The aim of this study was to examine working memory (WM) modalities (visual-spatial and auditory-verbal) and processes (maintenance and manipulation) in children with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The sample consisted of 63 8-year-old children with ADHD and an age- and sex-matched non-ADHD comparison group (N=51). Auditory-verbal and visual-spatial WM were assessed using the Digit Span and Spatial Span subtests from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Integrated - Fourth Edition. WM maintenance and manipulation were assessed via forward and backward span indices, respectively. Data were analyzed using a 3-way Group (ADHD vs. non-ADHD)×Modality (Auditory-Verbal vs. Visual-Spatial)×Condition (Forward vs. Backward) Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Secondary analyses examined differences between Combined and Predominantly Inattentive ADHD presentations. Significant Group×Condition (p=.02) and Group×Modality (p=.03) interactions indicated differentially poorer performance by those with ADHD on backward relative to forward and visual-spatial relative to auditory-verbal tasks, respectively. The 3-way interaction was not significant. Analyses targeting ADHD presentations yielded a significant Group×Condition interaction (p=.009) such that children with ADHD-Predominantly Inattentive Presentation performed differentially poorer on backward relative to forward tasks compared to the children with ADHD-Combined Presentation. Findings indicate a specific pattern of WM weaknesses (i.e., WM manipulation and visual-spatial tasks) for children with ADHD. Furthermore, differential patterns of WM performance were found for children with ADHD-Predominantly Inattentive versus Combined Presentations. (JINS, 2016, 22, 1–11)

The aim of this study was to examine delay discounting in girls and boys with ADHD-Combined type (ADHD-C) relative to typically developing (TD) children on two tasks that differ in the extent to which the rewards and delays were experienced by participants. Children ages 8–12 years with ADHD-C (n=65; 19 girls) and TD controls (n=55; 15 girls) completed two delay discounting tasks involving a series of choices between smaller, immediate and larger, delayed rewards. The classic delay discounting task involved choices about money at delays of 1–90 days and only some of the outcomes were actually experienced by the participants. The novel real-time discounting task involved choices about an immediately consumable reward (playing a preferred game) at delays of 25–100 s, all of which were actually experienced by participants. Participants also provided subjective ratings of how much they liked playing the game and waiting to play. Girls with ADHD-C displayed greater delay discounting compared to boys with ADHD-C and TD girls and boys on the real-time discounting task. Diagnostic group differences were not evident on the classic discounting task. In addition, children with ADHD-C reported wanting to play the game more and liking waiting to play the game less than TD children. This novel demonstration of greater delay discounting among girls with ADHD-C on a discounting task in which the rewards are immediately consumable and the delays are experienced in real-time informs our understanding of sex differences and motivational processes in children with ADHD. (JINS, 2016, 22, 12–23)

Limited data exist comparing the performance of computerized neurocognitive tests (CNTs) for assessing sport-related concussion. We evaluated the reliability and validity of three CNTs—ANAM, Axon Sports/Cogstate Sport, and ImPACT—in a common sample. High school and collegiate athletes completed two CNTs each at baseline. Concussed (n=165) and matched non-injured control (n=166) subjects repeated testing within 24 hr and at 8, 15, and 45 days post-injury. Roughly a quarter of each CNT’s indices had stability coefficients (M=198 day interval) over .70. Group differences in performance were mostly moderate to large at 24 hr and small by day 8. The sensitivity of reliable change indices (RCIs) was best at 24 hr (67.8%, 60.3%, and 47.6% with one or more significant RCIs for ImPACT, Axon, and ANAM, respectively) but diminished to near the false positive rates thereafter. Across time, the CNTs’ sensitivities were highest in those athletes who became asymptomatic within 1 day before neurocognitive testing but was similar to the tests’ false positive rates when including athletes who became asymptomatic several days earlier. Test–retest reliability was similar among these three CNTs and below optimal standards for clinical use on many subtests. Analyses of group effect sizes, discrimination, and sensitivity and specificity suggested that the CNTs may add incrementally (beyond symptom scores) to the identification of clinical impairment within 24 hr of injury or within a short time period after symptom resolution but do not add significant value over symptom assessment later. The rapid clinical recovery course from concussion and modest stability probably jointly contribute to limited signal detection capabilities of neurocognitive tests outside a brief post-injury window. (JINS, 2016, 22, 24–37)

Binge drinking leads to brain damage. However, at present few studies have taken into account the continuity in the binge drinking phenomenon, and treated binge drinking as a clearly separable category from other types of drinking patterns. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether severity of binge drinking can predict specific neurocognitive changes in healthy young adults. A total of 121 students aged 18 to 25 were assessed by means of the three last questions of the Alcohol Use Questionnaire combined into binge score. The binge score was entered as a predictor of cognitive performance of the CANTAB Stop Signal Task including reaction time, inhibition processing time, and response adjustment. Anxiety and depression symptoms were also measured. Binge score significantly predicted less adjustment following failures, and faster reaction times. Binge score did not predict inhibition performance. Symptoms of depression and anxiety were not significantly related to binge score. Binge drinking in healthy young adults predicts impairment in response adjustment and fast reaction time, but is unrelated to inhibition. The study supports the view that binge drinking is a continuous phenomenon, rather than discrete category, and the findings are possibly shedding light on why binge drinkers continue their drinking pattern despite negative consequences. (JINS, 2016, 22, 38–46)

The cerebellum has long been perceived as a structure responsible for the human motor function. According to the contemporary approach, however, it plays a significant role in complex behavior regulatory processes. The aim of this study was to describe executive functions in patients after cerebellar surgery. The study involved 30 patients with cerebellar pathology. The control group comprised 30 neurologically and mentally healthy individuals, matched for sex, age, and number of years of education. Executive functions were measured by the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Stroop Color Word Test (SCWT), Trail Making Test (TMT), and working memory by the Digit Span. Compared to healthy controls, patients made more Errors and Perseverative errors in the WCST, gave more Perseverative responses, and had a lower Number of categories completed. The patients exhibited higher response times in all three parts of the SCWT and TMT A and B. No significant differences between the two groups were reported in their performance of the SCWT and TMT with regard to the measures of absolute or relative interference. The patients had lower score on the backward Digit Span. Patients with cerebellar pathology may exhibit some impairment within problem solving and working memory. Their worse performance on the SCWT and TMT could, in turn, stem from their poor motor–somatosensory control, and not necessarily executive deficits. Our results thus support the hypothesis of the cerebellum’s mediating role in the regulation of the activity of the superordinate cognitive control network in the brain. (JINS, 2016, 22, 47–57)

The aim of this study was to compare patterns of cognitive decline in older Latinos and non-Latinos. At annual intervals for a mean of 5.7 years, older Latino (n=104) and non-Latino (n=104) persons of equivalent age, education, and race completed a battery of 17 cognitive tests from which previously established composite measures of episodic memory, semantic memory, working memory, perceptual speed, and visuospatial ability were derived. In analyses adjusted for age, sex, and education, performance declined over time in each cognitive domain, but there were no ethnic group differences in initial level of function or annual rate of decline. There was evidence of retest learning following the baseline evaluation, but neither the magnitude nor duration of the effect was related to Latino ethnicity, and eliminating the first two evaluations, during which much of retest learning occurred, did not affect ethnic group comparisons. Compared to the non-Latino group, the Latino group had more diabetes (38.5% vs. 25.0; χ2[1]=4.4; p=.037), fewer histories of smoking (24.0% vs. 39.4%, χ2[1]=5.7; p=.017), and lower childhood household socioeconomic level (−0.410 vs. −0.045, t[185.0]=3.1; p=.002), but controlling for these factors did not affect results. Trajectories of cognitive aging in different abilities are similar in Latino and non-Latino individuals of equivalent age, education, and race. (JINS, 2016, 22, 58–65)

Older African Americans tend to perform more poorly on cognitive function tests than older Whites. One possible explanation for their poorer performance is that the tests used to assess cognition may not reflect the same construct in African Americans and Whites. Therefore, we tested measurement invariance, by race and over time, of a structured 18-test cognitive battery used in three epidemiologic cohort studies of diverse older adults. Multi-group confirmatory factor analyses were carried out with full-information maximum likelihood estimation in all models to capture as much information as was present in the observed data. Four different aspects of the data were fit to each model: comparative fit index (CFI), standardized root mean square residuals (SRMR), root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), and model $$\chi ^{2} $$ . We found that the most constrained model fit the data well (CFI=0.950; SRMR=0.051; RMSEA=0.057 (90% confidence interval: 0.056, 0.059); the model $$\chi ^{2} $$ =4600.68 on 862 df), supporting the characterization of this model of cognitive test scores as invariant over time and racial group. These results support the conclusion that the cognitive test battery used in the three studies is invariant across race and time and can be used to assess cognition among African Americans and Whites in longitudinal studies. Furthermore, the lower performance of African Americans on these tests is not due to bias in the tests themselves but rather likely reflect differences in social and environmental experiences over the life course. (JINS, 2016, 22, 66–75)

The Chicago Multiscale Depression Inventory (CMDI) was developed to improve accuracy in measuring depression symptoms in individuals with non-psychiatric medical illness. Earlier psychometric evaluation of the CMDI has emphasized properties of items that measure negative affect and experience. In this study, we provide an initial evaluation of an outcome scale of positive items that are also included within the CMDI but have previously been excluded from calculation of the total score. Psychometric data for the CMDI negative and positive item subscales were determined in healthy adults and patients with multiple sclerosis. Analysis included measurements of factor structure, reliability, and validity in comparison with other established measures of depression and affect. Study findings indicate that in healthy and patient samples, the CMDI Positive scale has very good reliability and validity. The Positive scale score also appears to predict depression symptoms beyond the negative item scale scores. The CMDI Positive scale could be a valuable clinical and research tool. Inclusion of the Positive scale in the CMDI total score appears to improve the measure by further capturing symptoms of affect and experience that are important to diagnosis of depression and are not covered by the negative scales alone. (JINS, 2016, 22, 76–82)

It has recently been reported that individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) are impaired on tasks requiring emotional processing and social cognition, including tasks of Theory of Mind (ToM) and facial affect recognition. The current pilot study examined the ability of individuals with MS to understand and interpret lies and sarcasm using a dynamic task: The Awareness of Social Inference Test (TASIT). Fifteen individuals with MS and 15 healthy controls (HCs) performed the Social Inference-Enriched subtest of the TASIT, in which they viewed video-taped social interactions in which lies and sarcasm are presented. Additionally, tests of cognition were also administered to better understand the relationship between specific cognitive abilities and the ability to understand lies and sarcasm. The MS group showed impairments in the ability to interpret and understand lies and sarcasm relative to HCs. These impairments were correlated with several cognitive abilities including processing speed, working memory, learning and memory, and premorbid IQ. The results indicate that the TASIT is a sensitive measure of social cognition in individuals with MS. Furthermore, performance on the TASIT was related to cognitive abilities. Results are discussed in terms of social cognition deficits in MS and how they relate to cognitive abilities. (JINS, 2016, 22, 83–88)

Exploring the relationship between genetic factors and outcome following brain injury has received increased attention in recent years. However, few studies have evaluated the influence of genes on specific sequelae of concussion. The purpose of this study was to determine how the ϵ4 allele of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene influences symptom expression following sports-related concussion. Participants included 42 collegiate athletes who underwent neuropsychological testing, including completion of the Post-Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS), within 3 months after sustaining a concussion (73.8% were evaluated within 1 week). Athletes provided buccal samples that were analyzed to determine the make-up of their APOE genotype. Dependent variables included a total symptom score and four symptom clusters derived from the PCSS. Mann-Whitney U tests showed higher scores reported by athletes with the ϵ4 allele compared to those without it on the total symptom score and the physical and cognitive symptom clusters. Furthermore, logistic regression showed that the ϵ4 allele independently predicted those athletes who reported physical and cognitive symptoms following concussion. These findings illustrate that ϵ4+ athletes report greater symptomatology post-concussion than ϵ4- athletes, suggesting that the ϵ4 genotype may confer risk for poorer post-concussion outcome. (JINS, 2016, 22, 89–94)