Previous studies reveal significant relationships between some quantitative computed tomography (CT) measures and level of cognitive functioning in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study was designed to determine whether measurements from CT scans of AD patients could predict future rates of decline in cognitive function. Subjects were 8 men and 19 women diagnosed with probable AD. CT measures included bifrontal ratio, bicaudate ratio, and areas of lateral ventricles, third ventricle, and suprasellar cistern (SSC). Measures of cognitive and adaptive functioning were obtained at the time of the scan and on follow-up. Of the CT measures, the SSCR (SSC corrected for intracranial area) was the most highly correlated with Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) score and other cognitive measures at the time of the scan. Follow-up data were obtained for those 20 individuals who were mildly to moderately demented at the time of the scan (MMSE ≥ 10). Rate of change was calculated for each neuropsychological measure. The SSCR correlated significantly with rate of change for MMSE and other measures of cognitive and adaptive functioning. This study demonstrates that CT measurement of the SSC can predict the subsequent rate of neurocognitive decline in AD patients. (JINS, 1996, 2, 89–95.)

Neuropsychological assessment of monolingual Spanish-speaking people in the United States is both a common practice and an ethical dilemma. Lack of appropriate tests, the absence of norms, use of interpreters, and the multiplicity of in-house translations of commonly used measures add to the problem of accurate assessment. This paper helps address the lack of appropriate measures for the neuropsychological assessment of Latinos in the United States by providing a standardization of the Neuropsychological Screening Battery for Hispanics (NeSBHIS). Normative data on a sample of 300 Hispanic subjects stratified by gender, age, and education are provided. Current results reveal that not one measure of cognitive functioning is free from education effects. Both nonverbal measures and psychomotor speed measures were highly related to education. Age effects were noted on measures of psychomotor speed, visuospatial reasoning, and visuoconstructive skills. Gender effects were found on measures of psychomotor speed and language, with males achieving higher scores than females. The limitations of the current findings are considered. Further research for the validation of the NeSBHIS with clinical populations, as well as further normative data collection at the national and international levels, is needed. (JINS, 1996, 2, 96–104.)

It has been proposed that differences in digit span performance between English and Spanish speakers are due to the greater number of syllables per digit in the Spanish language. To test this hypothesis, we studied the performance of 30 English- and 30 Spanish-speaking elders on the Wcchsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) Digit Span Subtest, a modified digit span test that was linguistically comparable for both languages, and the Corsi Block Test. Consistent with previous reports, we found that English speakers scored significantly higher than Spanish speakers on WAIS-R Digit Span Forward. Group differences were reduced on the modified Digit Span Forward, but remained significant. English and Spanish speakers scored comparably on Digit Span Backward (WAIS-R and modified) and Visual Span. We suggest that although differences in the number of syllables per digit string are in part responsible for the lower performance of Spanish speakers on Digit Span Forward, cultural and educational issues also contribute to the observed differences between English and Spanish speakers. (J1NS, 1996, 2, 105–110.)

This study explored the nature of the relationship between attention available at learning and subsequent implicit and explicit memory performance. One hundred neurologically normal subjects rated their liking of target words on a five-point scale. Half of the subjects completed the word-rating task in a full attention condition and the other half performed the task in a divided attention condition. Following administration of the word-rating task, all subjects completed five memory tests, three implicit (category association, tachistoscopic identification, and perceptual clarification) and two explicit (semantic-cued recall and graphemic-cucd recall), each bearing on a different subset of the list of previously presented target words. The results revealed that subjects in the divided attention condition performed significantly more poorly than subjects in the full attention condition on the explicit memory measures. In contrast, there were no significant group differences in performance on the implicit memory measures. These findings suggest that the attention to an episode that is necessary to produce later explicit memory may differ from that necessary to produce unconscious influences. The relationship between implicit memory, neurologic injury, and automatic processes is discussed. (JINS, 1996, 2, 111–125.)

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) seropositive AIDS free and HIV-1 seronegative intravenous drug users were tested twice with a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery. Only minor group differences were found. Memory difficulties were the most pronounced difference with lower scores in the HIV-1 seropositive group. The memory difficulties were to some degree associated with emotional difficulties, that is, anxiety. The HIV-1 seropositive subjects were tested a third time and there was no further decline in any test with memory content at this testing. The only test that showed a significant decline in the HIV-1 seropositive group was the Trail Making Test. (JINS, 1996, 2, 126–133.)

Problem solving by patients with clinically definite multiple sclerosis (MS) was examined using the Wisconsin and California Card Sorting Tests (WCST and CCST). On the WCST, the MS patients achieved fewer categories and made more perseverative responses and errors than controls, confirming results of several previous studies. On the CCST, the MS patients generated and identified fewer concepts, but they performed normally when sorting was cued by the experimenter and they made no more persevcrations than controls. Although findings from the WCST indicate that the problem solving deficits by MS patients closely resemble those exhibited by patients with various conditions that produce frontal lobe dysfunction, results from the CCST indicate that the problem solving difficulties exhibited by patients with MS arc distinct and probably represent a primary deficit in concept formation. (JINS, 1996, 2, 134–140.)

This study investigated underlying mechanisms of the verbal memory disorder associated with chronic alcoholism. Previous investigations have suggested that alcoholics are more vulnerable to interference effects on verbal learning and memory tasks, both with respect to retroactive interference (RI) and proactive interference (PI); this was the hypothesis of the current study. Measures of RI and build-up and release from PI were administered to 31 abstinent male chronic alcoholics and 24 healthy male nonalcoholic control subjects. Alcoholics demonstrated more sensitivity to RI than controls. Additionally, alcoholics displayed a more rapid build-up of PI, although they showed normal release. An increased interference effect was found to be a component of chronic alcoholics’ verbal memory impairment and may differentiate chronic alcoholism from other disorders affecting verbal learning and memory. (JINS, 1996, 2, 141–145.)

There have been few studies of psychogenic amnesia based on a cognitive or neuropsychological framework. In the present study, a patient with acute onset of profound psychogenic retrograde amnesia was examined. Although her performance on neuropsychological tasks revealed intact anterograde memory, language functioning, visuospatial and constructional skills, and mental speed and flexibility, she displayed severe impairments on a variety of retrograde memory tasks. Furthermore, initial observations revealed inconsistencies between the patient’s recall of semantic knowledge on direct questioning and her ability to demonstrate the use of this knowledge on indirect tasks. To test this formally, we devised an indirect remote knowledge task to examine a possible dissociation between explicit and implicit memory. Two healthy subjects matched for age, gender, education, occupation, and estimated IQ were also tested. As predicted, the findings demonstrate implicit knowledge despite impaired explicit recall for the same material. (JINS, 1996, 2, 146–158.)

This critical review examines mental retardation (MR) from a neuropsychological perspective. Competing definitions of MR are discussed and the prevalence is estimated. Descriptions are given of idiopathic MR and the five major identifiable prenatal causes of MR: fetal alcohol syndrome, Down's syndrome, fragile X syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, and Angelman syndrome. Similarities and differences among syndromes are examined. Cognitive deficits common to all disorders were in attention, short-term memory, and sequential information processing, whereas language and visuospatial abilities were varied. Neuroanatomical abnormalities common to all disorders were in the hippocampus and cerebellum; individual disorders typically showed a unique pattern of other neurological abnormalities. Both knowledge of individual MR-related disorders and comparative research between disorders are important for researchers and clinicians. Further research is called for in both areas. (JINS, 1996, 2, 159–176.)

One hundred unselected brain-damaged outpatients received a standardized battery of numerical tests (EC301) and, independently, a questionnaire on numerical activities in daily life (ADL). Comparisons between the two types of measurement were drawn from the scorings for different functional components of the calculation and number processing system. Results indicated high ranking correlations between the two instruments. The EC301 battery generally proved more powerful than the questionnaire in detecting the presence of mild-todiscrete impairments, but some aspects of numerical difficulties in nonaphasic patients were scored higher on the ADL questionnaire. (JINS, 1996, 2, 177–180.)

The following is the correction for a printing error that occurred in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, Vol. I, No. 6. On page 597 in the review by Dr. Dean C. Delis titled “Evaluating the Brain's Mind,” Dr. Muriel D. Lezak is listed as the editor of the book Neuropsychological Assessment. She is, in fact, the author and not the editor. Cambridge University Press apologizes for this error.