BACKGROUND: Although there is evidence that shows worse cognitive functioning in male patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), the role of brain pathology in this context is under-investigated. OBJECTIVE: To investigate sex differences in cognitive performance of MS patients, in the context of brain pathology and disease burden. METHODS: Brain MRI, neurological examination, neuropsychological assessment (Brief International Cognitive Assessment in MS-BICAMS, and Paced Auditory Verbal Learning Test-PASAT), and patient-reported outcome questionnaires were performed/administered in 1052 MS patients. RESULTS: Females had higher raw scores in the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) (57.0 vs. 54.0; p < 0.001) and Categorical Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) (63.0 vs. 57.0; p < 0.001), but paradoxically, females evaluated their cognitive performance by MS Neuropsychological Questionnaire as being worse (16.6 vs 14.5, p = 0.004). Females had a trend for a weaker negative correlation between T2 lesion volume and SDMT ([Formula: see text] = - 0.37 in females vs. - 0.46 in men; interaction p = 0.038). On the other hand, women had a trend for a stronger correlation between Brain Parenchymal Fraction (BPF) and a visual memory test (Spearman's [Formula: see text] = 0.31 vs. 0.21; interaction p = 0.016). All these trends were not significant after correction for false discovery rate. CONCLUSIONS: Although, females consider their cognition as worse, males had at a group level slightly worse verbal memory and information processing speed. However, the sex differences in cognitive performance were smaller than the variability of scores within the same sex group. Brain MRI measures did not explain the sex differences in cognitive performance among MS patients.

• Keywords
• Brain atrophy, Cognition, Lesion volume, MRI, Multiple sclerosis, Sex,
• MeSH
• Cognition MeSH
• Cognitive Dysfunction * MeSH
• Cognition Disorders * diagnosis   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging MeSH
• Brain diagnostic imaging   MeSH
• Neuropsychological Tests MeSH
• Sex Characteristics MeSH
• Multiple Sclerosis * complications   diagnostic imaging   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to assess cognitive functioning across multiple cognitive domains using a standardised neuropsychological battery in patients with motor functional neurological disorders (mFND). METHODS: Thirty patients with clinically established mFND and 30 age-, sex- and education-matched control subjects underwent a thorough neuropsychological assessment evaluating (1) attention including processing speed, (2) executive functions including working memory, (3) short-term memory, (4) speech and language and (5) visuospatial functions. Performance validity tests (PVT) and self-report measures of depression, anxiety and cognitive complaints were included in the assessment. Only patients with valid test performance were included in the analysis. RESULTS: Three patients scored below the cut-off scores in PVT. Patients performed significantly worse than controls in the following areas: (1) the attention domain which included a slow processing speed (p = 0.005, Cohen's d = 0.89), (2) executive functions (p = 0.01, Cohen's d = 0.88) and (3) speech and language domains (p = 0.025, Cohen's d = 0.77). Patients with mFND showed greater intra-individual variability in cognitive performance (p = 0.005, Cohen's d = 0.94). Cognitive impairments were independent of depressive symptoms, which were higher in mFND patients. CONCLUSION: This study revealed both subjective and objective cognitive impairment in patients with mFND. The neuropsychological profile in mFND was characterised primarily by attentional impairment including a slow processing speed and a high intra-individual variability in cognitive performance. Cognitive impairment was associated with a valid test performance, highlighting that the deficits observed were not likely to be explained by a lack of effort in the patient group. Attention is considered to play a key role in mFND pathophysiology, and the results suggest that such impairments are objectively measurable.

• Keywords
• Attention, Cognitive functions, Motor functional neurological disorders, Neuropsychological profile, Performance validity,
• MeSH
• Executive Function physiology   MeSH
• Cognition physiology   MeSH
• Cognitive Dysfunction * complications   etiology   MeSH
• Cognition Disorders * diagnosis   etiology   MeSH
• Conversion Disorder * MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Neuropsychological Tests MeSH
• Attention physiology   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH

Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) suffer from a wide range of non-motor symptoms, including cognitive deficits and impairment of emotional processing. The present study aimed to explore in PD patients compared to healthy adults the relationship between cognitive performance and emotional creativity (EC), defined as a set of cognitive abilities and personality traits related to originality and appropriateness of emotional experience. PD patients (n = 22) and healthy controls (n = 40) underwent a complex neuropsychological assessment and were administrated with the self-reported Emotional Creativity Inventory (ECI) questionnaire. To explore the relationship between cognitive tests and the ECI, a regression analysis was conducted. PD patients and healthy controls differed significantly in the EC component Preparedness as well as in the neuropsychological test battery scores. PD patients showed lower scores in cognitive tests and a lower score in Preparedness compared to healthy adults. The output of the regression analysis showed that the extent to which the neuropsychological tests relate to the ECI components is low.

• Keywords
• Aging, Parkinson's disease, cognitive functions, emotional creativity,
• MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Cognition MeSH
• Cognitive Dysfunction * diagnosis   MeSH
• Cognition Disorders * diagnosis   etiology   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Neuropsychological Tests MeSH
• Parkinson Disease * complications   diagnosis   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Adult MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH

UNLABELLED: Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen (ECAS) is a brief, standardized assessment of cognitiveimpairment inamyotrophic lateral sclerosis. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to createa normative dataset for the ECAS Czech version (ECAS-CZ) in order to make the assessment applicable for clinical settings. METHOD: Included were 102 healthy participants (mean age: 54.92 ± 14.55; education: 14.52 ± 2.44; 54:48 females/males) that fulfilled rigorous exclusion criteria and controlled for depressive symptoms. RESULTS: The internal consistency of ECAS-CZ was acceptable (Cronbach's α = .69). We found medium correlations (rho ≈ .5) of age and education with ECAS-CZ Total score but not with gender. Cut-offs with -2 SD's threshold are presented for the differentiation of cognitive impairment. We report percentile values for ECAS-CZ Total including all subscales. CONCLUSION: We provide normative values for ECAS-CZ that are well suited for the detection of cognitive impairment in clinical settings especially for patients with ALS.Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/13854046.2021.1978553 .

• Keywords
• Cognition, ECAS, behaviour, normative data, screen,
• MeSH
• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis * diagnosis   MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Cognition MeSH
• Cognitive Dysfunction * MeSH
• Cognition Disorders * diagnosis   etiology   MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Neuropsychological Tests MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Check Tag
• Adult MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Geographicals
• Czech Republic MeSH

BACKGROUND: Impairment of cognition and speech are common in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, but their relationship is not well understood. OBJECTIVE: To describe the relationship between articulation rate characteristics and processing speed and to investigate the potential role of objective speech analysis for the detection of cognitive decline in MS. METHODS: A total of 122 patients with clinically definite MS were included in this cross-sectional pilot study. Patients underwent three speaking tasks (oral diadochokinesis, reading text and monologue) and assessment of processing speed (Symbol Digit Modalities Test [SDMT], Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test-3 s [PASAT-3]). Association between articulation rate and cognition was analyzed using linear regression analysis. We estimated the area under the receiver operating characteristics curves (AUC) to evaluate the predictive accuracy of articulation rate measures for the detection of abnormal processing speed. RESULTS: We observed an association between articulation rate and cognitive measures (rho = 0.45-0.58; p < 0.001). Faster reading speed by one word per second was associated with an 18.7 point (95% confidence interval [CI] 14.9-22.5) increase of the SDMT score and 14.7 (95% CI 8.9-20.4) point increase of PASAT-3 score (both p < 0.001). AUC values of articulation rate characteristics for the identification of processing speed impairment ranged between 0.67 and 0.79. Using a cutoff of 3.10 in reading speed, we were able to identify impairment in both the SDMT and PASAT-3 with 91% sensitivity and 54% specificity. CONCLUSION: Slowed articulation rate is strongly associated with processing speed decline. Objective quantitative speech analysis identified patients with abnormal cognitive performance.

• Keywords
• Articulation, Cognition, Information processing, Multiple sclerosis, Speech,
• MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Dysarthria etiology   MeSH
• Cognition Disorders diagnosis   etiology   MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Pilot Projects MeSH
• Cross-Sectional Studies MeSH
• Regression Analysis MeSH
• ROC Curve MeSH
• Multiple Sclerosis complications   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Adult MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH

BACKGROUND: A large variation in cognitive performance exists between European regions. However, it is unclear how older Europeans differ in the rate of cognitive decline. METHODS: We analysed data from 22 181 individuals (54% women; median age 71) who participated in the Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. Cognition was measured using tests on verbal fluency, immediate and delayed recall. We used linear regression and linear mixed effects regression to examine regional differences in the level of cognitive performance and the rate of cognitive decline. RESULTS: Scandinavians had the highest baseline cognitive scores (mean standardized overall cognitive score 0.3), followed by Western Europeans (mean 0.2), Central and Eastern Europeans (mean 0.1) and individuals from Mediterranean countries (mean -0.4). These differences persisted even after adjustment for sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. The annual cognitive decline in Scandinavia (0.59%) was approximately two times greater than in Western Europe (0.28%), Central and Eastern Europe (0.25%) and Mediterranean countries (0.23%). DISCUSSION: There are substantial differences in cognitive performance as well as rates of cognitive decline among the elderly throughout European regions. This might be explained by differing levels of cognitive reserve.

• Keywords
• Change, Cognition, Epidemiology, Reserve,
• MeSH
• Geriatric Assessment MeSH
• Cognition * MeSH
• Cognitive Dysfunction diagnosis   epidemiology   MeSH
• Cognition Disorders diagnosis   epidemiology   MeSH
• Cohort Studies MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Linear Models MeSH
• Prospective Studies MeSH
• Surveys and Questionnaires MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Aging psychology   MeSH
• Health Status * MeSH
• Geography statistics & numerical data   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural MeSH
• Geographicals
• Europe epidemiology   MeSH

BACKGROUND: Cognitive impairment is a common nonmotor manifestation of Parkinson's disease, with deficits ranging from mild cognitive difficulties in 1 or more of the cognitive domains to severe dementia. The International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society commissioned the assessment of the clinimetric properties of cognitive rating scales measuring global cognitive performance in PD to make recommendations regarding their use. METHODS: A systematic literature search was conducted to identify the scales used to assess global cognitive performance in PD, and the identified scales were reviewed and rated as "recommended," "recommended with caveats," "suggested," or "listed" by the panel using previously established criteria. RESULTS: A total of 12 cognitive scales were included in this review. Three scales, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale Second Edition, and the Parkinson's Disease-Cognitive Rating Scale, were classified as "recommended." Two scales were classified as "recommended with caveats": the Mini-Mental Parkinson, because of limited coverage of executive abilities, and the Scales for Outcomes in Parkinson's Disease-Cognition, which has limited data on sensitivity to change. Six other scales were classified as "suggested" and 1 scale as "listed." CONCLUSIONS: Because of the existence of "recommended" scales for assessment of global cognitive performance in PD, this task force suggests that the development of a new scale for this purpose is not needed at this time. However, global cognitive scales are not a substitute for comprehensive neuropsychological testing. © 2017 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

• Keywords
• Parkinson's disease, clinimetric, cognitive, dementia, rating scales,
• MeSH
• Cognition Disorders diagnosis   etiology   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Neuropsychological Tests * MeSH
• Parkinson Disease complications   MeSH
• Surveys and Questionnaires MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Review MeSH

OBJECTIVE: In answer to the call for improved accessibility of neuropsychological services to the international community, the Brief International Cognitive Assessment for Multiple Sclerosis (BICAMS; MS) was validated in multiple, non-English-speaking countries. It was created to monitor processing speed and learning in MS patients, including abbreviated versions of the Symbol Digit Modalities Test, California Verbal Learning Test, 2nd Edition, and the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test, Revised. The objective of the present study was to examine whether participant nationality impacts performance above and beyond common demographic correlates. METHOD: We combined published data-sets from Argentina, Brazil, Czech Republic, Iran, and the U.S.A. resulting in a database of 1,097 healthy adults, before examining the data via multiple regression. RESULTS: Nationality significantly predicted performance on all three BICAMS tests after controlling for age and years of education. Interactions among the core predictor variables were non-significant. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated that nationality significantly influences BICAMS performance and established the importance of the inclusion of a nationality variable when international norms for the BICAMS are constructed.

• Keywords
• BICAMS, demographics, multiple sclerosis, nationality, neuropsychological tests,
• MeSH
• Databases, Factual MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Ethnicity * MeSH
• Cognition Disorders diagnosis   ethnology   MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Multivariate Analysis MeSH
• Reference Values MeSH
• Retrospective Studies MeSH
• Multiple Sclerosis ethnology   psychology   MeSH
• Mental Status and Dementia Tests * MeSH
• Check Tag
• Adult MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Validation Study MeSH
• Geographicals
• Argentina MeSH
• Brazil MeSH
• Czech Republic MeSH
• Iran MeSH
• United States MeSH

The research is based on comparative analysis of 'Hinting Task', 'Faux Pas', and 'Reading the Mind in the Eyes' tests sensitivity in detection of Theory of Mind deficits. The study included 20 subjects with schizophrenia and schizophrenia spectrum disorders with the first episode of psychosis. Every subject performed the three proposed tests. It was shown that success rate of the three tests differed significantly. The non-verbal test 'Reading the Mind in the Eyes' caused the most difficulties. The success rate percentage of this test performance correlated negatively with the severity of psychopathological symptoms evaluated according to the PANSS scale. Thus, 'Reading the Mind in the Eyes' test is the most sensitive out of the three to Theory of Mind deficits detection, which may be used for diagnostic purposes.

• MeSH
• Cognition Disorders * diagnosis   therapy   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Neuropsychological Tests MeSH
• Psychotic Disorders * diagnosis   MeSH
• Schizophrenia * diagnosis   MeSH
• Theory of Mind * MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH

Background The treatment of brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) has been studied extensively. With the use of the Spetzler-Martin (S-M) grading system, patients can be informed appropriately about their possible surgical risks. This does not hold true for their neuropsychological sequelae, which have not been studied widely. We evaluated the neuropsychological outcome of our patients treated for brain AVMs. Methods Of 113 patients treated for a brain AVM between 2001 and 2009, 66 patients were enrolled in the study. All patients underwent treatment at our institution and neuropsychological testing 2 years later using a test battery constructed specifically for this study. A control group consisted of 10 subjects without any neurologic disease. Results When the whole cohort was analyzed, no significant differences were found between the groups distinguished by hemorrhage, gender, or hemispheric dominance. Patients with S-M IV and V scores fared significantly worse than patients with S-M I to III. Patients who presented with epilepsy scored lower than patients presenting with other symptomatology, but the difference had only borderline significance. When we analyzed patients according to the presence or absence of obliteration after treatment and compared these with the control group, we found no significant differences. When the patients with an obliterated AVM after treatment were subdivided according to treatment modality, there were no significant differences in their S-M groups compared with the control group. Similarly, those patients with nonobliterated AVMs analyzed according to their S-M grade showed a borderline significant difference, with S-M IV and V having a worse neuropsychological outcome compared with the other groups. Conclusions Patients harboring nonobliterated high-grade AVMs (S-M IV and V) scored worse than patients with nonobliterated AVM S-M grades I to III. This could be explained by the steal phenomenon. No differences in neuropsychological testing were found when comparing results according to nidus location. This study lends support to an active treatment policy for cerebral AVMs. Those patients in whom complete obliteration was achieved with treatment scored similarly to the background population, implying active AVM treatment does not cause deterioration in neuropsychological performance. This, together with a > 90% AVM obliteration rate, favors microsurgery as the treatment modality of choice whenever the AVM can be safely resected.

• MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformations complications   surgery   MeSH
• Cognition Disorders diagnosis   etiology   MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Microsurgery adverse effects   MeSH
• Young Adult MeSH
• Neuropsychological Tests * MeSH
• Retrospective Studies MeSH
• Embolization, Therapeutic adverse effects   MeSH
• Treatment Outcome MeSH
• Check Tag
• Adult MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Young Adult MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH