Progressive gender differences of structural brain networks in healthy adults: A longitudinal, diffusion tensor imaging study

10.1371/journal.pone.0118857PLoS ONE103e011885

Studies of cerebral laterality in early onset schizophrenia

Accumulating evidence suggests that schizophrenia is associated with altered cerebral laterality secondary to a deviation from normal brain development. A number of findings suggest that age of onset of psychosis and gender may have a significant bearing on the nature and extent of the deviation. In order to examine this, early onset patients (12-19 years of age) were compared to healthy controls and later onset patients in a series of studies using standard neuropsychological techniques, experimental divided visual field (DVF) measures and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Specific attention was directed to examining the influence of sex and age of onset on hemispheric specialisation. In the neuropsychological studies, early onset patients (n=35) demonstrated significant impairment of intellectual functioning relative to normal adolescents (n=35) but no significant VIQ-PIQ discrepancy. Earlier age of onset was significantly correlated with reduced VIQ and FSIQ. Early onset patients showed significant reduction in hand skill, increased incidence of non-right eye preference and crossed hand-eye dominance. In addition, patients demonstrated reduced right ear advantage (REA) in dichotic listening and inability to modulate ear advantage by directing attention. In the DVF experiments, early onset patients (n=20) demonstrated normal lateralisation in phonological word recognition but sexually dimorphic anomalies in lexico-semantic processing relative to normal controls (n=20). Males showed impairment in imageable word recognition whereas females were more impaired in emotional word recognition. In both cases, the observed anomalies implicated a disturbance in the semantic network subserved by left hemisphere ventromedial and superior temporal heteromodal cortex. In MRI investigations, early onset patients (n=33) had smaller cerebral hemispheres and larger lateral ventricles than controls (n=32). Male patients showed reduction of leftward asymmetry in temporal lobe volume and female patients showed reversal of rightward asymmetry. Significant correlations were found between left ventricular brain ratio and reaction time to phonological word processing. Together, the combined results indicate that early onset schizophrenia is associated with a significant but selective alteration of cerebral laterality, that age of onset is likely to be a determinant of this alteration and that, to some extent, these changes are mediated by gender. The results are discussed within the context of neurodevelopmental aetiology.</p

Pulmonary function and cognitive decline in an older Chinese population in Singapore

10.3109/15412555.2012.706341Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease95555-56

Super-cognition in aging: Cognitive profiles and associated lifestyle factors

10.1080/23279095.2019.1570928Applied Neuropsychology:Adult1-

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment is superior to the MiniMental State Examination in detecting patients at higher risk of dementia

10.1017/S1041610212001068International Psychogeriatrics24111749-1755INPS

The Equivalence and Difference between the English and Chinese Language Versions of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status

Objective: Chinese is the most commonly spoken language in the world. The availability of Chinese translations of assessment scales is useful for research in multi-ethnic and multinational studies. This study aimed to establish whether each of the Chinese translations (Mandarin, Hokkien, Teochew, and Cantonese) of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) achieved measurement equivalence to the English version.Method: Participants included 1856 ethnic Chinese, older adults. The RBANS was administered in the language/dialect according to the participants’ preference by interviewers who were fluent in that language/dialect. Multiple regression analysis was used to adjust for demographic and clinical differences between participants who spoke different languages/dialects. Equivalence (practical equivalence) was declared if the 90% confidence interval for the adjusted mean difference fell entirely within the pre-specified equivalence margin, ±.2 (±.4) standard deviations.Results: The delayed memory index was at least practically equivalent across languages. The Mandarin, Hokkien, and Teochew versions of the immediate memory, language, and total scale score were practically equivalent to the English version; the Cantonese version showed small differences from the English version. Equivalence was not established for the Hokkien and Teochew versions of the visuospatial/constructional index. The attention index was different across languages.Conclusions: Data from the English and Chinese versions for the total scale score, language, delayed, and immediate memory indexes may be pooled for analysis. However, analysis of the attention and visuospatial/constructional indexes from the English and Chinese versions should include a covariate that represents the version in the statistical adjustment