The current state of artificial intelligence-augmented digitized neurocognitive screening test

The cognitive screening test is a brief cognitive examination that could be easily performed in a clinical setting. However, one of the main drawbacks of this test was that only a paper-based version was available, which restricts the test to be manually administered and graded by medical personnel at the health centers. The main solution to these problems was to develop a potential remote assessment for screening individuals with cognitive impairment. Currently, multiple studies have been adopting artificial intelligence (AI) technology into these tests, evolving the conventional paper-based neurocognitive test into a digitized AI-assisted neurocognitive test. These studies provided credible evidence of the potential of AI-augmented cognitive screening tests to be better and provided the framework for future studies to further improve the implementation of AI technology in the cognitive screening test. The objective of this review article is to discuss different types of AI used in digitized cognitive screening tests and their advantages and disadvantages

Disrupted cerebral metabolite levels and lower nadir CD4+ counts are linked to brain volume deficits in 210 HIV-infected patients on stable treatmentpatients on stable treatment

AbstractCognitive impairment and brain injury are common in people with HIV/AIDS, even when viral replication is effectively suppressed with combined antiretroviral therapies (cART). Metabolic and structural abnormalities may promote cognitive decline, but we know little about how these measures relate in people on stable cART. Here we used tensor-based morphometry (TBM) to reveal the 3D profile of regional brain volume variations in 210 HIV+ patients scanned with whole-brain MRI at 1.5T (mean age: 48.6±8.4years; all receiving cART). We identified brain regions where the degree of atrophy was related to HIV clinical measures and cerebral metabolite levels assessed with magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Regional brain volume reduction was linked to lower nadir CD4+ count, with a 1–2% white matter volume reduction for each 25-point reduction in nadir CD4+. Even so, brain volume measured by TBM showed no detectable association with current CD4+ count, AIDS Dementia Complex (ADC) stage, HIV RNA load in plasma or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), duration of HIV infection, antiretroviral CNS penetration-effectiveness (CPE) scores, or years on cART, after controlling for demographic factors, and for multiple comparisons. Elevated glutamate and glutamine (Glx) and lower N-acetylaspartate (NAA) in the frontal white matter, basal ganglia, and mid frontal cortex — were associated with lower white matter, putamen and thalamus volumes, and ventricular and CSF space expansion. Reductions in brain volumes in the setting of chronic and stable disease are strongly linked to a history of immunosuppression, suggesting that delays in initiating cART may result in imminent and irreversible brain damage

Progressive cerebral injury in the setting of chronic HIV infection and antiretroviral therapy

Emerging evidence suggests that CNS injury and neurocognitive impairment persist in the setting of chronic HIV infection and combination antiretroviral therapy (CART). Yet whether neurological injury can progress in this setting remains uncertain

Microstructural white matter integrity in HIV-infected individuals in the HAART era : a diffusion tensor imaging study

Approximately half of HIV-infected people exhibit cognitive impairment, which has been related to cerebral white matter damage. Despite the effectiveness of antiretroviral (ARV) treatment, cognitive impairment remains common even in individuals with undetectable viral loads. One explanation for this may be subtherapeutic concentrations of some ARVs in the CNS. We utilized diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate the relationship of white matter integrity to cognitive impairment and ARV treatment variables, including CSF viral load and an index of the CNS penetration of ARVs. Participants included 39 HIV-infected (HIV+) individuals and 25 seronegative subjects. DTI indices were mapped onto a common whole-brain white matter tract skeleton, allowing between-subject voxelwise comparisons. The total HIV+ group exhibited abnormal white matter in the internal capsule, inferior longitudinal fasciculus, and optic radiation; while HIV+ with AIDS exhibited more widespread damage, including in the internal capsule and the corpus callosum. Cognitive impairment in HIV+ was related to white matter injury in the internal capsule, corpus callosum, and superior longitudinal fasciculus. White matter injury was not found to be associated with HIV viral load or estimated CNS penetration of ARVs. DTI was useful in identifying changes in white matter tracts associated with more advanced HIV infection. Relationships between diffusion alterations in specific white matter tracts and cognitive impairment support the potential utility of DTI in examining the anatomical underpinnings of HIV-related cognitive impairment. The study also confirms that CNS injury is evident in persons infected with HIV despite effective ARV treatmen

A method for collecting and interpreting interpersonal behavioral data in Second Life: A sample study on Asians’, Blacks’, and Whites’ social distances

In this paper, we describe a method for collecting and interpreting interpersonal behavioral data in the Virtual World, Second Life. To illustrate this method we provide details for the implementation of a study on social distances between Black, White, and Asian participants in Second Life. Participants’ avatars were fitted with a virtual object containing a computer script that recorded their coordinates on the Second Life grid at one-second intervals. Participants interacted at a social event in a controlled environment in Second Life for 15 minutes. A computer algorithm (developed for this study in the statistical analysis program, R) was used to calculate each participant’s average social distance from one another across the 15-minute event. Average social distance scores were then aggregated into social distance towards racial groups as a whole (i.e., each participants’ social distance towards Blacks, Whites, and Asians). This paper provides details for researchers interested in adopting or modifying our Virtual World method for interpersonal behavioral data collection and interpretation. Specifically we focus on the development of a controlled Second Life environment, the adaptation of a Second Life computer script (adapted from Yee & Bailenson, 2008), the computer algorithm for calculating social distances, and our methods for recruiting and conducting study trials

White matter tract injury and cognitive impairment in human immunodeficiency virus-infected individuals.

Approximately half of those infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) exhibit cognitive impairment, which has been related to cerebral white matter damage. Despite the effectiveness of antiretroviral treatment, cognitive impairment remains common even in individuals with undetectable viral loads. One explanation for this may be subtherapeutic concentrations of some antiretrovirals in the central nervous system (CNS). We utilized diffusion tensor imaging and a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation to investigate the relationship of white matter integrity to cognitive impairment and antiretroviral treatment variables. Participants included 39 HIV-infected individuals (49% with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome [AIDS]; mean CD4 = 529) and 25 seronegative subjects. Diffusion tensor imaging indices were mapped onto a common whole-brain white matter tract skeleton, allowing between-subject voxelwise comparisons. The total HIV-infected group exhibited abnormal white matter in the internal capsule, inferior longitudinal fasciculus, and optic radiation; whereas those with AIDS exhibited more widespread damage, including in the internal capsule and the corpus callosum. Cognitive impairment in the HIV-infected group was related to white matter injury in the internal capsule, corpus callosum, and superior longitudinal fasciculus. White matter injury was not found to be associated with HIV viral load or estimated CNS penetration of antiretrovirals. Diffusion tensor imaging was useful in identifying changes in white matter tracts associated with more advanced HIV infection. Relationships between diffusion alterations in specific white matter tracts and cognitive impairment support the potential utility of diffusion tensor imaging in examining the anatomical underpinnings of HIV-related cognitive impairment. The study also confirms that CNS injury is evident in persons infected with HIV despite effective antiretroviral treatment