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Australian Rules Football and Rugby League
Published in Mark R. Lovell, Ruben J. Echemendia, Jeffrey T. Barth, Michael W. Collins, Traumatic Brain Injury in Sports, 2020
Anton D. Hinton-Bayre, Gina Geffen
The antecedents of neuropsychological assessment in AFL can be traced back to the use of standard neurological screening techniques in the 1980s. In particular, measures of mental status, including orientation, recent memory, and short-term recall were becoming common place in the on-site diagnosis of concussion (Dicker, 1989; McCrory, 1989). Nonetheless, the decision of whether a concussed athlete was recovered remained one based on clinical intuition, player honesty in reporting any difficulties, and the reliance of knowledge acquired through studies of boxing trauma and mild traumatic brain injury in the general population. The first reports on the potential use of neuropsychological assessment in AFL were made in the late 1980s. Dicker and Maddocks (1988) provided a preliminary report of the utility of the Digit Symbol Substitution test in objectively monitoring the recovery of brain function following concussion. At a similar time, Cremona-Meteyard and Geffen (1994) sought to quantify the presence of acute and chronic cognitive function deficits following concussion.
Health and Psychological Effects of Low-Level Exposure to Chemical Warfare Nerve Agents
Published in Brian J. Lukey, James A. Romano, Salem Harry, Chemical Warfare Agents, 2019
Carl D. Smith, Kristin J. Heaton, James A. Romano Jr., Maurice L. Sipos, John H. McDonough
Several studies reported on the neuropsychological effects of GB exposure at approximately 6–8 months following the attack (Murata et al., 1997; Yokoyama et al., 1998). Unfortunately, these studies had small sample sizes (n = 18) and only included participants with apparent symptoms that qualified as greater than “slightly affected.” Indeed, all participants required hospitalization, and all but three victims had plasma ChE values below normal values on the day of exposure. Nevertheless, several interesting differences emerged between GB-exposed individuals and healthy controls. GB-exposed individuals scored significantly lower on a digit symbol substitution test and significantly higher on measures of psychiatric symptoms, fatigue, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Yokoyama et al., 1998). Individuals reporting elevated psychiatric symptoms and fatigue scores also reported increased PTSD symptomatology, but these symptoms were not associated with the degree of ChE inhibition on the day of exposure. Sex differences also emerged, such that GB-exposed females exhibited greater postural sway than males. Finally, the GB-exposed group had significantly longer P300 latencies on event-related brain evoked potentials during an auditory test and longer P100 latencies on brain visual evoked potentials, suggesting that GB produced lasting effects on neural systems regulating cognitive performance and visual function (Yokoyama et al., 1998).
Athletic Performance
Published in Clete A. Kushida, Sleep Deprivation, 2004
Roger S. Smith, Thomas P. Reilly
Edinger et al. (6) followed two adult men during a 146-hr tennis match. Both subjects were allowed 4–5 hours of sleep per night. From prematch to postmatch, a decline was noted in memory and perceptual-motor coding (Digit Symbol Substitution Test). Over the course of the match both players reported increasing fatigue. Injuries were more common in one subject who also developed intermittent disorientation on day 6.
A cross-sectional study of blood selenium concentration and cognitive function in elderly Americans: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011–2014
Published in Annals of Human Biology, 2020
Xiumin Yan, Kailiang Liu, Xiuhong Sun, Shuang Qin, Min Wu, Li Qin, Yao Wang, Zhongyi Li, Xingming Zhong, Xiangcai Wei
Cognitive function was measured either during a household interview or at a Mobile Examination Centre. The assessments included word learning and recall modules from the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s disease (CERAD), the Animal Fluency test, and the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST). The CERAD word learning test and the CERAD word recall test were used to assess immediate and delayed learning of new verbal information (Morris et al. 1989). The test consists of three consecutive learning trails and delayed recall. The Animal Fluency and DSST were initially completed, followed by the delayed recall test. The Animal Fluency test examines categorical verbal fluency and executive function by requiring participants to name as many animals as possible in one minute (Strauss et al. 2006). The Digit Symbol Substitution test is a performance module from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-III) that relies on processing speed, continuous attention and working memory (Wechsler 1997). In this test, participants were asked to copy the corresponding symbols in the 133 boxes that adjoined the numbers. Higher scores represented better cognitive function.
How an Age Simulation Suit affects Motor and Cognitive Performance and Self-perception in Younger Adults
Published in Experimental Aging Research, 2020
Janine Vieweg, Sabine Schaefer
We also found performance declines in cognition, as measured by the performance in the Digit Symbol Substitution test. This paper-and-pencil test requires to perceive a target symbol and to accurately and quickly copy it into the respective field. The Digit Symbol Substitution test measures perception and processing speed, which are seen as predominantly cognitive functions (see S.-C. Li et al., 2004; Wechsler, 1981). However, performance on the test is also affected by sensory and motor processes. We assume that performance declines in our paradigm were mainly caused by visuomotor aspects, as changes in visual acuity and in the fine-motor control of fingers and hands. However, it is possible that other cognitive tasks requiring less precise visual input and less or no fine motor control also suffer from wearing an Age Simulation Suit. In future research, the Age Simulation Suit can illustrate the importance of sensorimotor processes even in predominantly cognitive tasks. The suit has no direct influence on the neuronal integrity of the brain, but only influences sensory and motor processes. Concerning age-related cognitive and motor decline, future research with this paradigm can hopefully contribute to the debates on common or specific causes for cognitive and motor declines in older ages (Cai, Chan, Yan, & Peng, 2014; Li & Lindenberger, 2002; Lindenberger, Scherer, & Baltes, 2001; Schaefer, Huxhold, & Lindenberger, 2006), by offering an attractive possibility to experimentally influence some of the underlying factors. This approach could also help to identify tasks that represent a “purer” measure of cognition than some of the classic paper-and-pencil measures that are often used in neuropsychological assessments.
Evidence and mechanisms for statin-induced cognitive decline
Published in Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology, 2019
Brendan Tan, Franklin Rosenfeldt, Ruchong Ou, Con Stough
When assessing cognitive performance, large, comprehensive cognitive batteries are preferable to individual tasks or subjective measures. Studies with a wide range of tasks are more sensitive in detecting changes in cognitive performance than those that do not. In three studies where no statin-induced cognitive decline was found, cognitive measures were used that we consider to be inadequately comprehensive [26,31,32]. The Heart Protection Study [31] measured cognitive performance as a secondary outcome only, using the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS). While the TICS is a useful screening tool, it is not a sensitive neuropsychological outcome to measure cognitive decline. The PROSPER study also measured cognitive performance as a secondary outcome and measured only a narrow range of cognitive abilities [32]. Harrison and Ashton [26] analyzed the effects of simvastatin and pravastatin on cognitive performance using the digit symbol substitution test. The digit symbol substitution test requires response speed, sustained attention, set shifting, and elements of memory, however, it is only a 90-s test. Although it may be a more sensitive measure of dementia than the MMSE, as a single measure of cognitive performance, it is unconvincing. The MMSE lacks sensitivity to small changes in cognitive performance due to its limited ability to measure processing speed, new memory formation, and executive function [35–37]. It is, therefore, unsurprising that two studies utilizing the MMSE were unable to detect changes to cognitive performance on this measure [32,33] particularly if the changes are relatively subtle. MMSE was designed to measure gross cognitive impairment and is usually used only as a screening tool for patients with significant cognitive decline (e.g., in cases of dementia or frontal brain damage).