notable change in participants' MLSQ scores was in the increase in their test anxiety. There was a positive association between the participants' test anxiety and their cognitive strategies use in Year 1, which changed to a negative one in Year 2. Meanwhile, participants' test anxiety scores and their self-regulation scores became more negatively associated over time. Our study shows that even as medical students become more motivated, they actually use fewer self-regulated strategies over time. Our findings highlight the need for change in the medical school's learning environment to lessen students' test anxiety to facilitate their use of cognitive and meta-cognitive strategies.

A Systematic Translation and Cultural Adaptation Process for Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ-R21).

PubMed

Rosnah, I; Noor Hassim, I; Shafizah, A S

2013-10-01

The Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire was first constructed to measure eating behavior in an English population in the United States. It has been validated and translated for various populations in different languages. The aim of this article is to describe a systematic process for translating the questionnaire from English to Malay language. The report of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcome Research (ISPOR) Task Force was used as the basis for the systematic translation process. The process began with preparation; followed by forward translation (2 independent translators), reconciliation, back translation (2 independent translators), back translation review, harmonization, cognitive debriefing, review of cognitive debriefing results and finalization, proofreading; and ended with the final report. Four independent Malay translators who fluent in English and reside in Malaysia were involved in the process. A team of health care researchers had assisted the review of the new translated questionnaires. Majority of the TFEQ-R21 items were experiencing, conceptually and semantically equivalence between original English and translated English. However, certain phrase such as "feels like bottomless pit" was difficult to translate by forward translators. Cognitive debriefing was a very helpful process to ensure the TFEQ-R21 Malay version was appropriate in term of wording and culturally accepted. A total of four redundant comments in regards to response scale wording, word confusion and wording arrangement. The systematic translation process is a way to reduce the linguistic discrepancies between the English and Malay language in order to promote equivalence and culturally adapted TFEQ-R21 questionnaire.

Is Talent in Autism Spectrum Disorders Associated with a Specific Cognitive and Behavioural Phenotype?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bennett, Emily; Heaton, Pamela

2012-01-01

Parents of 125 children, adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorders completed a newly developed questionnaire aimed at identifying cognitive and behavioural characteristics associated with savant skills in this group. Factors distinguishing skilled individuals were then further investigated in case studies of three individuals…

Psychological Mindedness, Personality and Creative Cognition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

LeBoutillier, Nicholas; Barry, Richard

2018-01-01

Research into psychological mindedness (PM) has focuses on its beneficial role in improving physical and mental well-being. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of two PM measures and personality in predicting creative cognition performance. Following the completion of a battery of questionnaires, 176 participants from the general…

Treatment of Nonphobic Anxiety Disorders: A Comparison of Nondirective, Cognitive, and Coping Desensitization Therapy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Borkovec, T. D.; Mathews, Andrew M.

1988-01-01

Compared efficacy of nondirective therapy, coping desensitization, and cognitive therapy in treatment of generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder. Clients received one treatment and 12 sessions of progressive relaxation training. Results indicated that subjects showed significant and continued improvement on self-report questionnaire, daily…

Cognitive-Behavioral Classifications of Chronic Pain in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Khan, Fary; Pallant, Julie F.; Amatya, Bhasker; Young, Kevin; Gibson, Steven

2011-01-01

The aim of this study was to replicate, in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), the three-cluster cognitive-behavioral classification proposed by Turk and Rudy. Sixty-two patients attending a tertiary MS rehabilitation center completed the Pain Impact Rating questionnaire measuring activity interference, pain intensity, social support, and…

Quest for the Best Non-Cognitive Predictor of Academic Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stankov, Lazar; Lee, Jihyun

2014-01-01

This is a review of five studies that reported new empirical data relevant for the predictability gradient hypothesis. This hypothesis is focused on within-person psychological variables typically collected in background questionnaires that examine the role of non-cognitive influences on students' academic achievement. Broad measures of…

Survey Measurement of Cognitive Activity during Television Viewing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawkins, Robert P.; And Others

One hundred seventy-one middle school students participated in a study to assess cognitive activity during television viewing. Students completed a questionnaire about their favorite programs, viewing habits, and social reality beliefs, then viewed a 17-minute professionally edited episode of a family drama and answered a multiple choice…

Can Functional Brain Imaging Be Used to Explore Interactivity and Cognition in Multimedia Learning Environments?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dalgarno, Barney; Kennedy, Gregor; Bennett, Sue

2010-01-01

This paper reviews existing methods used to address questions about interactivity, cognition and learning in multimedia learning environments. Existing behavioural and self-report methods identified include observations, audit trails, questionnaires, interviews, video-stimulated recall, and think-aloud protocols. The limitations of these methods…

Social Cognition and Social Anxiety among Icelandic Schoolchildren

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hannesdottir, Dagmar Kr.; Ollendick, Thomas H.

2007-01-01

The primary purpose of this study is to examine relationships among social cognition, social anxiety, and social skills with friends and strangers in children. Ninety-two children (age 10-14 years) in Iceland completed questionnaires on social anxiety, social skills, assertiveness, self-efficacy, and outcome expectancy in social situations with…

Physiological Indicators of Stress and Intellectual Performance among Anxious Older Adults.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, Kimberly S.; And Others

1997-01-01

Older adults (n=27) concerned about declining cognitive functioning performed cognitive tasks, completed questionnaires, and were given measures of anxiety and physiological change. Negative correlations appeared between level of cortisol, a stress-related hormone, and self-efficacy on measures of fluid intelligence. Epstein-Barr virus levels were…

A pilot study investigating the association between sleep and cognitive function among adolescents.

PubMed

Ahmad, Shafiq; Bashir, Shahid

2017-08-01

To investigate the relationship between sleep and cognitive function among adolescent subjects in Riyadh. The sample consisted of 98 (44% female) subjects aged 10-16 years. Each participant filled in a well-structured pre-coded questionnaire regarding demographic data, including a sleep questionnaire; cognitive function was assessed using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Automated Battery (CANTAB). The cognitive function outcome variables were response times in the attention-switching task (AST) and the percentage of correct answers in the pattern recognition memory (PRM) task. There were significant differences in measures of AST-latency (p=0.005), AST-congruent (p=0.012), and AST-incongruent (p=0.009), while no significant difference was found in the PRM task score (p=0.336) within gender groups. There was a significant correlation between sleep and AST switching cost (0.277, p=0.006) and sleep and AST latency (0.188, p=0.063) across the group. This study showed that gender differences in cognitive function were significant in the group of adolescents. Additionally, this study shows that insufficient sleep can impair attention and accuracy in adolescents. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Novel Cognitive Stress Test for the Detection of Preclinical Alzheimer Disease: Discriminative Properties and Relation to Amyloid Load.

PubMed

Loewenstein, David A; Curiel, Rosie E; Greig, Maria T; Bauer, Russell M; Rosado, Marian; Bowers, Dawn; Wicklund, Meredith; Crocco, Elizabeth; Pontecorvo, Michael; Joshi, Abhinay D; Rodriguez, Rosemarie; Barker, Warren W; Hidalgo, Jacqueline; Duara, Ranjan

2016-10-01

To examine the utility of a novel "cognitive stress test" to detect subtle cognitive impairments and amyloid load within the brains of neuropsychologically normal community-dwelling elders. Participants diagnosed as cognitively normal (CN), subjective memory impairment (SMI), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and preclinical mild cognitive impairment (PreMCI) were administered the Loewenstein-Acevedo Scale for Semantic Interference and Learning (LASSI-L), a sensitive test of proactive semantic interference (PSI), retroactive semantic interference, and, uniquely, the ability to recover from the effects of PSI. Ninety-three subjects (31 men and 62 women) were recruited from three academic institutions in a research consortium. A subset of these individuals underwent 18F florbetapir positron emission tomography scanning. Relative percentages of impairment for each diagnostic group on the LASSI-L were calculated by χ(2) and Fisher's exact tests. Spearman's rho was used to examine associations between amyloid load and different cognitive measures. LASSI-L deficits were identified among 89% of those with MCI, 47% with PreMCI, 33% with SMI, and 13% classified as CN. CN subjects had no difficulties with recovery from PSI, whereas SMI, preMCI, and MCI participants evidenced deficits in recovery from PSI effects. Among a subgroup of participants with normal scores on traditional neuropsychological tests, the strong associations were between the failure to recover from the effects of PSI and amyloid load in the brain. Failure to recover or compensate for the effects of PSI on the LASSI-L distinguishes the LASSI-L from other widely used neuropsychological tests and appears to be sensitive to subtle cognitive impairments and increasing amyloid load. Copyright © 2016 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Heart failure patients utilizing an electric home monitor: What effects does heart failure have on their quality of life?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simuel, Gloria J.

Heart Failure continues to be a major public health problem associated with high mortality and morbidity. Heart Failure is the leading cause of hospitalization for persons older than 65 years, has a poor prognosis and is associated with poor quality of life. More than 5.3 million American adults are living with heart failure. Despite maximum medical therapy and frequent hospitalizations to stabilize their condition, one in five heart failure patients die within the first year of diagnosis. Several disease-management programs have been proposed and tested to improve the quality of heart failure care. Studies have shown that hospital admissions and emergency room visits decrease with increased nursing interventions in the home and community setting. An alternative strategy for promoting self-management of heart failure is the use of electronic home monitoring. The purpose of this study was to examine what effects heart failure has on patient's quality of life that had been monitoring on an electronic home monitor longer than 2 months. Twenty-one questionnaires were given to patients utilizing an electronic home monitor by their home health agency nurse. Eleven patients completed the questionnaire. The findings showed that there is some deterioration in quality of life with more association with the physical aspects of life than with the emotional aspects of life, which probably was due to the small sample size. There was no significant difference in readmission rates in patients utilizing an electronic home monitor. Further research is needed with a larger population of patients with chronic heart failure and other chronic diseases which may provide more data, and address issues such as patient compliance with self-care, impact of heart failure on patient's quality of life, functional capacity, and heart failure patient's utilization of the emergency rooms and hospital. Telemonitoring holds promise for improving the self-care abilities of persons with HF.

Thought disorder in schizophrenia: impairment in contextual processing via integrative failures in cognition.

PubMed

Patniyot, Nicholas S

2011-10-01

Formal thought disorder is a critical dysfunction in schizophrenia whose cause remains uncertain, but whose explanation may greatly further our understanding of the disease. Thought disorder in patients with schizophrenia has been hypothesized to involve a disturbance in the internal representation of context. Positive symptoms of schizophrenia attributable to thought disorder display a lack of organization that may be accounted for by an absence of normal contextual processing occurring within the operations of the executive system. But the precise nature and pervasiveness of the deficient cognitive operation remain undistinguished. It is proposed here that the assimilatory functions of the brain appear to lack the ability to perform a particular type of integrative operation when presented with heterogeneous information. This deficit involves committing cognitive misattributions through a confusion of mental terms via a process in thought analogous to a linguistic failure to correctly interpret deictic referents. Both proposed deficits in mental deixis and analogous "metarepresentational" deficits in schizophrenia potentially involve a failure to draw information for a conclusion from a separate framework of relations in integrative fashion. These deficits appear to involve a failure to take an interpreted piece of information as an output from a particular mental task and incorporate it into a new operational scheme, and a central attribute to the deficit is that there is a loss of an effective or adequate integration of separate strata of information. Potential neurobiological correlates to such a system based on current knowledge about schizophrenia neurocircuitry, as well as implications for testing, are also discussed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Delirium pathophysiology: An updated hypothesis of the etiology of acute brain failure.

PubMed

Maldonado, José R

2017-12-26

Delirium is the most common neuropsychiatric syndrome encountered by clinicians dealing with older adults and the medically ill and is best characterized by 5 core domains: cognitive deficits, attentional deficits, circadian rhythm dysregulation, emotional dysregulation, and alteration in psychomotor functioning. An extensive literature review and consolidation of published data into a novel interpretation of known pathophysiological causes of delirium. Available data suggest that numerous pathological factors may serve as precipitants for delirium, each having differential effects depending on patient-specific patient physiological characteristics (substrate). On the basis of an extensive literature search, a newly proposed theory, the systems integration failure hypothesis, was developed to bring together the most salient previously described theories, by describing the various contributions from each into a complex web of pathways-highlighting areas of intersection and commonalities and explaining how the variable contribution of these may lead to the development of various cognitive and behavioral dysfunctions characteristic of delirium. The specific cognitive and behavioral manifestations of the specific delirium picture result from a combination of neurotransmitter function and availability, variability in integration and processing of sensory information, motor responses to both external and internal cues, and the degree of breakdown in neuronal network connectivity, hence the term acute brain failure. The systems integration failure hypothesis attempts to explain how the various proposed delirium pathophysiologic theories interact with each other, causing various clinically observed delirium phenotypes. A better understanding of the underlying pathophysiology of delirium may eventually assist in designing better prevention and management approaches. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Cognitive error as the most frequent contributory factor in cases of medical injury: a study on verdict's judgment among closed claims in Japan.

PubMed

Tokuda, Yasuharu; Kishida, Naoki; Konishi, Ryota; Koizumi, Shunzo

2011-03-01

Cognitive errors in the course of clinical decision-making are prevalent in many cases of medical injury. We used information on verdict's judgment from closed claims files to determine the important cognitive factors associated with cases of medical injury. Data were collected from claims closed between 2001 to 2005 at district courts in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan. In each case, we recorded all the contributory cognitive, systemic, and patient-related factors judged in the verdicts to be causally related to the medical injury. We also analyzed the association between cognitive factors and cases involving paid compensation using a multivariable logistic regression model. Among 274 cases (mean age 49 years old; 45% women), there were 122 (45%) deaths and 67 (24%) major injuries (incomplete recovery within a year). In 103 cases (38%), the verdicts ordered hospitals to pay compensation (median; 8,000,000 Japanese Yen). An error in judgment (199/274, 73%) and failure of vigilance (177/274, 65%) were the most prevalent causative cognitive factors, and error in judgment was also significantly associated with paid compensation (odds ratio, 1.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.0-3.4). Systemic causative factors including poor teamwork (11/274, 4%) and technology failure (5/274, 2%) were less common. The closed claims analysis based on verdict's judgment showed that cognitive errors were common in cases of medical injury, with an error in judgment being most prevalent and closely associated with compensation payment. Reduction of this type of error is required to produce safer healthcare. 2010 Society of Hospital Medicine.

Why Alzheimer trials fail: removing soluble oligomeric beta amyloid is essential, inconsistent, and difficult.

PubMed

Rosenblum, William I

2014-05-01

Before amyloid formation, peptides cleaved from the amyloid precursor protein (APP) exist as soluble oligomers. These are extremely neurotoxic. Their concentration is strongly correlated with synaptic impairment in animals and parallel cognitive decline in animals and humans. Clinical trials have largely been aimed at removing insoluble beta amyloid in senile plaques and have not reduced soluble load. Even treatment that should remove soluble oligomers has not consistently reduced the load. Failure to significantly improve cognition has frequently been attributed to failure of the amyloid hypothesis or to irreversible alteration in the brain. Instead, trial failures may be because of failure to significantly reduce load of toxic Aβ oligomers. Moreover, targeting only synthesis of Aβ peptides, only the oligomers themselves, or only the final insoluble amyloid may fail to significantly reduce soluble load because of the interrelationship between these 3 points in the amyloid cascade. Thus, treatments may fail unless trials target simultaneously all 3 points in the equation-"triple therapy". Cerebrospinal fluid analysis and other monitoring tools may in the future provide reliable measurement of soluble load. But currently, only analysis of autopsied brains can provide this data and thus enable proper evaluation and explanation of the outcome of clinical trials. These data are essential before attributing trial failures to the advanced nature of the disease or asserting that failures prove that the theory linking Alzheimer's disease to products of amyloid precursor protein is incorrect. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Medication-related cognitive artifacts used by older adults with heart failure

PubMed Central

Mickelson, Robin S.; Willis, Matt; Holden, Richard J.

2015-01-01

Objective To use a human factors perspective to examine how older adult patients with heart failure use cognitive artifacts for medication management. Methods We performed a secondary analysis of data collected from 30 patients and 14 informal caregivers enrolled in a larger study of heart failure self-care. Data included photographs, observation notes, interviews, video recordings, medical record data, and surveys. These data were analyzed using an iterative content analysis. Results Findings revealed that medication management was complex, inseparable from other patient activities, distributed across people, time, and place, and complicated by knowledge gaps. We identified fifteen types of cognitive artifacts including medical devices, pillboxes, medication lists, and electronic personal health records used for: 1) measurement/evaluation; 2) tracking/communication; 3) organization/administration; and 4) information/sensemaking. These artifacts were characterized by fit and misfit with the patient’s sociotechnical system and demonstrated both advantages and disadvantages. We found that patients often modified or “finished the design” of existing artifacts and relied on “assemblages” of artifacts, routines, and actors to accomplish their self-care goals. Conclusions Cognitive artifacts are useful but sometimes are poorly designed or are not used optimally. If appropriately designed for usability and acceptance, paper-based and computer-based information technologies can improve medication management for individuals living with chronic illness. These technologies can be designed for use by patients, caregivers, and clinicians; should support collaboration and communication between these individuals; can be coupled with home-based and wearable sensor technology; and must fit their users’ needs, limitations, abilities, tasks, routines, and contexts of use. PMID:26855882

Failures of Sustained Attention in Life, Lab, and Brain: Ecological Validity of the SART

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smilek, Daniel; Carriere, Jonathan S. A.; Cheyne, J. Allan

2010-01-01

The Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) is a widely used tool in cognitive neuroscience increasingly employed to identify brain regions associated with failures of sustained attention. An important claim of the SART is that it is significantly related to real-world problems of sustained attention such as those experienced by TBI and ADHD…

The analysis of the pilot's cognitive and decision processes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Curry, R. E.

1975-01-01

Articles are presented on pilot performance in zero-visibility precision approach, failure detection by pilots during automatic landing, experiments in pilot decision-making during simulated low visibility approaches, a multinomial maximum likelihood program, and a random search algorithm for laboratory computers. Other topics discussed include detection of system failures in multi-axis tasks and changes in pilot workload during an instrument landing.

Recognition and Repair of Communicative Failures: The Interaction between Theory of Mind and Cognitive Complexity in Schizophrenic Patients

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bosco, Francesca M.; Bono, Adele; Bara, Bruno G.

2012-01-01

The aim of the present research is to perform a detailed and empirical investigation of schizophrenia patients' deficits in recognizing and recovering a communicative failure. In particular, this paper investigates the role of Theory of Mind (ToM) and of the complexity of the mental representations involved in explaining patients' deficits in…

Collective consciousness and its pathologies: Understanding the failure of AIDS control and treatment in the United States

PubMed Central

Wallace, Rodrick M; Fullilove, Mindy T; Fullilove, Robert E; Wallace, Deborah N

2007-01-01

We address themes of distributed cognition by extending recent formal developments in the theory of individual consciousness. While single minds appear biologically limited to one dynamic structure of linked cognitive submodules instantiating consciousness, organizations, by contrast, can support several, sometimes many, such constructs simultaneously, although these usually operate relatively slowly. System behavior remains, however, constrained not only by culture, but by a developmental path dependence generated by organizational history, in the context of market selection pressures. Such highly parallel multitasking – essentially an institutional collective consciousness – while capable of reducing inattentional blindness and the consequences of failures within individual workspaces, does not eliminate them, and introduces new characteristic malfunctions involving the distortion of information sent between workspaces and the possibility of pathological resilience – dysfunctional institutional lock-in. Consequently, organizations remain subject to canonical and idiosyncratic failures analogous to, but more complicated than, those afflicting individuals. Remediation is made difficult by the manner in which pathological externalities can write images of themselves onto both institutional function and corrective intervention. The perspective is applied to the failure of AIDS control and treatment in the United States. PMID:17324268

Canonical failure modes of real-time control systems: insights from cognitive theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wallace, Rodrick

2016-04-01

Newly developed necessary conditions statistical models from cognitive theory are applied to generalisation of the data-rate theorem for real-time control systems. Rather than graceful degradation under stress, automatons and man/machine cockpits appear prone to characteristic sudden failure under demanding fog-of-war conditions. Critical dysfunctions span a spectrum of phase transition analogues, ranging from a ground state of 'all targets are enemies' to more standard data-rate instabilities. Insidious pathologies also appear possible, akin to inattentional blindness consequent on overfocus on an expected pattern. Via no-free-lunch constraints, different equivalence classes of systems, having structure and function determined by 'market pressures', in a large sense, will be inherently unreliable under different but characteristic canonical stress landscapes, suggesting that deliberate induction of failure may often be relatively straightforward. Focusing on two recent military case histories, these results provide a caveat emptor against blind faith in the current path-dependent evolutionary trajectory of automation for critical real-time processes.

Gender Differences in Perceptions of Attributions for Success and Failure in Financial Institutions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green-Emrich, Anne; Galloway, Rita J.

This study directly examined gender differences in the perception of the dimensional properties of causal attributions using a non-academic setting. Participants were 77 employees (31 males, 46 females) of four local financial institutions in Oklahoma. Questionnaires presented a success or failure scenario within either an affiliation (compliment…

Development and Validation of Two Instruments Measuring Intrinsic, Extraneous, and Germane Cognitive Load.

PubMed

Klepsch, Melina; Schmitz, Florian; Seufert, Tina

2017-01-01

Cognitive Load Theory is one of the most powerful research frameworks in educational research. Beside theoretical discussions about the conceptual parts of cognitive load, the main challenge within this framework is that there is still no measurement instrument for the different aspects of cognitive load, namely intrinsic, extraneous, and germane cognitive load. Hence, the goal of this paper is to develop a differentiated measurement of cognitive load. In Study 1 ( N = 97), we developed and analyzed two strategies to measure cognitive load in a differentiated way: (1) Informed rating: We trained learners in differentiating the concepts of cognitive load, so that they could rate them in an informed way. They were asked then to rate 24 different learning situations or learning materials related to either high or low intrinsic, extraneous, or germane load. (2) Naïve rating: For this type of rating of cognitive load we developed a questionnaire with two to three items for each type of load. With this questionnaire, the same learning situations had to be rated. In the second study ( N = between 65 and 95 for each task), we improved the instrument for the naïve rating. For each study, we analyzed whether the instruments are reliable and valid, for Study 1, we also checked for comparability of the two measurement strategies. In Study 2, we conducted a simultaneous scenario based factor analysis. The informed rating seems to be a promising strategy to assess the different aspects of cognitive load, but it seems not economic and feasible for larger studies and a standardized training would be necessary. The improved version of the naïve rating turned out to be a useful, feasible, and reliable instrument. Ongoing studies analyze the conceptual validity of this measurement with up to now promising results.

Testing a cognitive model to predict posttraumatic stress disorder following childbirth.

PubMed

King, Lydia; McKenzie-McHarg, Kirstie; Horsch, Antje

2017-01-14

One third of women describes their childbirth as traumatic and between 0.8 and 6.9% goes on to develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The cognitive model of PTSD has been shown to be applicable to a range of trauma samples. However, childbirth is qualitatively different to other trauma types and special consideration needs to be taken when applying it to this population. Previous studies have investigated some cognitive variables in isolation but no study has so far looked at all the key processes described in the cognitive model. This study therefore aimed to investigate whether theoretically-derived variables of the cognitive model explain unique variance in postnatal PTSD symptoms when key demographic, obstetric and clinical risk factors are controlled for. One-hundred and fifty-seven women who were between 1 and 12 months post-partum (M = 6.5 months) completed validated questionnaires assessing PTSD and depressive symptoms, childbirth experience, postnatal social support, trauma memory, peritraumatic processing, negative appraisals, dysfunctional cognitive and behavioural strategies and obstetric as well as demographic risk factors in an online survey. A PTSD screening questionnaire suggested that 5.7% of the sample might fulfil diagnostic criteria for PTSD. Overall, risk factors alone predicted 43% of variance in PTSD symptoms and cognitive behavioural factors alone predicted 72.7%. A final model including both risk factors and cognitive behavioural factors explained 73.7% of the variance in PTSD symptoms, 37.1% of which was unique variance predicted by cognitive factors. All variables derived from Ehlers and Clark's cognitive model significantly explained variance in PTSD symptoms following childbirth, even when clinical, demographic and obstetric were controlled for. Our findings suggest that the CBT model is applicable and useful as a way of understanding and informing the treatment of PTSD following childbirth.

Effectiveness of symptom validity measures in identifying cognitive and behavioral symptom exaggeration in adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

PubMed

Marshall, Paul; Schroeder, Ryan; O'Brien, Jeffrey; Fischer, Rebecca; Ries, Adam; Blesi, Brita; Barker, Jessica

2010-10-01

This study examines the effectiveness of symptom validity measures to detect suspect effort in cognitive testing and invalid completion of ADHD behavior rating scales in 268 adults referred for ADHD assessment. Patients were diagnosed with ADHD based on cognitive testing, behavior rating scales, and clinical interview. Suspect effort was diagnosed by at least two of the following: failure on embedded and free-standing SVT measures, a score > 2 SD below the ADD population average on tests, failure on an ADHD behavior rating scale validity scale, or a major discrepancy between reported and observed ADHD behaviors. A total of 22% of patients engaged in symptom exaggeration. The Word Memory test immediate recall and consistency score (both 64%), TOVA omission errors (63%) and reaction time variability (54%), CAT-A infrequency scale (58%), and b Test (47%) had good sensitivity as well as at least 90% specificity. Clearly, such measures should be used to help avoid making false positive diagnoses of ADHD.

Endogenous and Exogenous Estrogen, Cognitive Function and Dementia in Postmenopausal Women: Evidence from Epidemiologic Studies and Clinical Trials

PubMed Central

Laughlin, Gail A.

2009-01-01

There are more than 200 published scientific papers showing that estrogen has favorable effects on brain tissue and physiology in cell culture and animal models including nonhuman primates. The biological plausibility for a neuroprotective estrogen effect is overwhelming. However, most studies of endogenous estrogen and cognitive decline or dementia fail to show protection, and some suggest harm. Failure to find any consistent association might reflect the limitations of a single time of estrogen assay or poor assay sensitivity. More than half of the observational studies of hormone therapy suggest benefit. Nearly all long term clinical trials fail to show benefit and the longer trials tend to show harm. Failure to adequately adjust for self-selection of healthier and wealthier women and publication bias could account for some, or all, of the protective effect attributed to estrogen in observational studies. Overall, the evidence does not convincingly support the prescription of early or late postmenopausal estrogen therapy to preserve cognitive function or prevent dementia. PMID:19401958

Posttraumatic growth after cancer: The role of perceived threat and cognitive processing.

PubMed

Caspari, Jennifer M; Raque-Bogdan, Trisha L; McRae, Cynthia; Simoneau, Teresa L; Ash-Lee, Susan; Hultgren, Kristin

2017-01-01

This study examines the relation between perceived cognitive and physical threat after a cancer diagnosis and posttraumatic growth (PTG). In total, 169 breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer survivors completed questionnaires. Hierarchical regression models found after controlling for demographic and medical variables, depression, anxiety, and perceived threat account for 41.8% of the variance of positive cognitive processing, and these variables along with positive cognitive processing accounted for 42.7% of the variance of PTG. Positive cognitive processing mediated the pathways between perceived physical threat and PTG. Cognitive processing appears to play a key role in the emergence of PTG following cancer. By exploring survivors' cognitions and perceived threat, psychosocial providers may help cancer survivors cultivate PTG.

Self-Regulated Learning from Illustrated Text: Eye Movement Modelling to Support Use and Regulation of Cognitive Processes during Learning from Multimedia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scheiter, Katharina; Schubert, Carina; Schüler, Anne

2018-01-01

Background: When learning with text and pictures, learners often fail to adequately process the materials, which can be explained as a failure to self-regulate one's learning by choosing adequate cognitive learning processes. Eye movement modelling examples (EMME) showing how to process multimedia instruction have improved elementary school…

The Impact of Early Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Skills on Later Outcomes. CEE DP 92

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carneiro, Pedro; Crawford, Claire; Goodman, Alissa

2007-01-01

When describing the determinants of economic or social outcomes, economists often have a very simplified view of skill. Failure to take into account the fact that skill is intrinsically a multidimensional object may misguide both research and the design of social policy. In this paper, the authors analyse the consequences and determinants of…

Kindergarten Risk Factors, Cognitive Factors, and Teacher Judgments as Predictors of Early Reading in Dutch

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gijsel, Martine A. R.; Bosman, Anna M. T.; Verhoeven, Ludo

2006-01-01

This study focused on the predictive value of risk factors, cognitive factors, and teachers' judgments in a sample of 462 kindergartners for their early reading skills and reading failure at the beginning of Grade 1. With respect to risk factors, enrollment in speech-language therapy, history of dyslexia or speech-language problems in the family,…

Addressing Relapse in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Panic Disorder: Methods for Optimizing Long-Term Treatment Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arch, Joanna J.; Craske, Michelle G.

2011-01-01

In this paper, we present a client with panic disorder and agoraphobia who relapses following a full course of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). To frame the client's treatment, the major components of CBT for panic disorder with or without agoraphobia (PD/A) are reviewed. Likely reasons for the treatment's failure and strategies for improving…

Validation of the Preverbal Visual Assessment (PreViAs) questionnaire.

PubMed

García-Ormaechea, Inés; González, Inmaculada; Duplá, María; Andres, Eva; Pueyo, Victoria

2014-10-01

Visual cognitive integrative functions need to be evaluated by a behavioral assessment, which requires an experienced evaluator. The Preverbal Visual Assessment (PreViAs) questionnaire was designed to evaluate these functions, both in general pediatric population or in children with high risk of visual cognitive problems, through primary caregivers' answers. We aimed to validate the PreViAs questionnaire by comparing caregiver reports with results from a comprehensive clinical protocol. A total of 220 infants (<2 years old) were divided into two groups according to visual development, as determined by the clinical protocol. Their primary caregivers completed the PreViAs questionnaire, which consists of 30 questions related to one or more visual domains: visual attention, visual communication, visual-motor coordination, and visual processing. Questionnaire answers were compared with results of behavioral assessments performed by three pediatric ophthalmologists. Results of the clinical protocol classified 128 infants as having normal visual maturation, and 92 as having abnormal visual maturation. The specificity of PreViAs questionnaire was >80%, and sensitivity was 64%-79%. More than 80% of the infants were correctly classified, and test-retest reliability exceeded 0.9 for all domains. The PreViAs questionnaire is useful to detect abnormal visual maturation in infants from birth to 24months of age. It improves the anamnesis process in infants at risk of visual dysfunctions. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Cognitive factors predicting intentions to search for health information: an application of the theory of planned behaviour.

PubMed

Austvoll-Dahlgren, Astrid; Falk, Ragnhild S; Helseth, Sølvi

2012-12-01

Peoples' ability to obtain health information is a precondition for their effective participation in decision making about health. However, there is limited evidence describing which cognitive factors can predict the intention of people to search for health information. To test the utility of a questionnaire in predicting intentions to search for health information, and to identify important predictors associated with this intention such that these could be targeted in an Intervention. A questionnaire was developed based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour and tested on both a mixed population sample (n=30) and a sample of parents (n = 45). The questionnaire was explored by testing for internal consistency, calculating inter-correlations between theoretically-related constructs, and by using multiple regression analysis. The reliability and validity of the questionnaire were found to be satisfactory and consistent across the two samples. The questionnaires' direct measures prediction of intention was high and accounted for 47% and 55% of the variance in behavioural intentions. Attitudes and perceived behavioural control were identified as important predictors to intention for search for health information. The questionnaire may be a useful tool for understanding and evaluating behavioural intentions and beliefs related to searches for health information. © 2012 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2012 Health Libraries Group.

Gait termination in individuals with multiple sclerosis.

PubMed

Roeing, Kathleen L; Wajda, Douglas A; Motl, Robert W; Sosnoff, Jacob J

2015-09-01

Despite the ubiquitous nature of gait impairment in multiple sclerosis (MS), there is limited information concerning the control of gait termination in individuals with MS. The purpose of this investigation was to examine planned gait termination in individuals with MS and healthy controls with and without cognitive distractors. Individuals with MS and age matched controls completed a series of gait termination tasks over a pressure sensitive walkway under non-distracting and cognitively distracting conditions. As expected the MS group had a lower velocity (89.9±33.3 cm/s) than controls (142.8±22.4 cm/s) and there was a significant reduction in velocity in both groups under the cognitive distracting conditions (MS: 73.9±30.7 cm/s; control: 120.0±25.9 cm/s). Although individuals with MS walked slower, there was no difference between groups in the rate a participant failed to stop at the target (i.e. failure rate). Overall failure rate had a 10-fold increase in the cognitively distracting condition across groups. Individuals with MS were more unstable during termination. Future research examining the neuromuscular mechanisms contributing to gait termination is warranted. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Multisite, Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial of Computerized Cognitive Remediation Therapy for Schizophrenia.

PubMed

Gomar, Jesús J; Valls, Elia; Radua, Joaquim; Mareca, Celia; Tristany, Josep; del Olmo, Francisco; Rebolleda-Gil, Carlos; Jañez-Álvarez, María; de Álvaro, Francisco J; Ovejero, María R; Llorente, Ana; Teixidó, Cristina; Donaire, Ana M; García-Laredo, Eduardo; Lazcanoiturburu, Andrea; Granell, Luis; Mozo, Cristina de Pablo; Pérez-Hernández, Mónica; Moreno-Alcázar, Ana; Pomarol-Clotet, Edith; McKenna, Peter J

2015-11-01

The effectiveness of cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) for the neuropsychological deficits seen in schizophrenia is supported by meta-analysis. However, a recent methodologically rigorous trial had negative findings. In this study, 130 chronic schizophrenic patients were randomly assigned to computerized CRT, an active computerized control condition (CC) or treatment as usual (TAU). Primary outcome measures were 2 ecologically valid batteries of executive function and memory, rated under blind conditions; other executive and memory tests and a measure of overall cognitive function were also employed. Carer ratings of executive and memory failures in daily life were obtained before and after treatment. Computerized CRT was found to produce improvement on the training tasks, but this did not transfer to gains on the primary outcome measures and most other neuropsychological tests in comparison to either CC or TAU conditions. Nor did the intervention result in benefits on carer ratings of daily life cognitive failures. According to this study, computerized CRT is not effective in schizophrenia. The use of both active and passive CCs suggests that nature of the control group is not an important factor influencing results. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center.

Culture and the Trajectories of Developmental Pathology: Insights from Control and Information Theories.

PubMed

Wallace, Rodrick

2018-06-01

Cognition in living entities-and their social groupings or institutional artifacts-is necessarily as complicated as their embedding environments, which, for humans, includes a particularly rich cultural milieu. The asymptotic limit theorems of information and control theories permit construction of a new class of empirical 'regression-like' statistical models for cognitive developmental processes, their dynamics, and modes of dysfunction. Such models may, as have their simpler analogs, prove useful in the study and re-mediation of cognitive failure at and across the scales and levels of organization that constitute and drive the phenomena of life. These new models particularly focus on the roles of sociocultural environment and stress, in a large sense, as both trigger for the failure of the regulation of bio-cognition and as 'riverbanks' determining the channels of pathology, with implications across life-course developmental trajectories. We examine the effects of an embedding cultural milieu and its socioeconomic implementations using the 'lenses' of metabolic optimization, control system theory, and an extension of symmetry-breaking appropriate to information systems. A central implication is that most, if not all, human developmental disorders are fundamentally culture-bound syndromes. This has deep implications for both individual treatment and public health policy.

Cognitive complaints and predictors of perceived cognitive dysfunction in adults with major depressive disorder: Findings from the Cognitive Dysfunction in Asians with Depression (CogDAD) study.

PubMed

Srisurapanont, Manit; Mok, Yee Ming; Yang, Yen Kuang; Chan, Herng-Nieng; Della, Constantine D; Zainal, Nor Zuraida; Jambunathan, Stephen; Amir, Nurmiati; Kalita, Pranab

2018-05-01

Several studies have described the presence of perceived cognitive dysfunction amongst Asian patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). To date, no study has been conducted investigating the predictors of perceived cognitive dysfunction amongst Asian MDD patients. This was a post-hoc analysis of the Cognitive Dysfunction in Asian patients with Depression (CogDAD) study. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the most common cognitive complaints by patients. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine variables associated with perceived cognitive dysfunction (Perceived Deficit Questionnaire-Depression, PDQ-D). The CogDAD study population is comprised of MDD patients with mild-to-moderate depression (Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item [PHQ-9]: 11.3 ± 6.9) who reported perceived cognitive dysfunction (PDQ-D = 22.6 ± 16.2). The most common cognitive complaints were: mind drifting (42.3%), trouble making decision (39.6%) and trouble concentrating (38.0%). Predictors of perceived cognitive dysfunction were: being Southeast Asians (vs. Taiwanese) (p < 0.001), current episode longer than 8 weeks (vs. 1-8 weeks) (p < 0.05), the presence of disability (vs. no disability) (p < 0.05), younger age (p < 0.01), and higher PHQ-9 total scores (p < 0.001). The causal relationship between predictive variables and PDQ-D could not be tested due to the cross-sectional nature of the study. Furthermore, a neuropsychological test was not included in the CogDAD study and use of concomitant medications, including anti-depressants, could have impacted patient's perceived cognitive ability. The present study results suggest a potential role for subjective cognitive assessment in patients with MDD who are young, with long durations of depression or severe depression. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cognitive functioning and disturbances of mood in UK veterans of the Persian Gulf War: a comparative study.

PubMed

David, A S; Farrin, L; Hull, L; Unwin, C; Wessely, S; Wykes, T

2002-11-01

Complaints of poor memory and concentration are common in veterans of the 1991 Persian Gulf War as are other symptoms. Despite a large research effort, such symptoms remain largely unexplained. A comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests and rating scales was administered to 341 UK servicemen who were returnees from the Gulf War and peace keeping duties in Bosnia, plus non-deployed military controls. All were drawn from a large randomized survey. Most were selected on the basis of impaired physical functioning defined operationally. Group comparisons revealed an association between physical functioning and symptoms of depression, post-traumatic stress reactions, increased anger and subjective cognitive failures. Poorer performance on some general cognitive measures, sequencing and attention was also seen in association with being 'ill' but virtually all differences disappeared after adjusting for depressed mood or multiple comparisons. Deployment was also associated with symptoms of post-traumatic stress and subjective cognitive failures, independently of health status, as well as minor general cognitive and constructional impairment. The latter remained significantly poorer in the Gulf group even after adjusting for depressed mood. Disturbances of mood are more prominent than quantifiable cognitive deficits in Gulf War veterans and probably lead to subjective underestimation of ability. Task performance deficits can themselves be explained by depressed mood although the direction of causality cannot be inferred confidently. Reduced constructional ability cannot be explained in this way and could be an effect of Gulf-specific exposures.

Cognitive deficits are associated with poorer simulated driving in older adults with heart failure

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Cognitive impairment is prevalent in older adults with heart failure (HF) and associated with reduced functional independence. HF patients appear at risk for reduced driving ability, as past work in other medical samples has shown cognitive dysfunction to be an important contributor to driving performance. The current study examined whether cognitive dysfunction was independently associated with reduced driving simulation performance in a sample of HF patients. Methods 18 persons with HF (67.72; SD = 8.56 year) completed echocardiogram and a brief neuropsychological test battery assessing global cognitive function, attention/executive function, memory and motor function. All participants then completed the Kent Multidimensional Assessment Driving Simulation (K-MADS), a driving simulator scenario with good psychometric properties. Results The sample exhibited an average Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) score of 27.83 (SD = 2.09). Independent sample t-tests showed that HF patients performed worse than healthy adults on the driving simulation scenario. Finally, partial correlations showed worse attention/executive and motor function were independently associated with poorer driving simulation performance across several indices reflective of driving ability (i.e., centerline crossings, number of collisions, % of time over the speed limit, among others). Conclusion The current findings showed that reduced cognitive function was associated with poor simulated driving performance in older adults with HF. If replicated using behind-the-wheel testing, HF patients may be at elevated risk for unsafe driving and routine driving evaluations in this population may be warranted. PMID:24499466

Reproducibility and responsiveness of quality of life assessment and six minute walk test in elderly heart failure patients.

PubMed

O'Keeffe, S T; Lye, M; Donnellan, C; Carmichael, D N

1998-10-01

To examine the reproducibility and responsiveness to change of a six minute walk test and a quality of life measure in elderly patients with heart failure. Longitudinal within patient study. 60 patients with heart failure (mean age 82 years) attending a geriatric outpatient clinic, 45 of whom underwent a repeat assessment three to eight weeks later. Subjects underwent a standardised six minute walk test and completed the chronic heart failure questionnaire (CHQ), a heart failure specific quality of life questionnaire. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated using a random effects one way analysis of variance as a measure of reproducibility. Guyatt's responsiveness coefficient and effect sizes were calculated as measures of responsiveness to change. 24 patients reported no major change in cardiac status, while seven had deteriorated and 14 had improved between the two clinic visits. Reproducibility was satisfactory (ICC > 0.75) for the six minute walk test, for the total CHQ score, and for the dyspnoea, fatigue, and emotion domains of the CHQ. Effect sizes for all measures were large (> 0.8), and responsiveness coefficients were very satisfactory (> 0.7). Effect sizes for detecting deterioration were greater than those for detecting improvement. Quality of life assessment and a six minute walk test are reproducible and responsive measures of cardiac status in frail, very elderly patients with heart failure.

Diagnostic decision-making and strategies to improve diagnosis.

PubMed

Thammasitboon, Satid; Cutrer, William B

2013-10-01

A significant portion of diagnostic errors arises through cognitive errors resulting from inadequate knowledge, faulty data gathering, and/or faulty verification. Experts estimate that 75% of diagnostic failures can be attributed to clinician diagnostic thinking failure. The cognitive processes that underlie diagnostic thinking of clinicians are complex and intriguing, and it is imperative that clinicians acquire explicit appreciation and application of different cognitive approaches to make decisions better. A dual-process model that unifies many theories of decision-making has emerged as a promising template for understanding how clinicians think and judge efficiently in a diagnostic reasoning process. The identification and implementation of strategies for decreasing or preventing such diagnostic errors has become a growing area of interest and research. Suggested strategies to decrease diagnostic error incidence include increasing clinician's clinical expertise and avoiding inherent cognitive errors to make decisions better. Implementing Interventions focused solely on avoiding errors may work effectively for patient safety issues such as medication errors. Addressing cognitive errors, however, requires equal effort on expanding the individual clinician's expertise. Providing cognitive support to clinicians for robust diagnostic decision-making serves as the final strategic target for decreasing diagnostic errors. Clinical guidelines and algorithms offer another method for streamlining decision-making and decreasing likelihood of cognitive diagnostic errors. Addressing cognitive processing errors is undeniably the most challenging task in reducing diagnostic errors. While many suggested approaches exist, they are mostly based on theories and sciences in cognitive psychology, decision-making, and education. The proposed interventions are primarily suggestions and very few of them have been tested in the actual practice settings. Collaborative research effort is required to effectively address cognitive processing errors. Researchers in various areas, including patient safety/quality improvement, decision-making, and problem solving, must work together to make medical diagnosis more reliable. © 2013 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Exploring cognitive bias in destination therapy left ventricular assist device decision making: A retrospective qualitative framework analysis.

PubMed

Magid, Molly; McIlvennan, Colleen K; Jones, Jaqueline; Nowels, Carolyn T; Allen, Larry A; Thompson, Jocelyn S; Matlock, Dan

2016-10-01

Cognitive biases are psychological influences, which cause humans to make decisions, which do not seemingly maximize utility. For people with heart failure, the left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is a surgically implantable device with complex tradeoffs. As such, it represents an excellent model within which to explore cognitive bias in a real-world decision. We conducted a framework analysis to examine for evidence of cognitive bias among people deciding whether or not to get an LVAD. The aim of this study was to explore the influence of cognitive bias on the LVAD decision-making process. We analyzed previously conducted interviews of patients who had either accepted or declined an LVAD using a deductive, predetermined framework of cognitive biases. We coded and analyzed the interviews using an inductive-deductive framework approach, which also allowed for other themes to emerge. We interviewed a total of 22 heart failure patients who had gone through destination therapy LVAD decision making (15 who had accepted the LVAD and 7 who had declined). All patients appeared influenced by state dependence, where both groups described high current state of suffering, but the groups differed in whether they believed LVAD would relieve suffering or not. We found evidence of cognitive bias that appeared to influence decision making in both patient groups, but groups differed in terms of which cognitive biases were present. Among accepters, we found evidence of anchoring bias, availability bias, optimism bias, and affective forecasting. Among decliners, we found evidence of errors in affective forecasting. Medical decision making is often a complicated and multifaceted process that includes cognitive bias as well as other influences. It is important for clinicians to recognize that patients can be affected by cognitive bias, so they can better understand and improve the decision-making process to ensure that patients are fully informed. Published by Elsevier Inc.

IDHEAS – A NEW APPROACH FOR HUMAN RELIABILITY ANALYSIS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

G. W. Parry; J.A Forester; V.N. Dang

2013-09-01

This paper describes a method, IDHEAS (Integrated Decision-Tree Human Event Analysis System) that has been developed jointly by the US NRC and EPRI as an improved approach to Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) that is based on an understanding of the cognitive mechanisms and performance influencing factors (PIFs) that affect operator responses. The paper describes the various elements of the method, namely the performance of a detailed cognitive task analysis that is documented in a crew response tree (CRT), and the development of the associated time-line to identify the critical tasks, i.e. those whose failure results in a human failure eventmore » (HFE), and an approach to quantification that is based on explanations of why the HFE might occur.« less

The relationship between religious orientation, and gender with a cognitive distortion.

PubMed

Amirsardari, Leili; Azari, Shafie; Esmali Kooraneh, Ahmad

2014-01-01

The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between religious orientation (intrinsic-external) and cognitive distortions. General design of this study considered as a descriptive and correlational method. Universal population in this research consist all students of the Urmia Azad University, which were studying during 2012 and 2013 (n = 250). All respondents filled the Alports religious and cognitive distortions questionnaires. The answers were analyzed with step by step regression and correlation method. The research showed a significant relationship between the religious orientation and cognitive distortions (p < 0.005) (p < 0.001). The results suggest that religious orientation is an important factor in cognitive distortions and individuals with intrinsic religious orientation have less cognitive distortion.

Out of sight, out of mind: why doesn't widespread clinical quality failure command our attention?

PubMed

Milstein, Arnold; Adler, Nancy E

2003-01-01

This paper examines the tolerance by all stakeholders of increasingly well documented evidence of serious and widespread clinical quality failure in the United States. Using research evidence from psychology, it describes specific cognitive and motivational impediments to the perception of quality failure-those shared by all stakeholders and those particularly relevant to patients and their families and to health care professionals. The authors endorse efforts by the National Quality Forum and others to make quality failure more publicly visible. They also point to the pivotal role of health care industry leaders in sustaining focus on a problem that inherently resists visibility.

Development and Validation of the Emotional Self-Awareness Questionnaire: A Measure of Emotional Intelligence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Killian, Kyle D.

2012-01-01

This study examined the psychometric characteristics of the Emotional Self-Awareness Questionnaire (ESQ), a self-report measure of emotional intelligence. The ESQ, Emotional Intelligence Scale, and measures of alexithymia, positive negative affect, personality, cognitive ability, life satisfaction, and leadership aspirations were administered to…

Gender Differences in Rating Stressful Events, Depression, and Depressive Cognition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sowa, Claudia J.; Lustman, Patrick J.

1984-01-01

Administered the Life Stress Questionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Automatic Thought Questionnaire to 140 students. Results showed significant sex differences. Men reported more stressful life change, but women rated the impact of stressors more severely and had higher depression. Men exhibited greater distortions in cognitive…

Science Motivation Questionnaire II: Validation with Science Majors and Nonscience Majors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glynn, Shawn M.; Brickman, Peggy; Armstrong, Norris; Taasoobshirazi, Gita

2011-01-01

From the perspective of social cognitive theory, the motivation of students to learn science in college courses was examined. The students--367 science majors and 313 nonscience majors--responded to the Science Motivation Questionnaire II, which assessed five motivation components: intrinsic motivation, self-determination, self-efficacy, career…

75 FR 79009 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Questionnaire Cognitive Interview and Pretesting (NCI)

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-17

... household interviews, and experimental research in laboratory and field settings, both for applied questionnaire evaluation and more basic research on response errors in surveys. The most common evaluation...) Research on 600 1 75/60 (1.25) 750.0 computer-user interface design. Household Interview Volunteers (4...

Development of tools to study personal weight control strategies: OxFAB taxonomy

PubMed Central

Aveyard, Paul; Koshiaris, Constantinos; Jebb, Susan A.

2016-01-01

Objective To describe the development of the Oxford Food and Activity Behaviors (OxFAB) taxonomy and questionnaire to explore the cognitive and behavioral strategies used by individuals during weight management attempts. Methods The taxonomy was constructed through a qualitative analysis of existing resources and a review of existing behavior change taxonomies and theories. The taxonomy was translated into a questionnaire to identify strategies used by individuals. Think‐aloud interviews were conducted to test the face/concept validity of the questionnaire, and test–retest reliability was assessed in a sample of 138 participants. Results The OxFAB taxonomy consists of 117 strategies grouped into 23 domains. Compared to taxonomies used to describe interventions, around half of the domains and strategies identified are unique to the OxFAB taxonomy. The OxFAB questionnaire consists of 117 questions, one for each strategy from the taxonomy. Test–retest resulted in a mean PABAK score of 0.61 (SD 0.15). Questions were revised where appropriate. Conclusions The OxFAB taxonomy and questionnaire provide a conceptual framework to identify the cognitive and behavioral strategies used by individuals during attempts at weight control. PMID:26748902

Development of tools to study personal weight control strategies: OxFAB taxonomy.

PubMed

Hartmann-Boyce, Jamie; Aveyard, Paul; Koshiaris, Constantinos; Jebb, Susan A

2016-02-01

To describe the development of the Oxford Food and Activity Behaviors (OxFAB) taxonomy and questionnaire to explore the cognitive and behavioral strategies used by individuals during weight management attempts. The taxonomy was constructed through a qualitative analysis of existing resources and a review of existing behavior change taxonomies and theories. The taxonomy was translated into a questionnaire to identify strategies used by individuals. Think-aloud interviews were conducted to test the face/concept validity of the questionnaire, and test-retest reliability was assessed in a sample of 138 participants. The OxFAB taxonomy consists of 117 strategies grouped into 23 domains. Compared to taxonomies used to describe interventions, around half of the domains and strategies identified are unique to the OxFAB taxonomy. The OxFAB questionnaire consists of 117 questions, one for each strategy from the taxonomy. Test-retest resulted in a mean PABAK score of 0.61 (SD 0.15). Questions were revised where appropriate. The OxFAB taxonomy and questionnaire provide a conceptual framework to identify the cognitive and behavioral strategies used by individuals during attempts at weight control. © 2016 The Authors. Obesity published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Obesity Society (TOS).

Measuring the effects of online health information for patients: Item generation for an e-health impact questionnaire

PubMed Central

Kelly, Laura; Jenkinson, Crispin; Ziebland, Sue

2013-01-01

Objective The internet is a valuable resource for accessing health information and support. We are developing an instrument to assess the effects of websites with experiential and factual health information. This study aimed to inform an item pool for the proposed questionnaire. Methods Items were informed through a review of relevant literature and secondary qualitative analysis of 99 narrative interviews relating to patient and carer experiences of health. Statements relating to identified themes were re-cast as questionnaire items and shown for review to an expert panel. Cognitive debrief interviews (n = 21) were used to assess items for face and content validity. Results Eighty-two generic items were identified following secondary qualitative analysis and expert review. Cognitive interviewing confirmed the questionnaire instructions, 62 items and the response options were acceptable to patients and carers. Conclusion Using a clear conceptual basis to inform item generation, 62 items have been identified as suitable to undergo further psychometric testing. Practice implications The final questionnaire will initially be used in a randomized controlled trial examining the effects of online patient's experiences. This will inform recommendations on the best way to present patients’ experiences within health information websites. PMID:23598293

Development of the Preverbal Visual Assessment (PreViAs) questionnaire.

PubMed

Pueyo, Victoria; García-Ormaechea, Inés; González, Inmaculada; Ferrer, Concepción; de la Mata, Guillermo; Duplá, María; Orós, Pedro; Andres, Eva

2014-04-01

Visual cognitive functions of preverbal infants are evaluated by means of a behavioral assessment. Parents or primary caregivers may be appropriate to certify the acquisition of certain abilities. To develop the PreViAs (Preverbal Visual Assessment) questionnaire to assess visual behavior of infants under 24 months of age and to assess the normative outcomes for each item at each age. The process was divided into three phases: scale development (items and domains generation), pilot testing, and exploratory analysis. The final version of the PreViAs questionnaire consisted of 30 items, each related to one or more of four domains (visual attention, visual communication, visual-motor coordination, and visual processing). For the exploratory analysis, 298 children (159 boys and 139 girls) were recruited. Their ages ranged from 0.1 to 24 months (mean, 11.2 months). Internal consistency of the questionnaire was high for all domains (Cronbach's α coefficients of 0.85-0.94). The PreViAs questionnaire is a useful scale for assessing visual cognitive abilities of infants under 24 months of age. It is easy and feasible to complete by primary caregivers. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Validation of a Smartphone-Based Approach to In Situ Cognitive Fatigue Assessment

PubMed Central

Linden, Mark

2017-01-01

Background Acquired Brain Injuries (ABIs) can result in multiple detrimental cognitive effects, such as reduced memory capability, concentration, and planning. These effects can lead to cognitive fatigue, which can exacerbate the symptoms of ABIs and hinder management and recovery. Assessing cognitive fatigue is difficult due to the largely subjective nature of the condition and existing assessment approaches. Traditional methods of assessment use self-assessment questionnaires delivered in a medical setting, but recent work has attempted to employ more objective cognitive tests as a way of evaluating cognitive fatigue. However, these tests are still predominantly delivered within a medical environment, limiting their utility and efficacy. Objective The aim of this research was to investigate how cognitive fatigue can be accurately assessed in situ, during the quotidian activities of life. It was hypothesized that this assessment could be achieved through the use of mobile assistive technology to assess working memory, sustained attention, information processing speed, reaction time, and cognitive throughput. Methods The study used a bespoke smartphone app to track daily cognitive performance, in order to assess potential levels of cognitive fatigue. Twenty-one participants with no prior reported brain injuries took place in a two-week study, resulting in 81 individual testing instances being collected. The smartphone app delivered three cognitive tests on a daily basis: (1) Spatial Span to measure visuospatial working memory; (2) Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT) to measure sustained attention, information processing speed, and reaction time; and (3) a Mental Arithmetic Test to measure cognitive throughput. A smartphone-optimized version of the Mental Fatigue Scale (MFS) self-assessment questionnaire was used as a baseline to assess the validity of the three cognitive tests, as the questionnaire has already been validated in multiple peer-reviewed studies. Results The most highly correlated results were from the PVT, which showed a positive correlation with those from the prevalidated MFS, measuring 0.342 (P<.008). Scores from the cognitive tests were entered into a regression model and showed that only reaction time in the PVT was a significant predictor of fatigue (P=.016, F=2.682, 95% CI 9.0-84.2). Higher scores on the MFS were related to increases in reaction time during our mobile variant of the PVT. Conclusions The results show that the PVT mobile cognitive test developed for this study could be used as a valid and reliable method for measuring cognitive fatigue in situ. This test would remove the subjectivity associated with established self-assessment approaches and the need for assessments to be performed in a medical setting. Based on our findings, future work could explore delivering a small set of tests with increased duration to further improve measurement reliability. Moreover, as the smartphone assessment tool can be used as part of everyday life, additional sources of data relating to physiological, psychological, and environmental context could be included within the analysis to improve the nature and precision of the assessment process. PMID:28818818

The embodiment of success and failure as forward versus backward movements.

PubMed

Robinson, Michael D; Fetterman, Adam K

2015-01-01

People often speak of success (e.g., "advance") and failure (e.g., "setback") as if they were forward versus backward movements through space. Two experiments sought to examine whether grounded associations of this type influence motor behavior. In Experiment 1, participants categorized success versus failure words by moving a joystick forward or backward. Failure categorizations were faster when moving backward, whereas success categorizations were faster when moving forward. Experiment 2 removed the requirement to categorize stimuli and used a word rehearsal task instead. Even without Experiment 1's response procedures, a similar cross-over interaction was obtained (e.g., failure memorizations sped backward movements relative to forward ones). The findings are novel yet consistent with theories of embodied cognition and self-regulation.

Effect of a Collaborative Care Intervention vs Usual Care on Health Status of Patients With Chronic Heart Failure: The CASA Randomized Clinical Trial.

PubMed

Bekelman, David B; Allen, Larry A; McBryde, Connor F; Hattler, Brack; Fairclough, Diane L; Havranek, Edward P; Turvey, Carolyn; Meek, Paula M

2018-04-01

Many patients with chronic heart failure experience reduced health status despite receiving conventional therapy. To determine whether a symptom and psychosocial collaborative care intervention improves heart failure-specific health status, depression, and symptom burden in patients with heart failure. A single-blind, 2-arm, multisite randomized clinical trial was conducted at Veterans Affairs, academic, and safety-net health systems in Colorado among outpatients with symptomatic heart failure and reduced health status recruited between August 2012 and April 2015. Data from all participants were included regardless of level of participation, using an intent-to-treat approach. Patients were randomized 1:1 to receive the Collaborative Care to Alleviate Symptoms and Adjust to Illness (CASA) intervention or usual care. The CASA intervention included collaborative symptom care provided by a nurse and psychosocial care provided by a social worker, both of whom worked with the patients' primary care clinicians and were supervised by a study primary care clinician, cardiologist, and palliative care physician. The primary outcome was patient-reported heart failure-specific health status, measured by difference in change scores on the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (range, 0-100) at 6 months. Secondary outcomes included depression (measured by the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire), anxiety (measured by the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire), overall symptom distress (measured by the General Symptom Distress Scale), specific symptoms (pain, fatigue, and shortness of breath), number of hospitalizations, and mortality. Of 314 patients randomized (157 to intervention arm and 157 to control arm), there were 67 women and 247 men, mean (SD) age was 65.5 (11.4) years, and 178 (56.7%) had reduced ejection fraction. At 6 months, the mean Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire score improved 5.5 points in the intervention arm and 2.9 points in the control arm (difference, 2.6; 95% CI, -1.3 to 6.6; P = .19). Among secondary outcomes, depressive symptoms and fatigue improved at 6 months with CASA (effect size of -0.29 [95% CI, -0.53 to -0.04] for depressive symptoms and -0.30 [95% CI, -0.55 to -0.06] for fatigue; P = .02 for both). There were no significant changes in overall symptom distress, pain, shortness of breath, or number of hospitalizations. Mortality at 12 months was similar in both arms (10 patients died receiving CASA, and 13 patients died receiving usual care; P = .52). This multisite randomized clinical trial of the CASA intervention did not demonstrate improved heart failure-specific health status. Secondary outcomes of depression and fatigue, both difficult symptoms to treat in heart failure, improved. clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01739686.

Religious coping and cognitive symptoms of depression in elderly medical patients.

PubMed

Koenig, H G; Cohen, H J; Blazer, D G; Kudler, H S; Krishnan, K R; Sibert, T E

1995-01-01

The investigators examined associations between depressive symptom type and religious coping in 832 consecutively admitted older medical inpatients. Cognitive symptoms of depression, but not somatic symptoms, were related to religious coping. Boredom, loss of interest, social withdrawal, feeling downhearted and blue, restlessness, feeling like a failure, feeling hopeless, or feeling that other people were better off were all significantly less common among religious copers. Difficulty initiating new activities was the only somatic symptom related to this coping behavior. Religious coping, a strategy heavily dependent on cognitive processes, is associated with fewer cognitive but not somatic symptoms of depression in medically ill older patients

The Development and Psychometric Properties of the Selective Mutism Questionnaire

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bergman, R. Lindsey; Keller, Melody L.; Piacentini, John; Bergman, Andrea J.

2008-01-01

Research on selective mutism (SM) has been limited by the absence of standardized, psychometrically sound assessment measures. The purpose of our investigation was to present two studies that examined the factor structure and initial reliability and validity of the Selective Mutism Questionnaire (SMQ), a 17-item parent report measure of failure to…

19 CFR 181.72 - Verification scope and method.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... written questionnaire sent to an exporter or a producer, including a producer of a material, in Canada or Mexico. The questionnaire: (A) May be sent by certified or registered mail, or by any other method that... treatment on the good. (d) Failure to respond to letter or questionnaire—(1) Nonresponse to initial letter...

Psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire.

PubMed

Domínguez-Sánchez, Francisco J; Lasa-Aristu, Amaia; Amor, Pedro J; Holgado-Tello, Francisco P

2013-04-01

The aim of this study was to validate a Spanish version of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ-S), originally developed by Garnefski, Kraaij, and Spinhoven. To date, it is the only available instrument that permits a conceptually pure quantification of cognitive strategies of emotional regulation. A sample of 615 students (25% men; 75% women) completed the CERQ-S. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that, as in the original version, a nine-factor model also explained the data collected with the Spanish version. However, an alternative model that integrates the nine dimensions in two second-order factors shows appropriate global fit indices and has interesting implications. Likewise, the results of the present study are comparable with those obtained in previous work with measures of depression, anxiety, and anger, and increase support for the validity of this instrument for assessing normalized affective states.

Reversal of cognitive decline: A novel therapeutic program

PubMed Central

Bredesen, Dale E.

2014-01-01

This report describes a novel, comprehensive, and personalized therapeutic program that is based on the underlying pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease, and which involves multiple modalities designed to achieve metabolic enhancement for neurodegeneration (MEND). The first 10 patients who have utilized this program include patients with memory loss associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD), amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), or subjective cognitive impairment (SCI). Nine of the 10 displayed subjective or objective improvement in cognition beginning within 3-6 months, with the one failure being a patient with very late stage AD. Six of the patients had had to discontinue working or were struggling with their jobs at the time of presentation, and all were able to return to work or continue working with improved performance. Improvements have been sustained, and at this time the longest patient follow-up is two and one-half years from initial treatment, with sustained and marked improvement. These results suggest that a larger, more extensive trial of this therapeutic program is warranted. The results also suggest that, at least early in the course, cognitive decline may be driven in large part by metabolic processes. Furthermore, given the failure of monotherapeutics in AD to date, the results raise the possibility that such a therapeutic system may be useful as a platform on which drugs that would fail as monotherapeutics may succeed as key components of a therapeutic system. PMID:25324467

Case-finding for cognitive impairment among people with Type 2 diabetes in primary care using the Test Your Memory and Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination questionnaires: the Cog-ID study.

PubMed

Koekkoek, P S; Janssen, J; Kooistra, M; Biesbroek, J M; Groeneveld, O; van den Berg, E; Kappelle, L J; Biessels, G J; Rutten, G E H M

2016-06-01

To evaluate two cognitive tests for case-finding for cognitive impairment in older patients with Type 2 diabetes. Of 1243 invited patients with Type 2 diabetes, aged ≥70 years, 228 participated in a prospective cohort study. Exclusion criteria were: diagnosis of dementia; previous investigation at a memory clinic; and inability to write or read. Patients first filled out two self-administered cognitive tests (Test Your Memory and Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination). Secondly, a general practitioner, blinded to Test Your Memory and Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination scores, performed a structured evaluation using the Mini-Mental State Examination. Subsequently, patients suspected of cognitive impairment (on either the cognitive tests or general practitioner evaluation) and a random sample of 30% of patients not suspected of cognitive impairment were evaluated at a memory clinic. Diagnostic accuracy and area under the curve were determined for the Test Your Memory, Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination and general practitioner evaluation compared with a memory clinic evaluation to detect cognitive impairment (mild cognitive impairment or dementia). A total of 44 participants were diagnosed with cognitive impairment. The Test Your Memory and Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination questionnaires had negative predictive values of 81 and 85%, respectively. Positive predictive values were 39 and 40%, respectively. The general practitioner evaluation had a negative predictive value of 83% and positive predictive value of 64%. The area under the curve was ~0.70 for all tests. Both the tests evaluated in the present study can easily be used in case-finding strategies for cognitive impairment in patients with Type 2 diabetes in primary care. The Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination had the best diagnostic accuracy and therefore we would have a slight preference for this test. Applying the Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination would considerably reduce the number of patients in whom the general practitioner needs to evaluate cognitive functioning to tailor diabetes treatment. © 2015 Diabetes UK.

Autistic Traits and Cognitive Performance in Young People with Mild Intellectual Impairment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Jonathan M.; Best, Catherine S.; Moffat, Vivien J.; Spencer, Michael D.; Philip, Ruth C. M.; Power, Michael J.; Johnstone, Eve C.

2008-01-01

Cognitive performance and the relationship between theory of mind (TOM), weak central coherence and executive function were investigated in a cohort of young people with additional learning needs. Participants were categorized by social communication questionnaire score into groups of 10 individuals within the autistic spectrum disorder (ASD)…

Think Aloud: Using Cognitive Interviewing to Validate the PISA Assessment of Student Self-Efficacy in Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pepper, David; Hodgen, Jeremy; Lamesoo, Katri; Kõiv, Pille; Tolboom, Jos

2018-01-01

Cognitive interviewing (CI) provides a method of systematically collecting validity evidence of response processes for questionnaire items. CI involves a range of techniques for prompting individuals to verbalise their responses to items. One such technique is concurrent verbalisation, as developed in Think Aloud Protocol (TAP). This article…

Reading an Augmented Reality Book: An Exploration of Learners' Cognitive Load, Motivation, and Attitudes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheng, Kun-Hung

2017-01-01

Since augmented reality (AR) has been increasingly applied in education recently, the investigation of students' learning experiences with AR could be helpful for educators to implement AR learning. With a quantitative survey using three questionnaires, this study explored the relationships among 153 students' perceived cognitive load, motivation,…

Cognitive Flexibility and Its Relationship to Academic Achievement and Career Choice of College Students with and without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kercood, Suneeta; Lineweaver, Tara T.; Frank, Colleen C.; Fromm, Erik D.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between cognitive flexibility, academic skills, educational trajectories, and career goals of college students with and without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, objective and subjective measures of cognitive…

Mexican Immigrants and the Use of Cognitive Assessment Techniques in Questionnaire Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Agans, Robert P.; Deeb-Sossa, Natalia; Kalsbeek, William

2006-01-01

The aim of this article is to identify the measurement challenges involved in obtaining sensitive health outcomes from Mexican women in both settled and unsettled segments of the United States population and to suggest how cognitive assessment techniques might be better employed to construct culturally and linguistically appropriate survey…

Cognitive Presence through Social and Teaching Presence in Communities of Inquiry: A Correlational-Predictive Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gutiérrez-Santiuste, Elba; Rodríguez-Sabiote, Clemente; Gallego-Arrufat, María-Jesús

2015-01-01

This study focuses on the relationships established between the elements that compose the community of inquiry (CoI): cognitive, social, and teaching presence. Using three questionnaires, we analyse the students' perception of synchronous and asynchronous virtual in text-based communication (chats, forums and emails). Starting from the high…