Dataset Information

Breadth and depth of working memory and executive function compromises in mild cognitive impairment and their relationships to frontal lobe morphometry and functional competence.

ABSTRACT: Introduction:The extent of working memory (WM) and executive function (EF) impairment in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is not well-characterized. Methods:We compared 48 patients with MCI, 124 noncognitively impaired elderly healthy controls, and 57 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) on multiple WM/EF measures, frontal lobe integrity indexes, and functioning. Results:Patients with MCI demonstrated worse performance on nearly all WM/EF tests. This profile of impairment was refined in a factor analysis that identified three primary WM/EF constructs: WM storage; speed and controlled visual search; and manipulation of information and problem solving. EF impairments were associated with reductions in prefrontal cortical thickness. WM/EF accounted for over 50% of the variance in functional competence. Discussion:In MCI, WM/EF impairments are far from rare, based on specific compromises to frontal cortex circuitry, and are associated with loss of everyday functioning. WM/EF impairments, even at this potentially prodromal stage of AD, have clinically deleterious consequences.

SUBMITTER: Garcia-Alvarez L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6416209 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Breadth and depth of working memory and executive function compromises in mild cognitive impairment and their relationships to frontal lobe morphometry and functional competence.

Garcia-Alvarez Leticia L Gomar Jesus J JJ Sousa Amber A Garcia-Portilla Maria P MP Goldberg Terry E TE

Alzheimer's & dementia (Amsterdam, Netherlands) 20190222

<h4>Introduction</h4>The extent of working memory (WM) and executive function (EF) impairment in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is not well-characterized.<h4>Methods</h4>We compared 48 patients with MCI, 124 noncognitively impaired elderly healthy controls, and 57 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) on multiple WM/EF measures, frontal lobe integrity indexes, and functioning.<h4>Results</h4>Patients with MCI demonstrated worse performance on nearly all WM/EF tests. This profile of impairment ...[more]

PMID: 30911598

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Project description:It is increasingly agreed upon that cognitive and audiological factors are associated with self-perceived hearing handicap in old adults. This study aimed to compare self-perceived hearing handicap among mild cognitive impairment (MCI) subgroups and a cognitively normal elderly (CNE) group and determine which factors (i.e., demographic, audiometric, or neuropsychological factors) are correlated with self-perceived hearing handicap in each group. A total of 46 MCI patients and 39 hearing threshold-matched CNE subjects participated in this study, and their age ranged from 55 to 80 years. The MCI patients were reclassified into two groups: 16 with frontal-executive dysfunction (FED) and 30 without FED. All subjects underwent audiometric, neuropsychological, and self-perceived hearing handicap assessments. The Korean version of the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly (K-HHIE) was administered to obtain the hearing handicap scores for each subject. After controlling for age, years of education, and depression levels, we found no significant differences in the K-HHIE scores between the MCI and the CNE groups. However, after we classified the MCI patients into the MCI with FED and MCI without FED groups, the MCI with FED group scored significantly higher than did both the MCI without FED and the CNE groups. In addition, after controlling for depression levels, significant partial correlations of hearing handicap scores with frontal-executive function scores and speech-in-noise perception performance were found in the MCI groups. In the CNE group, the hearing handicap scores were related to peripheral hearing sensitivity and years of education. In summary, MCI patients with FED are more likely to experience everyday hearing handicap than those without FED and cognitively normal old adults. Although educational level and peripheral hearing function are related to self-perceived hearing handicap in cognitively normal old adults, speech-in-noise perception and frontal-executive function are mainly associated with hearing handicap in patients with MCI.

Dataset Information

Breadth and depth of working memory and executive function compromises in mild cognitive impairment and their relationships to frontal lobe morphometry and functional competence.

Publications

Breadth and depth of working memory and executive function compromises in mild cognitive impairment and their relationships to frontal lobe morphometry and functional competence.

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