Alcohol-Related Brain Damage and Neuropathology
Jenny Svanberg, Adrienne Withall, Brian Draper, Stephen Bowden in Alcohol and the Adult Brain, 2014
This has led to a re-evaluation of WE-associated criteria due to alcoholism for both post-mortem evaluation (see Caine et al., 1997) and patient clinical diagnosis (see Galvin et al., 2010). An approach that has been endorsed by the European Federation of Neurological Societies requires the presence of only two of the following four signs: (1) history of dietary deficiencies, (2) oculomotor abnormalities, (3) cerebellar dysfunction and (4) altered mental state or memory impairment. A recent study by Pitel and colleagues (2011) categorized people with alcohol dependence according to the above criteria. It was found that 16 per cent had a diagnosis of WE (two or more signs), 57 per cent were at risk for WE (positive for one sign) and 27 per cent did not display any signs of WE. It is important to note that when these new criteria were used, the percentage of living patients with alcohol dependence who are diagnosed with WE/WKS matched post-mortem studies. The most prevalent signs were dietary deficiency (57 per cent) and ataxia (36 per cent). Further, these symptomatic subgroups did not differ in their lifetime consumption of alcohol or sobriety duration. Those with alcohol dependence that did not meet any of the criteria for WE risk did not differ from control participants on any neuropsychological measure. However, the groups who met one or two of the criteria showed significant graded deficits on memory measures (Wechsler memory scale), visuo-spatial tasks (Rey-Osterrieth complex figure task) and speed of processing (digital symbol subtest of the WAIS-R). In addition, those positive for two criteria displayed impaired executive functioning (trail-making task) and dysfunction in upper limb motor skills (fine finger movement test, grooved pegboard test). These findings provide evidence that mild to moderate thiamine deficiency likely plays a role in the heterogeneity observed in the neuropathology and resultant cognitive and motor dysfunctions observed in chronic alcoholism.
Contribution of the neuropsychological evaluation to traumatic brain injury rehabilitation
Mark J. Ashley, David A. Hovda in Traumatic Brain Injury, 2017
Another popular approach to the neuropsychological examination of patients with neurological disorders has been led by the late Edith Kaplan, called the Boston Process Approach. It often combines the use of fixed neuropsychological tests within a framework of examining not only the score outcome, and also the types and processes of the errors involved.21 Kaplan and her colleagues originally utilize standardized tests (such as earlier versions of the Wechsler Memory Scale and the WAIS-R) and modified the administration procedures to introduce methods of scoring the protocol to analyze errors and to test the limits of the patient’s cognitive capacity. Additional items and multiple-choice formats are added to the instrument to better analyze the performance of the patient. The WAIS-R-NI was a good example of that approach20 in which the patient’s constructions of the Block Design test are tracked, and certain kinds of errors (e.g., constructing the block patterns outside of the gestalt of the square) may be more indicative of right hemispheric impairment. Another example of the application of the Boston Process Approach is the use of the Rey Complex Figure test. Many neuropsychologists examine the quality of the copy portion of the test (i.e., examination of the reproduction of the patient’s drawing of a complex geometric figure) for such pathognomonic signs as rotation, distortion of the figure, poor planning in the visuoconstruction aspects of the design, loss of detail, and problems in aligning angles and intersections of the design. Many examiners will assist in their analysis of the reproduced design by handing the examinee a different colored pencil at specific time intervals or after completion of specific elements of the design in order to better recount examinee’s construction, allowing for a qualitative analysis of the drawing. The Boston Qualitative Scoring System for the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure was devised to quantify several elements and error categories of a patient’s design reproductions.23
Neurological Investigations
John Greene, Ian Bone in Understanding Neurology a problem-orientated approach, 2007
A further measure of nonverbal memory is the Rey–Osterrieth complex figure (40). This is an abstract design, which is not easily encoded verbally. The ability to copy the Rey figure is a measure of visuo-perceptual function. The ability to draw from memory after a 30-minute delay is a measure of delayed nonverbal memory.
Second-generation long-acting injections anti-psychotics improve executive functions in patients with schizophrenia: a 12-month real-world study
Published in International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice, 2020
Fabio Magliocco, Renato de Filippis, Matteo Aloi, Filippo Antonio Staltari, Raffaele Gaetano, Cristina Segura-Garcia, Pasquale De Fazio
Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (RCFT): a cognitive test used to evaluate central coherence, short-term visual memory and visuospatial abilities (Rey 1941). The test is divided into two phases. In a first phase, patients are asked to copy a stylised image with black borders using different colours for each element. In the second phase, which is performed 15 minutes later, the patient is asked to recall and then recreate the image he or she copied in the first phase. The image produced in the first phase is used to evaluate visuo-spatial organisation and central coherence (based on the accuracy of copying and order in which the elements are copied) whilst the image produced in the second phase is used to evaluate visual-spatial memory; this depends strictly on performance in the first phase. The variables examined are: the accuracy of the copy (AS), the percentage of elements copied in phase one that are recalled in phase 2 (% C), the order of the first six elements copied in phase 1 (Or), the style of the copy of the first six elements (St), the central coherence index (IC = Or/3.3 + St/2), and the organisation strategy (Os).
Multivariate Base Rates of Low Scores on Tests of Learning and Memory among Spanish-Speaking Children
Published in Developmental Neuropsychology, 2020
Itziar Benito-Sánchez, Melissa M. Ertl, Rosario Ferrer-Cascales, Javier Oltra-Cucarella, Joaquín A. Ibáñez-Alfonso, Mahia Saracostti Schwartzman, Marcio Soto-Añari, Natalia Cadavid- Ruiz, Alberto Rodríguez-Lorenzana, Diego Rivera, Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla
Learning and memory, which reflect individuals’ capacities for registering, consolidating, storing, and retrieving new information, are essential, complex cognitive functions. Neuropsychological assessments of learning and memory aim to measure abilities and potential deficits in these areas. When used among children and youth, neuropsychological assessments of learning and memory can discern developmental delays and relative strengths and weaknesses. Memory impairments can be common in pediatric populations with neurological diseases (Menlove & Reilly, 2015; Rayner, Jackson, & Wilson, 2016; Serra-Grabulosa, 2005), and as such, it is important to assess both memory and learning among children. Both the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (ROCF; Rey, 1941, 2009) and the Test de Aprendizaje y Memoria Verbal Infantil (TAMV-I; Rivera, Olabarrieta-Landa, & Arango-Lasprilla, 2017a) are two neuropsychological assessment instruments that are commonly used to measure learning and memory among children and adolescents.
Learnings in developmental and epileptic encephalopathies: what do we know?
Published in Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, 2023
Martina Giorgia Perinelli, Antonella Riva, Elisabetta Amadori, Roberta Follo, Pasquale Striano
In addition, the Neonatal Visual Function Assessment [80] and the Visual-Motor Integration Test help assess vision, which is particularly compromised in DEEs and precedes detectable cognitive decline [49,63,81–83].Other tests are also available to measure specific skills, such as the Corsi Test to test visuospatial memory [58] and the Bell’s Cancellation Test to test attention [57]. Language skills may be measured using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III and the Boston Naming Test, which consist of 60 drawings of objects of graded difficulty, ranging from widespread objects (such as trees) to less familiar objects such as an abacus [22,63]. The Tower of London and the Delis–Kaplan Executive Function System are used to assess executive functions in patients with minimal cognitive impairment [63,81]. A Rey Auditory Learning Test (AVLT) can be used as an alternative measure of intelligence when children are not fully cooperative. This test involves aspects of verbal short-term (learning) and long-term (recall and recognition) memory. The Rey Osterrieth Complex Figure, which assesses various functions, including visuospatial abilities, memory, attention, planning, and working memory, is also used [44,84]. The Grooved Pegboard from Lafayette Instruments can be performed to assess fine motor functions.
Related Knowledge Centers
- Acquired Brain Injury
- Attention
- Child Development
- Memory
- Neuropsychological Assessment
- Working Memory
- Dementia
- Planning
- Executive Functions
- Neurology