Relationship between IQ at different ages and functional brain connectivity in healthy elders

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Prospective memory impairment in chronic heart failure

Although cognitive deficits are common in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF), no study to date has investigated whether these deficits extend to the capacity to execute delayed intentions (prospective memory, PM). This is a surprising omission given the critical role PM plays in correctly implementing many important CHF self-care behaviors. The present study aimed to provide the first empirical assessment of PM function in people with CHF. The key dependent measure was a laboratory measure of PM that closely simulates PM tasks in daily life - Virtual Week. A group comparison design was used, with 30 CHF patients compared to 30 demographically matched controls. Background measures assessing executive functions, working memory, and verbal memory were also administered. The CHF group exhibited significant PM impairment, with difficulties generalizing across different types of PM tasks (event, time, regular, irregular). The CHF group also had moderate deficits on several of the background cognitive measures. Given the level of impairment remained consistent even on tasks that imposed minimal demands on memory for task content, CHF-related difficulties most likely reflects problems with the prospective component. However, exploratory analyses suggest that difficulties with retrospective memory and global cognition (but not executive control), also contribute to the PM difficulties seen in this group. The implications of these data are discussed, and in particular, it is argued that problems with PM may help explain why patient engagement in CHF self-care behaviors is often poor. (JINS, 2015, 21, 1-10)</p

Associations of negative affective biases and depressive symptoms in a community-based sample

Acknowledgements. We thank professor Jonathan Roiser (University College London, UK) and professor emeritus Ian Deary (University of Edinburgh, UK) for their input on task selection and statistical analysis. We also acknowledge all researchers who have contributed to the collection of data for the current study. Most importantly, we would like to thank all participants of Generation Scotland, and particularly those of the STRADL subcohort, for their participation in the research. Financial support. Stratifying Resilience and Depression Longitudinally is supported by the Wellcome Trust through a Strategic Award (Grant No. 104036/Z/14/Z) and through an Investigator Award (Grant No. 220857/Z/ 20/Z). The Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health Department (Grant No. CZD/16/6), Scottish Funding Council (Grant No. HR03006) and Wellcome Trust (Grant No. 216767/Z/19/Z) provided core support for Generation Scotland.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Associations of negative affective biases and depressive symptoms in a community-based sample

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) was previously associated with negative affective biases. Evidence from larger population-based studies, however, is lacking, including whether biases normalise with remission. We investigated associations between affective bias measures and depressive symptom severity across a large community-based sample, followed by examining differences between remitted individuals and controls. Methods: Participants from Generation Scotland (N = 1109) completed the: (i) Bristol Emotion Recognition Task (BERT), (ii) Face Affective Go/No-go (FAGN), and (iii) Cambridge Gambling Task (CGT). Individuals were classified as MDD-current (n = 43), MDD-remitted (n = 282), or controls (n = 784). Analyses included using affective bias summary measures (primary analyses), followed by detailed emotion/condition analyses of BERT and FAGN (secondary analyses). Results: For summary measures, the only significant finding was an association between greater symptoms and lower risk adjustment for CGT across the sample (individuals with greater symptoms were less likely to bet more, despite increasingly favourable conditions). This was no longer significant when controlling for non-affective cognition. No differences were found for remitted-MDD v. controls. Detailed analysis of BERT and FAGN indicated subtle negative biases across multiple measures of affective cognition with increasing symptom severity, that were independent of non-effective cognition [e.g. greater tendency to rate faces as angry (BERT), and lower accuracy for happy/neutral conditions (FAGN)]. Results for remitted-MDD were inconsistent. Conclusions: This suggests the presence of subtle negative affective biases at the level of emotion/condition in association with depressive symptoms across the sample, over and above those accounted for by non-affective cognition, with no evidence for affective biases in remitted individuals

Cohort profile for the STratifying Resilience and Depression Longitudinally (STRADL) study:A depression-focused investigation of Generation Scotland, using detailed clinical, cognitive, and neuroimaging assessments

Grant information: STRADL is supported by the Wellcome Trust through a Strategic Award (104036/Z/14/Z). GS:SFHS received core support from the CSO of the Scottish Government Health Directorates (CZD/16/6) and the Scottish Funding Council (HR03006). ADM is supported by Innovate UK, the European Commission, the Scottish Funding Council via the Scottish Imaging Network SINAPSE, and the CSO. HCW is supported by a JMAS SIM Fellowship from the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, by an ESAT College Fellowship from the University of Edinburgh, and has received previous funding from the Sackler Trust. LR has previously received financial support from Pfizer (formerly Wyeth) in relation to imaging studies of people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. JDH is supported by the MRC. DJM is an NRS Clinician, funded by the CSO. RMR is supported by the British Heart Foundation. ISP-V and MRM are supported by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at the University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Bristol. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the National Institute for Health Research or the Department of Health; and MRM is also supported by the MRC MC_UU_12013/6). JMW is supported by MRC UK Dementia Research Institute and MRC Centre and project grants, EPSRC, Fondation Leducq, Stroke Association, British Heart Foundation, Alzheimer Society, and the European Union H2020 PHC-03-15 SVDs@Target grant agreement (666881). DJP is supported by Wellcome Trust Longitudinal Population Study funding (216767/Z/19/Z) the Eva Lester bequest to the University of Edinburgh. AMM is additionally supported by the MRC (MC_PC_17209, MC_PC_MR/R01910X/1, MR/S035818/1), The Wellcome Trust (216767/Z/19/Z ), The Sackler Trust, and has previously received research funding from Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and Janssen. Both AMM and IJD are members of The University of Edinburgh Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, part of the cross council Lifelong Health and Wellbeing Initiative (MR/K026992/1); funding from the BBSRC and MRC is gratefully acknowledged. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscriptPeer reviewedPublisher PD

Prospective memory and social cognition in people with chronic heart failure

People affected by chronic heart failure (CHF) suffer from diffuse brain pathology and are consequently at a higher risk of developing cognitive impairment. The aim of this thesis was to examine two areas of cognition in people with CHF, namely prospective memory (PM) and social cognition. This aim was addressed in a series of three experiments. PM and social cognition have not previously been assessed in the CHF population; however, because both of these cognitive processes rely on brain regions that are commonly damaged in people with CHF, it was expected that these areas of cognition would be impaired

Exploring a brightness-drag illusion

A sudden luminance increment on a moving stimulus was perceived significantly along the trajectory, in the direction of motion, from its displayed position. A nonlinear relationship with stimulus speed, for a Fro« hlich-like illusion, but not for the luminance-increment illusion, challenges certain models of spatial mislocalisation and argues for different processes underlying the two illusions

Attitudes of Australian psychologists towards the delivery of therapy via video conferencing technology

Objective This study aims to explore psychologists' attitudes towards the use of video conferencing technology (VCT) to deliver therapy. Method Participants (N = 12) were recruited via opportunistic sampling either via the Australian Psychological Society website or social media. Participants (three males and nine females) were located in Queensland. They were aged between 23 and 50-years of age (mean age = 32.91, SD = 9.36), held varying levels of experience in psychology (<1 year to 12-years) and types of endorsement (e.g. provisional, general, clinical and health). A semistructured interview schedule was applied in‐person (n = 7) or via telephone (n = 5). Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke's (2006) five‐step method for assessing qualitative data in psychology. Results Results indicated that psychologists' attitudes towards VCT to deliver therapy paralleled the tri‐component definition of attitudes proposed by Breckler (1984) and Rajecki (1982 ). Subthemes reflecting these components included perceived limitations or benefits of VCT (i.e. a cognitive component), a sense of comfort when using VCT (i.e. an affective component), and a general tendency to resist or embrace VCT (i.e. a behavioural disposition). Conclusions Key barriers and facilitators identified underscore the need for training to improve knowledge and awareness of VCT, including its evidence base. Specifically, the assistance of ‘embracers’ to provide training in VCT (e.g. adapting microskills to a different medium and using technology flexibly) may also dispel negative views held by psychologists regarding VCT and its effectiveness and consequently facilitate a wider adoption of VCT throughout Australia

Prospective memory impairment in chronic heart failure : A replication study

Cognitive deficits are common in patients with chronic heart failure (HF), but little attention has been given to the investigation of prospective memory (PM) – the ability to execute delayed intentions. Importantly, many aspects of PM are crucial for patient implementation of HF self-care behaviours. Here we provide a replication of our original work involving PM in patients with HF. We compared a group of 51 HF patients to 41 closely matched controls. The primary outcome measure was a laboratory test of PM, Virtual week, which closely simulates PM tasks in daily life. A series of background cognitive tests were also administered. Consistent with our previous work, the HF group had significant PM impairment compared to controls, and these difficulties were generalised across different types of PM tasks. Surprisingly, we did not find any differences in the background cognitive tasks between groups. Compared to controls, the HF group had significant and similar sized deficits on all task parameters assessed (event, time, regular, irregular) of PM function, which likely impacts engagement in HF self-care