The effect of prior caffeine consumption on neuropsychological test performance: a placebo-controlled study

YesBackground: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the prior consumption of 200mg of pure caffeine affected neuropsychological test scores in a group of elderly participants aged over 60 years. Method: Using a double blind placebo vs. caffeine design, participants were randomly assigned to receive 200mg of caffeine or placebo. A neuropsychological assessment testing the domains of general cognitive function, processing speed, semantic memory, episodic memory, executive function, working memory and short-term memory was carried out. Results: Significant interaction effects between age, caffeine and scores of executive function and processing speed were found; participants who had received caffeine showed a decline in performance with increasing age. This effect was not seen for participants who received placebo. Conclusion: The results highlight the need to consider and control prior caffeine consumption when scoring neuropsychological assessments in the elderly which is important for accuracy of diagnosis and corresponding normative data

Time of day and caffeine influence some neuropsychological tests in the elderly

YesWe report that performance on neuropsychological tests used in the diagnosis of dementia can be influenced by external factors such as time of day (TOD) and caffeine. This study investigates TOD effects on cognitive performance in the elderly. The optimal TOD at which an individual is at their maximal arousal alters with age and in the elderly typically occurs in the morning. Neuropsychological test scores from healthy elderly participants were analysed to determine whether TOD affected performance. Interactions between caffeine and TOD were also investigated. Across two data sets that were analysed, significant TOD effects were noted for Pattern Comparison Speed (PCS), Letter Comparison Speed (LCS), Trail Making Test Part A, Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Graded Naming Test (GNT), revealing a decline in test scores as TOD increases. Significant interactions between TOD, age and the PCS, LCS and Trail Making part A were noted in data set one. In data set two, where caffeine intake had been controlled for, significant interactions between caffeine, TOD and scores on the MMSE and GNT were found. The TOD and caffeine effects highlight the need to control for these external factors when scoring the assessments. This conclusion has implications for the clinical procedure of diagnosis and treatment of dementia and Alzheimer’s

Does the bilingual advantage extend to trilingualism?

YesThis study examined whether the proposed bilingual advantage in inhibitory control and working memory can be extended to a trilingual advantage, and assessed any age-related effects on a continuum in young adults to older adults. Trilinguals, bilinguals and monolinguals’ performance on the Simon task and a numerical version of the N-back task was compared. On the Simon task, there was no language group difference observed, although the data show an age-related decline in inhibitory control only in trilinguals, but not in bilinguals or monolinguals. No clear language group differences were observed between trilinguals and bilinguals on the N-back task, however an overall trilingual and bilingual disadvantage, compared to monolinguals, was observed. Together the results suggest that managing two or three languages, compared to just one, may have a negative impact on inhibitory control and working memory performance. Importantly, they highlight the need to control for a possible confounding effect of including trilinguals/multilinguals in bilingual cohorts and to ensure that participants in monolingual cohorts speak only one language

A survey of breastfeeding attitudes and health locus of control in the Nigerian population

YesBreastfeeding is important to infant health and survival in sub-Saharan Africa. To promote breastfeeding effectively, understanding of psychological factors associated with infant feeding choices is required. This study investigated breastfeeding attitudes and health locus of control (HLoC) in a Nigerian community sample. Men and women (N=400) (71% female; mean age 34.2 years/ range 18–86 years) were recruited through community groups in Nigeria. Self-report survey by questionnaire measured breastfeeding attitudes using the Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale (IIFAS) and health locus of control using the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale (MHLoCs). IIFAS scores (mean=57.7; sd=7.8) became less favourable with increasing age (p=0.02). Men had higher IIFAS scores (mean=58.6; sd=7.6) than women (mean=56.6; sd=8.0) indicating more favourable attitudes toward breastfeeding (p=0.02). Women scored higher than men on external chance HLoC (ECHLoC) (p=0.003) and external powerful others HLoC (EPHLoC) (p=0.02). Increasing age was associated with higher scores on ECHLoC (p<0.01) and EPHLoC (p<0.01). Multiple linear regression analysis was significant (p<0.001) and explained 7.8% of variance in breastfeeding attitude. Lower IIFAS scores, reflecting more negative attitudes to breastfeeding, were associated with higher ECHLoC (p<0.01) and EPOHLoC (p<0.05). Higher IIFAS scores, reflecting more positive attitudes to breastfeeding, were associated with greater IHLoC (p<0.01). Neither age nor gender were associated with IIFAS scores in the final model. This implies a need to explore health locus of control when promoting positive attitudes to breastfeeding and supporting families in breastfeeding advocacy

Interactive Digital Serious Games for the Assessment, Rehabilitation, and Prediction of Dementia

YesDementia is a serious, progressive, and often debilitating illness with no known cure, having a severe adverse effect on memory, behaviour, reasoning, and communication. A comprehensive review of current refereed research material in the use of games in this area is scarce and suffers from being orientated towards commercially available games or derivatives such as “Dr. Kawashima’s brain training.” There is much lesser concern for bespoke research grade alternatives. This review will attempt to assess the current state of the art in research orientated games for dementia, importantly identifying systems capable of prediction before the onset of the disease. It can be ascertained from the literature reviewed that there are clearly a large number of interactive computer game based mechanisms used for dementia. However, these are each highly intrusive in terms of affecting normal living and the patient is aware of being tested; furthermore their long-term or real benefits are unknown as is their effect over conventional tests. It is important to predict cognitive impairment at a stage early enough to maximise benefit from treatment and therapeutic intervention. Considering the availability, use, and increasing power of modern mobile smartphones, it is logically plausible to explore this platform for dementia healthcare

Using a virtual environment to assess cognition in the elderly

YesEarly diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is essential if treatments are to be administered at an earlier point in time before neurons degenerate to a stage beyond repair. In order for early detection to occur tools used to detect the disorder must be sensitive to the earliest of cognitive impairments. Virtual reality (VR) technology offers opportunities to provide products which attempt to mimic daily life situations, as much as is possible, within the computational environment. This may be useful for the detection of cognitive difficulties. We develop a virtual simulation designed to assess visuospatial memory in order to investigate cognitive function in a group of healthy elderly participants and those with a mild cognitive impairment. Participants were required to guide themselves along a virtual path to reach a virtual destination which they were required to remember. The preliminary results indicate that this virtual simulation has the potential to be used for detection of early AD since significant correlations of scores on the virtual environment with existing neuropsychological tests were found. Furthermore, the test discriminated between healthy elderly participants and those with a mild cognitive impairment (MCI)

A cross-reference table between the Protein Data Bank of macromolecular structures and the National Biomedical Research Foundation-Protein Identification Resource amino acid sequence data bank

The National Biomedical Research Foundation-Protein Identification Resource (NBRF-PIR) and the Protein Data Bank at Brookhaven National Laboratory (PDB) both contain protein sequences. We have prepared a cross-reference index of the sequences in these data banks, and compared the data. Of the 270 cases of sequences of the same protein appearing in both data bases, for only 31% are the sequences identical. This is often the result of a difference in the state of maturation of the proteins rather than experimental error. Nevertheless is useful to be aware that the sequence information in these two data archives should not be regarded as redundant