Executive functioning in Cornelia de Lange syndrome: domain asynchrony and age-related performance.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Reid D
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5556702 | biostudies-other | 2017 Aug
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
Similar Datasets
Project description:Age-related cognitive decline has been linked to alterations of the dopaminergic system and its subcortical trajectories. Recent work suggests a critical role of iron accumulation within the basal ganglia (BG) in verbal memory performance, and increased iron levels have been related to demyelination. However, the specificity of age-related iron increases with respect to cognitive functions remains unclear. Therefore, we investigated the interplay of age, cognitive performance, and structural integrity of the BG. In total, 79 healthy older participants underwent a broad cognitive assessment (fluid and crystallized intelligence, verbal and numeric memory, processing speed, executive functions) and structural MRI. As expected, performance in most cognitive tests had a negative relationship with age. Moreover, BG grey matter volume and magnetization transfer (MT, indicative of myelin) decreased, and R2* (indicative of iron) increased with age. Importantly, R2* and demyelination negatively correlated with verbal memory and executive functions. Within the SN/VTA, age correlated negatively with MT, but there was no clear evidence in favor of a relationship between behavior and R2* or MT. Our results suggest that age-related increases in iron and demyelination within the BG, which are part of a fronto-striatal network, not only impact on verbal memory but also executive functions.
| S-EPMC8093241 | biostudies-literature
Project description:To investigate longitudinal performance on an executive functioning task among individuals with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and the impact of obesity on performance.Participants completed the Trail Making Test Part B (TMT-B), which is an executive functioning task that measured cognitive flexibility, at baseline, 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analyses were used to assess participants' initial performance on the task, as well the trajectories of growth on the task across time points. Additionally, body mass index (BMI) was included in the estimations of fixed and random effects as a predictor of performance.There were no significant differences between obese and non-obese individuals on the cognitive flexibility task at baseline. However, obese and non-obese individuals differed significantly in their linear and quadratic rates of growth across time points.This study suggests that obese and non-obese individuals may differentially respond to Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) treatment (as related to cognitive flexibility). Future research should examine the impact of weight loss on the neuropsychological sequelae of obese individuals with OSAS.
| S-EPMC4654996 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Silver-Russell syndrome (SRS) is a rare imprinting disorder characterized by prenatal and postnatal growth retardation. The two principal causes of SRS are loss of methylation on chromosome 11p15 (11p15 LOM) and maternal uniparental disomy of chromosome 7 (UPD(7)mat). Knowledge of the neuropsychological profile of SRS remains sparse and incomplete even if several difficulties related to attention and learning have been reported both in the literature and by patients with SRS. These difficulties could be the result of troubles in different cognitive domains, but also of executive dysfunction. Nevertheless, executive functioning has never been investigated, even though executive functions play an essential role in psychological development, and are extensively involved in daily life. The present study explored the executive functioning of individuals with SRS due to UPD(7)mat or 11p15 LOM. A battery of executive tasks assessing cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, and working memory, together with a task assessing sustained attention, was administered to 19 individuals with SRS (13-39 years) and 19 healthy controls. The Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function was also completed by the participants' families. The results showed that participants with SRS had similar performance (z-scores) to our controls, in a context of normal intellectual efficiency. Group comparisons with Bayesian statistics showed a single difference between the 11p15 LOM and control groups: the completion time for part A of the Trail Making Test appeared to be longer in the 11p15 LOM group than in the control group. However, at the clinical level, several participants with SRS had clinically significant scores on various measures of EFs. Thus, the cognitive phenotype of SRS did not appear to be characterized by executive dysfunction, but individuals with SRS could be at high risk of developing executive dysfunction or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. These results provide new insights into the neuropsychological profile of individuals with SRS.
| S-EPMC9858375 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Frontal lobe structures decline faster than most other brain regions in older adults. Age-related change in the frontal lobe is associated with poorer executive function (e.g., working memory, switching/set-shifting, and inhibitory control). The effects and presence of frontal lobe white matter hyperintensities (WMH) on executive function in normal aging is relatively unknown. The current study assessed relationships between region-specific frontal WMH load and cognitive performance in healthy older adults using three executive function tasks from the NIH Toolbox (NIHTB) Cognition Battery. A cohort of 279 healthy older adults ages 65-88 completed NIHTB and 3T T1-weighted and FLAIR MRI. Lesion Segmentation Toolbox quantified WMH volume and generated lesion probability maps. Individual lesion maps were registered to the Desikan-Killiany atlas in FreeSurfer 6.0 to define regions of interest (ROI). Independent linear regressions assessed relationships between executive function performance and region-specific WMH in frontal lobe ROIs. All models included age, sex, education, estimated total intracranial volume, multi-site scanner differences, and cardiovascular disease risk using Framingham criteria as covariates. Poorer set-shifting performance was associated with greater WMH load in three frontal ROIs including bilateral superior frontal (left β = -0.18, FDR-p = 0.02; right β = -0.20, FDR-p = 0.01) and right medial orbitofrontal (β = -0.17, FDR-p = 0.02). Poorer inhibitory performance associated with higher WMH load in one frontal ROI, the right superior frontal (right β = -0.21, FDR-p = 0.01). There were no significant associations between working memory and WMH in frontal ROIs. Our study demonstrates that location and pattern of frontal WMH may be important to assess when examining age-related differences in cognitive functions involving switching/set-shifting and inhibition. On the other hand, working memory performance was not related to presence of frontal WMH in this sample. These data suggest that WMH may contribute selectively to age-related declines in executive function. Findings emerged beyond predictors known to be associated with WMH presence, including age and cardiovascular disease risk. The spread of WMH within the frontal lobes may play a key role in the neuropsychological profile of cognitive aging. Further research should explore whether early intervention on modifiable vascular factors or cognitive interventions targeted for executive abilities may help mitigate the effect of frontal WMH on executive function.
| S-EPMC8273864 | biostudies-literature
Project description:OBJECTIVE:While individuals with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) are at increased risk for a variety of functional impairments and psychiatric disorders, including psychosis, not all individuals with 22q11DS experience negative outcomes. Efforts to further understand which childhood variables best predict adult functional outcomes are needed, especially those that investigate childhood executive functioning abilities. METHODS:This longitudinal study followed 63 individuals with 22q11DS and 43 control participants over 9 years. Childhood executive functioning ability was assessed using both rater-based and performance-based measures and tested as predictors of young adult outcomes. RESULTS:Childhood global executive functioning abilities and parent report of child executive functioning abilities were the most consistent predictors of young adult outcomes. The study group moderated the relationship between child executive functioning and young adult outcomes for several outcomes such that the relationships were stronger in the 22q11DS sample. CONCLUSION:Rater-based and performance-based measures of childhood executive functioning abilities predicted young adult outcomes in individuals with and without 22q11DS. Executive functioning could be a valuable target for treatment in children with 22q11DS for improving not only childhood functioning but also adult outcomes. (JINS, 2018, 24, 905-916).
| S-EPMC6211806 | biostudies-literature
Project description:In this work, we examined the longitudinal measurement invariance of a battery composed of distinct cognitive parameters. A sample of 86 individuals (53.5% females; mean age = 65.73), representative of the Portuguese older population, with respect to sex, age and level of education was assessed twice over an average of two years. By means of a confirmatory factor analysis approach, we tested whether a two-factor solution [corresponding to measures of memory performance (MEM) and executive functioning (EXEC)] was reliable over time. Nested models of longitudinal invariance demonstrated the existence of partial strong invariance over time. In other words, this indicates that there is an equivalence of the factorial structure and factor loadings for all items; this was also observed for the item intercepts for all the items, except for one of the items from the EXEC dimension. Stability coefficients revealed high associations between the dimensions over time and that, whereas there was a significant decline of the MEM across time, this was not observed for the EXEC dimension. These findings reveal that changes in MEM and EXEC scores can be attributed to true changes on these constructs, enabling the use of this battery as a reliable method to study cognitive aging.
| S-EPMC6161843 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Declines in cognitive functioning are commonly experienced with aging, yet there is wide variation in the nature and extent of these changes. Previous research has shown associations between the frequency of engaging in stimulating cognitive activities and performance on cognitive tests. However, it is not known whether it is important to increase the amount of cognitive activity as one gets older in order to curtail cognitive declines. We examined cognitive activities and cognition in a national sample of 2,130 community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults from the Midlife in the United States longitudinal study. Participants completed cognitive assessments of episodic memory (EM) and executive functioning (EF) on two occasions, ~9 years apart. At the first assessment, participants ranged in age between 33 and 83 years (M = 55.76, SD = 11.09), with 56.1% women. Multilevel models were tested to examine educational level and change in cognitive activity as predictors of change in EM and EF, controlling for initial level of cognitive activity and key correlates of cognitive decline. Results indicated that increases in cognitive activity were important over and above earlier levels of cognitive activity for reducing declines in EF. Further analysis also showed differential results by educational level. Increased cognitive activity was not associated with changes in EF among individuals with a college degree. In contrast, individuals without a college degree who increased their cognitive activity showed significantly less decline in EF compared to those without a college degree who decreased or maintained their cognitive activity across the 9 years. Thus, the results suggest that increased engagement in cognitive activity makes more of a difference for EF declines among those without a college degree. The results have particular relevance given that aging-related changes in domains such as work status, health, or social relationships can lead to reductions in stimulating cognitive activities. The findings emphasize the importance of increasing cognitive activities especially among those with lower educational attainment.
| S-EPMC8358146 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Our planet is facing significant changes of biodiversity across spatial scales. Although the negative effects of local biodiversity (α diversity) loss on ecosystem stability are well documented, the consequences of biodiversity changes at larger spatial scales, in particular biotic homogenization, that is, reduced species turnover across space (β diversity), remain poorly known. Using data from 39 grassland biodiversity experiments, we examine the effects of β diversity on the stability of simulated landscapes while controlling for potentially confounding biotic and abiotic factors. Our results show that higher β diversity generates more asynchronous dynamics among local communities and thereby contributes to the stability of ecosystem productivity at larger spatial scales. We further quantify the relative contributions of α and β diversity to ecosystem stability and find a relatively stronger effect of α diversity, possibly due to the limited spatial scale of our experiments. The stabilizing effects of both α and β diversity lead to a positive diversity-stability relationship at the landscape scale. Our findings demonstrate the destabilizing effect of biotic homogenization and suggest that biodiversity should be conserved at multiple spatial scales to maintain the stability of ecosystem functions and services.
| S-EPMC8244107 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Theoretical and empirical advances have revealed the importance of biodiversity for stabilizing ecosystem functions through time. Despite the global degradation of soils, whether the loss of soil microbial diversity can destabilize ecosystem functioning is poorly understood. Here, we experimentally quantified the contribution of soil fungal and bacterial communities to the temporal stability of four key ecosystem functions related to biogeochemical cycling. Microbial diversity enhanced the temporal stability of all ecosystem functions and this pattern was particularly strong in plant-soil mesocosms with reduced microbial richness where over 50% of microbial taxa were lost. The stabilizing effect of soil biodiversity was linked to asynchrony among microbial taxa whereby different soil fungi and bacteria promoted different ecosystem functions at different times. Our results emphasize the need to conserve soil biodiversity for the provisioning of multiple ecosystem functions that soils provide to the society.
| S-EPMC7987343 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The objective of the study was to compare executive functioning (EF) profiles across several pediatric medical conditions and explore the influence of age of diagnosis and evaluation. A retrospective, cross-sectional study of 734 children aged 5 to 18 years was conducted across five medical groups (brain tumor, leukemia [ALL], epilepsy [EPI], neurofibromatosis type 1 [NF1], and ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency [OTC-D]), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) controls, and matched healthy controls. We compared groups across the scales of a parent-completed Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning (BRIEF) using a repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). Separate ANOVAs were conducted to look at age factors. The results showed that the ADHD group differed from all other groups and had the highest level of reported EF problems. The NF1 and OTC-D groups differed significantly from the healthy comparison group for overall EF problems, while the EPI and cancer groups did not. Working memory was the most elevated scale across medical groups, followed by plan/organize. Children with medical disorders were two to four times more likely than healthy controls to have clinically significant problems in several EF domains. There was a main effect for age at diagnosis and age at evaluation. A subset of children with medical disorders were found to have parent-reported EF difficulties, with particular vulnerability noted in working memory and organizational/planning skills. This has relevance for the development of interventions that may be helpful across disorders. Children with particular diagnoses and earlier age of diagnosis and evaluation had greater reported EF problems.
| S-EPMC4703575 | biostudies-literature