Editorial: Neuropsychological and Cognitive-Behavioral Assessment of Neurodegenerative Disease and Rehabilitation Using New Technologies and Virtual Reality

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Validating Driver Behavior and Attitude Measure for Older Italian Drivers and Investigating Their Link to Rare Collision Events

The present study aimed to: (a) validate the factor structures of three scales assessing driving behavior, attitudes toward traffic safety (ATTS) and self-regulation in driving, in a sample of Italian older adults, through confirmatory factor analyses and (b) to determine the effectiveness of these measures in predicting the likelihood and the frequency of collision involvements in the following year. A 28-item driver behavior questionnaire (DBQ), a 16-item ATTS, a 21-item extended driving mobility questionnaire (DMQ-A) were administered to 369 active Italian drivers, aged between 60 and 91 years. Results showed a four-factor structure for the DBQ, a five-factor structure for the ATTS and a two-factor structure for the Extended DMQ-A, as the best fitting models. Hurdle model analysis of count data with extra-zeros showed that all factors of DBQ predicted the likelihood of road collisions. Risky behavior, except for aggressive violations, self-regulation and attitudes toward traffic rules were associated with the frequency of collision involvement. The aforementioned three scales seemed to be a useful and concise suite of instruments assessing risky as well as protective factors of driving behavior in elderly

Memory for familiar locations: The impact of age, education and cognitive efficiency on two neuropsychological allocentric tasks

This research aims to reconsider and support the use of spatial tasks based on familiar geographical information in the neuropsychological assessment of topographical (dis)orientation. Performance on two spatial tasks based on familiar information -l andmark positioning on a map and map of Italy - were compared in two studies assessing allocentric orientation among young and healthy elderly with different levels of education (Study 1) and elderly with and without probable cognitive impairment (Study 2). Results from Study 1 showed that the map of Italy task was affected by education, while the landmark positioning on a map was not. Results of Study 2 showed that both tasks were sensitive to different levels of cognitive functioning in a sample of community-dwelling seniors. Overall, spatial tasks based on mental representation of the hometown environment may be an important supplement in the assessment of allocentric topographical disorientation, discriminating typical from atypical aging

Topographical disorientation in aging. Familiarity with the environment does matter

Topographical disorientation (TD) refers to navigational impairment as an effect of aging or brain damage. Decreases in navigational performance with aging are more due to deficits in the ability to mentally represent space in an object-centered (allocentric) than in a self-centered (egocentric) format. Familiarity/remoteness of spatial memory traces can represent a protective factor for TD in aging. Conversely, using newly learned information for assessment may lead to overestimating TD severity as it combines two contributing factors: heading (allocentric) disorientation and anterograde agnosia. A supplementary evaluation of TD with aging according to ecological spatial tasks is recommended. The core tasks should focus on landmark positioning, both on a blind map (allocentric) and along a route (egocentric) of the hometown so as to disentangle spatial memory for familiar/remote information from decline due to recent encoding of information

Cognitive functioning, subjective memory complaints and risky behaviour predict minor home injuries in elderly

Introduction: Home accidents are one of the major causes of death, particularly in older people, young children and women. Aims: The first aim of this study was to explore the role of subjective memory complaints, cognitive functioning and risky behaviour as predictors of home injuries occurred in a year in a sample of healthy Italian older adults. The second aim was to investigate the role of risky behaviour as a mediator in the relationship between subjective and objective cognitive functioning and home injuries. Methods: One hundred thirty-three community-dwelling older people from southern Italy were administered a battery of tests to evaluate cognitive functioning, subjective memory complaints, and risky behaviour during home activities. Risky behaviour was evaluated using the Domestic Behaviour Questionnaire, created specifically for this purpose. The number of home injuries was recorded for a year throughout monthly telephone interviews. A path analysis was performed to test the following model: cognitive functioning and subjective memory complaints directly influence risky behaviour and number of accidents over a year; risky behaviour mediates the impact of cognitive functioning and subjective memory on number of accidents over a year. Results: Path analysis confirmed the model tested except the role of risky behaviour as a mediator between cognitive functioning and home accidents. Discussion: Risky behaviour could represent a further risk factor in cognitively intact older adults with subjective memory complaints. Conclusions: The assessment of both cognition and behaviour in elderly can make a valuable contribution in preventing home accidents in elderly

An assistive technology program for enabling five adolescents emerging from a minimally conscious state to engage in communication, occupation, and leisure opportunities

Background Post-coma patients emerging from a minimally conscious state may have extensive motor disabilities and pose serious challenges to medical centers and home settings. Objectives To promote academic performance and communication skills of post-coma individuals with traumatic brain injuries emerging from a minimally conscious state through an Assistive Technology setup. To evaluate its effects on the participants' positive participation. To generalize the learning process. To assess the intervention's clinical and social validity. Method Study I included five adolescents exposed to an Assistive Technology setup enabling them with targeted adaptive behaviors. Study II involved fifty external raters in a social validation assessment. Results Data evidenced an improved performance of all the participants during the intervention, assessed through a concurrent multiple baseline design across participants. Social raters favorably scored the use of the technology. Conclusion An Assistive Technology setup may be helpful to enhance the performance and positive participation of adolescents with traumatic brain injuries emerging from a minimally conscious state

The Four Factors of Mind Wandering Questionnaire: Content, Construct, and Clinical Validity

Despite great interest in Mind Wandering, a fully validated questionnaire has been lacking. The Four Factors of Mind Wandering (4FMW) Questionnaire, presented here, meets this demand. First, 80 items were judged for content validity by two panels of experts. Those items that survived this content validity assessment were then tested using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses on two independent samples of young adults. The 16 resulting items were shown to cluster into four factors (i.e., Failure in social interaction, Failure in interaction with objects, Unawareness, and Inattention). The 4FMW questionnaire showed good reliability, robust structure, and acceptable goodness-of-fit indices, as well as good convergent validity with another Mind Wandering questionnaire. Importantly, the 4FMW questionnaire was able to discriminate between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms. The 4FMW Questionnaire is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing mind wandering in the young adult population

How to separate coordinate and categorical spatial relation components in integrated spatial representations: A new methodology for analysing sketch maps

Spatial relations between landmarks can be represented by means of categories and coordinates. In the present research, this paradigm was applied to sketch maps based on information acquired in goal-directed behaviour of exploration of a university campus area. The first aim was to investigate whether categorical and coordinate information can be considered conceptually independent in sketch maps. The second aim was to assess which kind of distance measure served better to represent coordinate information in the present case study, and finally to assess the factorial structure of coordinate and categorical data. Analytic methodology as well as statistical analysis were found to confirm that separating coordinate and categorical components was formally as well as empirically appropriate. A series of confirmatory factor analyses showed the best fit for the model with two correlated components, as well as an acceptable reliability of measures emerged. The two components were moderately correlated. Moreover, the adoption of Manhattan distance seemed to be the most effective method to represent coordinate spatial relations in spatial sketch maps of areas acquired through navigation

The Effect of Aging on Memory for Recent and Remote Egocentric and Allocentric Information

Background: The present study explores recent and well-consolidated spatial memory within the egocentric and allocentric frames of reference in young and elderly people. Methods: The research included young and old participants, within the range of normality. All the participants were tested on four spatial tasks requiring allocentric and egocentric judgments, based on recent as well as remote spatial information, using a Multivariate Regression Analysis. Results: An age effect on both egocentric and allocentric tasks was present in recently learned spatial information. The age effect was not present in tasks regarding well-consolidated spatial information. Finally, sex influenced the performance in allocentric tasks regarding both recent and well-consolidated memory. Conclusion: These data were discussed according to the Multiple Trace Theory, supporting the idea that the magnitude of difference between egocentric and allocentric judgments in aging is somewhat attributable to the characteristic of spatial tasks. In general, a lower difference between the performance of young and elderly participants is shown in tasks based on well-consolidated information when compared with tasks based on episodic information. Well-consolidated information seemed to be better preserved in memory and less prone to the impairment

How to separate coordinate and categorical spatial relation components in integrated spatial representations: A new methodology for analysing sketch maps

Spatial relations between landmarks can be represented by means of categories and coordinates. In the present research, this paradigm was applied to sketch maps based on information acquired in goal-directed behaviour of exploration of a university campus area. The first aim was to investigate whether categorical and coordinate information can be considered conceptually independent in sketch maps. The second aim was to assess which kind of distance measure served better to represent coordinate information in the present case study, and finally to assess the factorial structure of coordinate and categorical data. Analytic methodology as well as statistical analysis were found to confirm that separating coordinate and categorical components was formally as well as empirically appropriate. A series of confirmatory factor analyses showed the best fit for the model with two correlated components, as well as an acceptable reliability of measures emerged. The two components were moderately correlated. Moreover, the adoption of Manhattan distance seemed to be the most effective method to represent coordinate spatial relations in spatial sketch maps of areas acquired through navigation