Scenery Picture Memory Test: A new type of quick and effective screening test to detect early stage Alzheimer's disease patients

It is highly desirable to develop a neuropsychological screening test which is sensitive to the early stage of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and is easy to administer at the primary care physician's (PCP's) office.Participants were 128 AD patients and 54 healthy volunteers. Brief cognitive screening tests were administered to the participants including the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Clock Drawing Test (CDT), Verbal Fluency Test (VFT), a Verbal Category Cued Memory test (CCMT) and the Scenery Picture Memory Test (SPMT). In the SPMT, a scenery picture of a living room containing 23 familiar objects was used. The administration of the SPMT comprised the first shallow memory session (Pict 1) and the second deep memory session (Pict 2). The area under the receiver–operator curve (AUC) was used to compare the efficacy of SPMT with other cognitive tests.Pict 1, which requires less than 2 min to complete, had the same AUC as Pict 2, and showed significantly larger AUC than MMSE, CDT and VFT for all (MMSE 19–23) and very mild (MMSE ≥ 24) AD patients. When we conducted the similar analysis separately for those younger than 75 years and those aged 75 years or older, we obtained the same results as above among the older age group. Pict 1 showed larger AUC than CCMT in overall sample and also in the older age group, although the difference was not statistically significant.The SPMT could be useful for detection of mild and very mild AD in settings even where time is limited.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78663/1/j.1447-0594.2009.00576.x.pd

MC-ViViT: Multi-branch Classifier-ViViT to Detect Mild Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults using Facial Videos

Deep machine learning models including Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) have been successful in the detection of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) using medical images, questionnaires, and videos. This paper proposes a novel Multi-branch Classifier-Video Vision Transformer (MC-ViViT) model to distinguish MCI from those with normal cognition by analyzing facial features. The data comes from the I-CONECT, a behavioral intervention trial aimed at improving cognitive function by providing frequent video chats. MC-ViViT extracts spatiotemporal features of videos in one branch and augments representations by the MC module. The I-CONECT dataset is challenging as the dataset is imbalanced containing Hard-Easy and Positive-Negative samples, which impedes the performance of MC-ViViT. We propose a loss function for Hard-Easy and Positive-Negative Samples (HP Loss) by combining Focal loss and AD-CORRE loss to address the imbalanced problem. Our experimental results on the I-CONECT dataset show the great potential of MC-ViViT in predicting MCI with a high accuracy of 90.63\% accuracy on some of the interview videos.Comment: 12 pages, 5 tables, 5 figures, 17 equation

Differentiating among stages of cognitive impairment in aging: Version 3 of the Uniform Data Set (UDS) neuropsychological test battery and MoCA index scores

Introduction: Federally funded Alzheimer\u27s Disease Centers in the United States have been using a standardized neuropsychological test battery as part of the National Alzheimer\u27s Coordinating Center Uniform Data Set (UDS) since 2005. Version 3 (V3) of the UDS replaced the previous version (V2) in 2015. We compared V2 and V3 neuropsychological tests with respect to their ability to distinguish among the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) global scores of 0, 0.5, and 1. Methods: First, we matched participants receiving V2 tests (V2 cohort) and V3 tests (V3 cohort) in their cognitive functions using tests common to both versions. Then, we compared receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) area under the curve in differentiating CDRs for the remaining tests. Results: Some V3 tests performed better than V2 tests in differentiating between CDR 0.5 and 0, but the improvement was limited to Caucasian participants. Discussion: Further efforts to improve the ability for early identification of cognitive decline among diverse racial groups are required

P3‐005: Effects of Aerobic, Resistance, or Combined Training on Cognitive Function in Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152606/1/alzjjalz2016061662.pd

Computer mouse movement patterns: A potential marker of mild cognitive impairment

AbstractIntroductionSubtle changes in cognitively demanding activities occur in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) but are difficult to assess with conventional methods. In an exploratory study, we examined whether patterns of computer mouse movements obtained from routine home computer use discriminated between older adults with and without MCI.MethodsParticipants were 42 cognitively intact and 20 older adults with MCI enrolled in a longitudinal study of in-home monitoring technologies. Mouse pointer movement variables were computed during one week of routine home computer use using algorithms that identified and characterized mouse movements within each computer use session.ResultsMCI was associated with making significantly fewer total mouse moves (P < .01) and making mouse movements that were more variable, less efficient, and with longer pauses between movements (P < .05). Mouse movement measures were significantly associated with several cognitive domains (P values <.01–.05).DiscussionRemotely monitored computer mouse movement patterns are a potential early marker of real-world cognitive changes in MCI

Characteristics associated with willingness to participate in a randomized controlled behavioral clinical trial using home-based personal computers and a webcam

Abstract Background Trials aimed at preventing cognitive decline through cognitive stimulation among those with normal cognition or mild cognitive impairment are of significant importance in delaying the onset of dementia and reducing dementia prevalence. One challenge in these prevention trials is sample recruitment bias. Those willing to volunteer for these trials could be socially active, in relatively good health, and have high educational levels and cognitive function. These participants’ characteristics could reduce the generalizability of study results and, more importantly, mask trial effects. We developed a randomized controlled trial to examine whether conversation-based cognitive stimulation delivered through personal computers, a webcam and the internet would have a positive effect on cognitive function among older adults with normal cognition or mild cognitive impairment. To examine the selectivity of samples, we conducted a mass mail-in survey distribution among community-dwelling older adults, assessing factors associated with a willingness to participate in the trial. Methods Two thousand mail-in surveys were distributed to retirement communities in order to collect data on demographics, the nature and frequency of social activities, personal computer use and additional health-related variables, and interest in the prevention study. We also asked for their contact information if they were interested in being contacted as potential participants in the trial. Results Of 1,102 surveys returned (55.1% response rate), 983 surveys had complete data for all the variables of interest. Among them, 309 showed interest in the study and provided their contact information (operationally defined as the committed with interest group), 74 provided contact information without interest in the study (committed without interest group), 66 showed interest, but provided no contact information (interest only group), and 534 showed no interest and provided no contact information (no interest group). Compared with the no interest group, the committed with interest group were more likely to be personal computer users (odds ratio (OR) = 2.78), physically active (OR = 1.03) and had higher levels of loneliness (OR = 1.16). Conclusion Increasing potential participants’ familiarity with a personal computer and the internet before trial recruitment could increase participation rates and improve the generalizability of future studies of this type. Trial registration The trial was registered on 29 March 2012 at ClinicalTirals.gov (ID number NCT01571427 ).http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111291/1/13063_2013_Article_2385.pd

Depressive Symptoms in Older Adult Couples: Associations with dyadic physical health, social engagement, and close friends

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine associations between level of depressive symptoms in older adult spouse/partner couples and their physical health and social factors (social activity and number of close friends). Methods: Using data from 116 community-dwelling couples (age 76.2 ± 8.5), we simultaneously analyzed associations between depressive symptoms (Geriatric Depression Scale, range 0–11) and dyadic physical health, engagement in social activities, and connectedness with close friends. Results: Greater engagement in social activities was associated with fewer depressive symptoms in men, whereas more close friendships were associated with fewer depressive symptoms in women, controlling for partner eects, age, education, and cognitive function, with good model fit. Additionally, more disparate physical health within the couple (latent incongruence score) was associated with greater depressive symptoms in men. Discussion: Less social activity and fewer close friends were associated with depressive symptoms in older adult couples, but may be distinctly influential depending on gender and in the context of the older adult couple’s physical health

Characteristics Associated with Willingness to Participate in a Randomized Controlled Behavioral Clinical Trial Using Home-Based Personal Computers and a Webcam

BACKGROUND: Trials aimed at preventing cognitive decline through cognitive stimulation among those with normal cognition or mild cognitive impairment are of significant importance in delaying the onset of dementia and reducing dementia prevalence. One challenge in these prevention trials is sample recruitment bias. Those willing to volunteer for these trials could be socially active, in relatively good health, and have high educational levels and cognitive function. These participants\u27 characteristics could reduce the generalizability of study results and, more importantly, mask trial effects. We developed a randomized controlled trial to examine whether conversation-based cognitive stimulation delivered through personal computers, a webcam and the internet would have a positive effect on cognitive function among older adults with normal cognition or mild cognitive impairment. To examine the selectivity of samples, we conducted a mass mail-in survey distribution among community-dwelling older adults, assessing factors associated with a willingness to participate in the trial. METHODS: Two thousand mail-in surveys were distributed to retirement communities in order to collect data on demographics, the nature and frequency of social activities, personal computer use and additional health-related variables, and interest in the prevention study. We also asked for their contact information if they were interested in being contacted as potential participants in the trial. RESULTS: Of 1,102 surveys returned (55.1% response rate), 983 surveys had complete data for all the variables of interest. Among them, 309 showed interest in the study and provided their contact information (operationally defined as the committed with interest group), 74 provided contact information without interest in the study (committed without interest group), 66 showed interest, but provided no contact information (interest only group), and 534 showed no interest and provided no contact information (no interest group). Compared with the no interest group, the committed with interest group were more likely to be personal computer users (odds ratio (OR) = 2.78), physically active (OR = 1.03) and had higher levels of loneliness (OR = 1.16). CONCLUSION: Increasing potential participants\u27 familiarity with a personal computer and the internet before trial recruitment could increase participation rates and improve the generalizability of future studies of this type. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial was registered on 29 March 2012 at ClinicalTirals.gov (ID number NCT01571427)

P4‐426: Waist Circumference And Domain‐Specific Cognitive Function Among The Non‐Demented Japanese Elderly: Results From The Takashima Study

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152729/1/alzjjalz2019064098.pd