People with bipolar disorder (BD) often show inaccurate subjective ratings of their objective cognitive function. However, it is unclear what information individuals use to formulate their subjective ratings. This study evaluated whether people with BD are likely using information about their crystallized cognitive abilities (which involve an accumulated store of verbal knowledge and skills and are typically preserved in BD) or their fluid cognitive abilities (which involve the capacity for new learning and information processing in novel situations and are typically impaired in BD) to formulate their subjective cognitive ratings.

Eighty participants diagnosed with BD and 55 control volunteers were administered cognitive tests assessing crystallized and fluid cognitive abilities. Subjective cognitive functioning was assessed with the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ), daily functioning was rated using the Multidimensional Scale of Independent Functioning (MSIF) and the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAF), and quality of life was assessed with the Quality of Life in Bipolar Disorder scale (QoL.BD).

The BD group exhibited considerably elevated subjective cognitive complaints relative to controls. Among participants with BD, CFQ scores were associated with fluid cognitive abilities including measures of memory and executive function, but not to crystallized abilities. After controlling for objective cognition and depression, higher cognitive complaints predicted poorer psychosocial outcomes.

Cognitive self-reports in BD may represent a metacognitive difficulty whereby cognitive self-appraisals are distorted by a person’s focus on their cognitive weaknesses rather than strengths. Moreover, negative cognitive self-assessments are associated with poorer daily functioning and diminished quality of life.

Semantic tool knowledge underlies the ability to perform activities of daily living. Models of apraxia have emphasized the role of functional knowledge about the action performed with tools (e.g., a hammer and a mallet allow a “hammering” action), and contextual knowledge informing individuals about where to find tools in the social space (e.g., a hammer and a mallet can be found in a workshop). The goal of this study was to test whether contextual or functional knowledge, would be central in the organization of tool knowledge. It was assumed that contextual knowledge would be more salient than functional knowledge for healthy controls and that patients with dementia would show impaired contextual knowledge.

We created an original, open-ended categorization task with ambiguity, in which the same familiar tools could be matched on either contextual or functional criteria.

In our findings, healthy controls prioritized a contextual, over a functional criterion. Patients with dementia had normal visual categorization skills (as demonstrated by an original picture categorization task), yet they made less contextual, but more functional associations than healthy controls.

The findings support a dissociation between functional knowledge (“what for”) on the one hand, and contextual knowledge (“where”) on the other hand. While functional knowledge may be distributed across semantic and action-related factors, contextual knowledge may actually be the name of higher-order social norms applied to tool knowledge. These findings may encourage researchers to test both functional and contextual knowledge to diagnose semantic deficits and to use open-ended categorization tests.

The number of test translations and adaptations has risen exponentially over the last two decades, and these processes are now becoming a common practice. The International Test Commission (ITC) Guidelines for Translating and Adapting Tests (Second Edition, 2017) offer principles and practices to ensure the quality of translated and adapted tests. However, they are not specific to the cognitive processes examined with clinical neuropsychological measures. The aim of this publication is to provide a specialized set of recommendations for guiding neuropsychological test translation and adaptation procedures.

The International Neuropsychological Society’s Cultural Neuropsychology Special Interest Group established a working group tasked with extending the ITC guidelines to offer specialized recommendations for translating/adapting neuropsychological tests. The neuropsychological application of the ITC guidelines was formulated by authors representing over ten nations, drawing upon literature concerning neuropsychological test translation, adaptation, and development, as well as their own expertise and consulting colleagues experienced in this field.

A summary of neuropsychological-specific commentary regarding the ITC test translation and adaptation guidelines is presented. Additionally, examples of applying these recommendations across a broad range of criteria are provided to aid test developers in attaining valid and reliable outcomes.

Establishing specific neuropsychological test translation and adaptation guidelines is critical to ensure that such processes produce reliable and valid psychometric measures. Given the rapid global growth experienced in neuropsychology over the last two decades, the recommendations may assist researchers and practitioners in carrying out such endeavors.

The purpose of this invited paper was to summarize my clinical research on disturbances of higher order consciousness (i.e., primarily on self-awareness but including anosognosia and impaired awareness of another person’s cognitive/emotional state) that contributed to my receiving the Distinguished Career Award from the International Neuropsychology Society.

I reviewed my early clinical encounters with disturbances in higher order consciousness and then a series of studies performed with various colleagues over the last 45 years to better understand the nature of these disturbances. The findings obtained are also discussed within the context of other researchers’ observations during this time frame.

Disturbances in higher order consciousness include classic anosognosia, impaired self-awareness, denial of disability, and denial of ability. Proposed diagnostic features of each of these disturbances are outlined and a model for understanding their complex relationships suggested. Different treatment/rehabilitation approaches for these disturbances are also summarized.

Disturbances in higher order consciousness are often revealed when exploring with the person their subjective experiences of their neurological and neuropsychological functioning following different brain disorders. These subjective experiences have diagnostic value and lead to different rehabilitation approaches. The neuropsychological investigation of disturbances in higher order consciousness should include integrating knowledge from the neurosciences with nonbiological understandings of how cultural and personality features of the person may also influences their subjective experiences associated with a known or suspected brain disorder.

Higher cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) induces neuroprotective effects in the hippocampus, a key brain region for memory and learning. We investigated the association between CRF and functional connectivity (FC) of the hippocampus in healthy young adults. We also examined the association between hippocampal FC and neurocognitive function. Lastly, we tested whether hippocampal FC mediates the association between 2-Min Walk Test (2MWT) and neurocognitive function.

913 young adults (28.7 ± 3.7 years) from the Human Connectome Project were included in the analyses. The 2MWT performance result was used as a proxy for cardiovascular endurance. Fluid and crystalized composite neurocognitive scores were used to assess cognition. Resting-state functional MRI data were processed to measure hippocampal FC. Linear regression was used to examine the association between 2MWT, hippocampal FC, and neurocognitive outcomes after controlling for age, sex, years of education, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, and gait speed.

Better 2MWT performance was associated with greater FC between the anterior hippocampus and right posterior cingulate and left middle temporal gyrus. No associations between 2MWT and posterior hippocampal FC, whole hippocampal FC, and caudate FC (control region) were observed. Greater anterior hippocampal FC was associated with better crystalized cognition scores. Lastly, greater FC between the anterior hippocampus and right posterior cingulate mediated the association between better 2MWT scores and higher crystalized cognition scores.

Anterior hippocampal FC may be one underlying neurophysiological mechanism that promotes the association between 2MWT performance and crystalized composite cognitive function in healthy young adults.

Attentional impairments are common in dementia with Lewy bodies and its prodromal stage of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) with Lewy bodies (MCI-LB). People with MCI may be capable of compensating for subtle attentional deficits in most circumstances, and so these may present as occasional lapses of attention. We aimed to assess the utility of a continuous performance task (CPT), which requires sustained attention for several minutes, for measuring attentional performance in MCI-LB in comparison to Alzheimer’s disease (MCI-AD), and any performance deficits which emerged with sustained effort.

We included longitudinal data on a CPT sustained attention task for 89 participants with MCI-LB or MCI-AD and 31 healthy controls, estimating ex-Gaussian response time parameters, omission and commission errors. Performance trajectories were estimated both cross-sectionally (intra-task progress from start to end) and longitudinally (change in performance over years).

While response times in successful trials were broadly similar, with slight slowing associated with clinical parkinsonism, those with MCI-LB made considerably more errors. Omission errors were more common throughout the task in MCI-LB than MCI-AD (OR 2.3, 95% CI: 1.1–4.7), while commission errors became more common after several minutes of sustained attention. Within MCI-LB, omission errors were more common in those with clinical parkinsonism (OR 1.9, 95% CI: 1.3–2.9) or cognitive fluctuations (OR 4.3, 95% CI: 2.2–8.8).

Sustained attention deficits in MCI-LB may emerge in the form of attentional lapses leading to omissions, and a breakdown in inhibitory control leading to commission errors.

Older adults are identified to have reduced social cognitive performance compared to younger adults. However, few studies have examined age-associations throughout later life to determine whether these reductions continue with advancing age.

This study assesses cross-sectional associations of emotion perception, cognitive and affective theory of mind (ToM), and emotional empathy in a healthy sample of 157 adults aged 50–89 years (M = 65.31, SD = 9.00, 68% female sex). Emotion perception, cognitive ToM, and affective ToM were measured using The Awareness of Social Inference Test Short Form (TASIT-S), while affective ToM was also measured using Reading the Mind in the Eyes Revised (RME-R). Emotional empathy was measured using the Empathy Quotient.

Multiple regression analyses, adjusting for multiple comparisons, revealed a moderate negative association between age and emotion perception for all emotions combined, as well as for sad and revolted expressions, but not happy, neutral, anxious, or angry expressions. Age had a negative, moderate association with first-order cognitive, second-order cognitive, and affective ToM measured using TASIT-S, but not RME-R. Age was not significantly associated with emotional empathy.

This study contributes to the limited understanding of age-related associations of social cognitive performance throughout later life. This knowledge can inform future research examining the clinical utility of including social cognitive measures in neuropsychological screening and diagnostic tools for later-life neurological disorders.

Subtle changes in memory, attention, and spatial navigation abilities have been associated with preclinical Alzheimer disease (AD). The current study examined whether baseline AD biomarkers are associated with self- and informant-reported decline in memory, attention, and spatial navigation.

Clinically normal (Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR®) = 0) adults aged 56–93 (N = 320) and their informants completed the memory, divided attention, and visuospatial abilities (which assesses spatial navigation) subsections of the Everyday Cognition Scale (ECog) annually for an average of 4 years. Biomarker data was collected within (±) 2 years of baseline (i.e., cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) p-tau181/Aβ42 ratio and hippocampal volume). Clinical progression was defined as CDR > 0 at time of final available ECog.

Self- and informant-reported memory, attention, and spatial navigation significantly declined over time (ps < .001). Baseline AD biomarkers were significantly associated with self- and informant-reported decline in cognitive ability (ps < .030), with the exception of p-tau181/Aβ42 ratio and self-reported attention (p = .364). Clinical progression did not significantly moderate the relationship between AD biomarkers and decline in self- or informant-reported cognitive ability (ps > .062). Post-hoc analyses indicated that biomarker burden was also associated with self- and informant-reported decline in total ECog (ps < .002), and again clinical progression did not significantly moderate these relationships (ps > .299).

AD biomarkers at baseline may indicate risk of decline in self- and informant-reported change in memory, attention, and spatial navigation ability. As such, subjectively reported decline in these domains may have clinical utility in tracking the subtle cognitive changes associated with the earliest stages of AD.

There is limited research on neurocognitive outcome and associated risk factors in long-term, adult survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), without treatment of cranial radiation therapy. Moreover, the impact of fatigue severity and pain interference on neurocognition has received little attention. In this cross-sectional study, we examined neurocognitive outcome and associated factors in this population.

Intellectual abilities, verbal learning/memory, processing speed, attention, and executive functions were compared to normative means/medians with one sample t tests or Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Associations with risk factors, fatigue severity, and pain interference were analyzed with linear regressions.

Long-term, adult survivors of childhood ALL (N = 53, 51% females, mean age = 24.4 years, SD = 4.4, mean = 14.7 years post-diagnosis, SD = 3.4) demonstrated above average intellectual abilities, but performed below average in attention, inhibition, processing speed, and shifting (p < 0.001). Executive functioning complaints were significantly higher than normative means, and positively associated with fatigue (p < 0.001). There was no interaction between sex and fatigue and no neurocognitive impairments were associated with pain interference, risk group, age at diagnosis, or sex.

Long-term, adult survivors of ALL treated without cranial radiation therapy, demonstrate domain-specific performance-based neurocognitive impairments. However, continued research on the neurocognitive outcome in this population as they age will be important in the coming years. Executive functioning complaints were frequently in the clinical range, and often accompanied by fatigue. This suggests a need for cognitive rehabilitation programs.

Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is a potential early risk marker for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but its utility may vary across individuals. We investigated the relationship of SCD severity with memory function and cerebral blood flow (CBF) in areas of the middle temporal lobe (MTL) in a cognitively normal and overall healthy sample of older adults. Exploratory analyses examined if the association of SCD severity with memory and MTL CBF was different in those with lower and higher cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk status.

Fifty-two community-dwelling older adults underwent magnetic resonance imaging, neuropsychological testing, and were administered the Everyday Cognition Scale (ECog) to measure SCD. Regression models investigated whether ECog scores were associated with memory performance and MTL CBF, followed by similar exploratory regressions stratified by CVD risk status (i.e., lower vs higher stroke risk).

Higher ECog scores were associated with lower objective memory performance and lower entorhinal cortex CBF after adjusting for demographics and mood. In exploratory stratified analyses, these associations remained significant in the higher stroke risk group only.

Our preliminary findings suggest that SCD severity is associated with cognition and brain markers of preclinical AD in otherwise healthy older adults with overall low CVD burden and that this relationship may be stronger for individuals with higher stroke risk, although larger studies with more diverse samples are needed to confirm these findings. Our results shed light on individual characteristics that may increase the utility of SCD as an early risk marker of cognitive decline.

Symptoms and cognition are both utilized as indicators of recovery following pediatric concussion, yet their interrelationship is not well understood. This study aimed to investigate: 1) the association of post-concussion symptom burden and cognitive outcomes (processing speed and executive functioning [EF]) at 4 and 12 weeks after pediatric concussion, and 2) the moderating effect of sex on this association.

This prospective, multicenter cohort study included participants aged 5.00–17.99 years with acute concussion presenting to four Emergency Departments of the Pediatric Emergency Research Canada network. Five processing speed and EF tasks and the Post-Concussion Symptom Inventory (PCSI; symptom burden, defined as the difference between post-injury and retrospective [pre-injury] scores) were administered at 4 and 12 weeks post-concussion. Generalized least squares models were conducted with task performances as dependent variables and PCSI and PCSI*sex interaction as the main predictors, with important pre-injury demographic and injury characteristics as covariates.

311 children (65.0% males; median age = 11.92 [IQR = 9.14–14.21 years]) were included in the analysis. After adjusting for covariates, higher symptom burden was associated with lower Backward Digit Span (χ2 = 9.85, p = .043) and Verbal Fluency scores (χ2 = 10.48, p = .033) across time points; these associations were not moderated by sex, ps ≥ .20. Symptom burden was not associated with performance on the Coding, Continuous Performance Test, and Color-Word Interference scores, ps ≥ .17.

Higher symptom burden is associated with lower working memory and cognitive flexibility following pediatric concussion, yet these associations were not moderated by sex. Findings may inform concussion management by emphasizing the importance of multifaceted assessments of EF.

This study investigated the relationship between various intrapersonal factors and the discrepancy between subjective and objective cognitive difficulties in adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The first aim was to examine these associations in patients with valid cognitive symptom reporting. The next aim was to investigate the same associations in patients with invalid scores on tests of cognitive symptom overreporting.

The sample comprised 154 adults who underwent a neuropsychological evaluation for ADHD. Patients were divided into groups based on whether they had valid cognitive symptom reporting and valid test performance (n = 117) or invalid cognitive symptom overreporting but valid test performance (n = 37). Scores from multiple symptom and performance validity tests were used to group patients. Using patients’ scores from a cognitive concerns self-report measure and composite index of objective performance tests, we created a subjective-objective discrepancy index to quantify the extent of cognitive concerns that exceeded difficulties on objective testing. Various measures were used to assess intrapersonal factors thought to influence the subjective-objective cognitive discrepancy, including demographics, estimated premorbid intellectual ability, internalizing symptoms, somatic symptoms, and perceived social support.

Patients reported greater cognitive difficulties on subjective measures than observed on objective testing. The discrepancy between subjective and objective scores was most strongly associated with internalizing and somatic symptoms. These associations were observed in both validity groups.

Subjective cognitive concerns may be more indicative of the extent of internalizing and somatic symptoms than actual cognitive impairment in adults with ADHD, regardless if they have valid scores on cognitive symptom overreporting tests.

Aging of the population encourages research on how to preserve cognition and quality of life. Many studies have shown that Physical Activity (PA) positively affects cognition in older adults. However, PA carried out throughout the individual’s lifespan may also have an impact on cognition in old age. We hypothesize the existence of Motor Reserve (MR), a flexible and dynamic construct that increases over time and compensates for age-related motor and cognitive loss.

Two questionnaires were developed and validated to estimate MR (Physical Activity carried out throughout the individual’s lifespan) and Current Physical Activity (CPA, PA carried out in the previous 12 months). They were administered to 75 healthy individuals over 50 to verify the relation with cognition. MR and CPA include physical exercise (i.e., structured activities to improve or maintain physical fitness) and incidental PA, which we consider as any movement that leads to a metabolic cost above baseline (e.g., housekeeping, walking). In addition, the Cognitive Reserve Index questionnaire (CRI), a reliable predictor of cognitive performance, was used to measure each participant’s Cognitive Reserve.

The factors that most influenced performance are Age and Cognitive Reserve, but also MR and CPA together and MR when it is the only factor.

Cognitive variability in adult and elderly populations is explained by both MR and CPA. PA training could profitably be included in new preventive and existing interventions.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been associated with worse cognitive health in older adulthood. This study aimed to extend findings on the specificity, persistence, and pathways of associations between two ACEs and cognition by using a comprehensive neuropsychological battery and a time-lagged mediation design.

Participants were 3304 older adults in the Health and Retirement Study Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol. Participants retrospectively reported whether they were exposed to parental substance abuse or experienced parental physical abuse before age 18. Factor scores derived from a battery of 13 neuropsychological tests indexed cognitive domains of episodic memory, executive functioning, processing speed, language, and visuospatial function. Structural equation models examined self-reported years of education and stroke as mediators, controlling for sociodemographics and childhood socioeconomic status.

Parental substance abuse in childhood was associated with worse later-life cognitive function across all domains, in part via pathways involving educational attainment and stroke. Parental physical abuse was associated with worse cognitive outcomes via stroke independent of education.

This national longitudinal study in the United States provides evidence for broad and persistent indirect associations between two ACEs and cognitive aging via differential pathways involving educational attainment and stroke. Future research should examine additional ACEs and mechanisms as well as moderators of these associations to better understand points of intervention.

Maintaining attention underlies many aspects of cognition and becomes compromised early in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The consistency of maintaining attention can be measured with reaction time (RT) variability. Previous work has focused on measuring such fluctuations during in-clinic testing, but recent developments in remote, smartphone-based cognitive assessments can allow one to test if these fluctuations in attention are evident in naturalistic settings and if they are sensitive to traditional clinical and cognitive markers of AD.

Three hundred and seventy older adults (aged 75.8 +/− 5.8 years) completed a week of remote daily testing on the Ambulatory Research in Cognition (ARC) smartphone platform and also completed clinical, genetic, and conventional in-clinic cognitive assessments. RT variability was assessed in a brief (20-40 seconds) processing speed task using two different measures of variability, the Coefficient of Variation (CoV) and the Root Mean Squared Successive Difference (RMSSD) of RTs on correct trials.

Symptomatic participants showed greater variability compared to cognitively normal participants. When restricted to cognitively normal participants, APOE ε4 carriers exhibited greater variability than noncarriers. Both CoV and RMSSD showed significant, and similar, correlations with several in-clinic cognitive composites. Finally, both RT variability measures significantly mediated the relationship between APOE ε4 status and several in-clinic cognition composites.

Attentional fluctuations over 20–40 seconds assessed in daily life, are sensitive to clinical status and genetic risk for AD. RT variability appears to be an important predictor of cognitive deficits during the preclinical disease stage.

Anxiety is a common comorbid feature of late-life depression (LLD) and is associated with poorer global cognitive functioning independent of depression severity. However, little is known about whether comorbid anxiety is associated with a domain-specific pattern of cognitive dysfunction. We therefore examined group differences (LLD with and without comorbid anxiety) in cognitive functioning performance across multiple domains.

Older adults with major depressive disorder (N = 228, ages 65–91) were evaluated for anxiety and depression severity, and cognitive functioning (learning, memory, language, processing speed, executive functioning, working memory, and visuospatial functioning). Ordinary least squares regression adjusting for age, sex, education, and concurrent depression severity examined anxiety group differences in performance on tests of cognitive functioning.

Significant group differences emerged for confrontation naming and visuospatial functioning, as well as for verbal fluency, working memory, and inhibition with lower performance for LLD with comorbid anxiety compared to LLD only, controlling for depression severity.

Performance patterns identified among older adults with LLD and comorbid anxiety resemble neuropsychological profiles typically seen in neurodegenerative diseases of aging. These findings have potential implications for etiological considerations in the interpretation of neuropsychological profiles.

Physical and recreational activities are behaviors that may modify risk of late-life cognitive decline. We sought to examine the role of retrospectively self-reported midlife (age 40) physical and recreational activity engagement – and self-reported change in these activities from age 40 to initial study visit – in predicting late-life cognition.

Data were obtained from 898 participants in a longitudinal study of cognitive aging in demographically and cognitively diverse older adults (Age: range = 49–93 years, M = 75, SD = 7.19). Self-reported physical and recreational activity participation at age 40 and at the initial study visit were quantified using the Life Experiences Assessment Form. Change in activities was modeled using latent change scores. Cognitive outcomes were obtained annually (range = 2–17 years) using the Spanish and English Neuropsychological Assessment Scales, which measure verbal episodic memory, semantic memory, visuospatial processing, and executive functioning.

Physical activity engagement at age 40 was strongly associated with cognitive performance in all four domains at the initial visit and with global cognitive slope. However, change in physical activities after age 40 was not associated with cognitive outcomes. In contrast, recreational activity engagement – both at age 40 and change after 40 – was predictive of cognitive intercepts and slope.

Retrospectively self-reported midlife physical and recreational activity engagement were strongly associated with late-life cognition – both level of performance and rate of future decline. However, the data suggest that maintenance of recreational activity engagement (e.g., writing, taking classes, reading) after age 40 is more strongly associated with late-life cognition than continued maintenance of physical activity levels.

To capture the distortion of exploratory activity typical of patients with spatial neglect, traditional diagnostic methods and new virtual reality applications use confined workspaces that limit patients’ exploration behavior to a predefined area. Our aim was to overcome these limitations and enable the recording of patients’ biased activity in real, unconfined space.

We developed the Free Exploration Test (FET) based on augmented reality technology. Using a live stream via the back camera on a tablet, patients search for a (non-existent) virtual target in their environment, while their exploration movements are recorded for 30 s. We tested 20 neglect patients and 20 healthy participants and compared the performance of the FET with traditional neglect tests.

In contrast to controls, neglect patients exhibited a significant rightward bias in exploratory movements. The FET had a high discriminative power (area under the curve = 0.89) and correlated positively with traditional tests of spatial neglect (Letter Cancellation, Bells Test, Copying Task, Line Bisection). An optimal cut-off point of the averaged bias of exploratory activity was at 9.0° on the right; it distinguished neglect patients from controls with 85% sensitivity.

FET offers time-efficient (execution time: ∼3 min), easy-to-apply, and gamified assessment of free exploratory activity. It supplements traditional neglect tests, providing unrestricted recording of exploration in the real, unconfined space surrounding the patient.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI), mental health conditions (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD]), and vascular comorbidities (e.g., hypertension, diabetes) are highly prevalent in the Veteran population and may exacerbate age-related changes to cerebral white matter (WM). Our study examined (1) relationships between health conditions—TBI history, PTSD, and vascular risk—and cerebral WM micro- and macrostructure, and (2) associations between WM measures and cognition.

We analyzed diffusion tensor images from 183 older male Veterans (mean age = 69.18; SD = 3.61) with (n = 95) and without (n = 88) a history of TBI using tractography. Generalized linear models examined associations between health conditions and diffusion metrics. Total WM hyperintensity (WMH) volume was calculated from fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images. Robust regression examined associations between health conditions and WMH volume. Finally, elastic net regularized regression examined associations between WM measures and cognitive performance.

Veterans with and without TBI did not differ in severity of PTSD or vascular risk (p’s >0.05). TBI history, PTSD, and vascular risk were independently associated with poorer WM microstructural organization (p’s <0.5, corrected), however the effects of vascular risk were more numerous and widespread. Vascular risk was positively associated with WMH volume (p = 0.004, β=0.200, R2 = 0.034). Higher WMH volume predicted poorer processing speed (R2 = 0.052).

Relative to TBI history and PTSD, vascular risk may be more robustly associated with WM micro- and macrostructure. Furthermore, greater WMH burden is associated with poorer processing speed. Our study supports the importance of vascular health interventions in mitigating negative brain aging outcomes in Veterans.

Increased intraindividual variability (IIV) of cognitive performance is a marker of cognitive decline in older adults. Whether computerized cognitive training (CCT) and aerobic exercise counteracts cognitive decline by reducing IIV is unknown. We investigated the effects of CCT with or without aerobic exercise on IIV in older adults.

This was a secondary analysis of an 8-week randomized controlled trial. Older adults (aged 65–85 years) were randomized to CCT alone (n = 41), CCT with aerobic exercise (n = 41), or an active control group (n = 42). The CCT group trained using the Fit Brains® platform 3×/week for 1 hr (plus 3×/week of home-based training). The CCT with aerobic exercise group received 15 min of walking plus 45 min of Fit Brains® 3×/week (plus 3×/week of home-based training). The control group received sham exercise and cognitive training (3×/week for 1 hr). We computed reaction time IIV from the Dimensional Change Card Sort Test, Flanker Inhibitory Control and Attention Test (Flanker), and Pattern Comparison Processing Speed Test (PACPS).

Compared with the control group, IIV reduced in a processing speed task (PACPS) following CCT alone (mean difference [95% confidence interval]: −0.144 [−0.255 to −0.034], p < 0.01) and CCT with aerobic exercise (−0.113 [−0.225 to −0.001], p < 0.05). Attention (Flanker congruent) IIV was reduced only after CCT with aerobic exercise (−0.130 [−0.242 to −0.017], p < 0.05).

A CCT program promoted cognitive health via reductions in IIV of cognitive performance and combining it with aerobic exercise may result in broader benefits.