This study builds on our earlier investigation (see Ganesalingam et al., 2006). We showed previously that children with moderate to severe traumatic brain injuries (TBI) had poorer self-regulation and social and behavioral functioning than their uninjured peers and that self-regulation predicted significant variance in parent- and teacher-rated social and behavioral outcomes, regardless of the presence or absence of TBI. In this study, we examine self-regulation as a mediator of the relationship between TBI and the outcomes. Participants included 65 children with moderate to severe TBI and 65 children without TBI matched for age and gender. Participants were between 6 and 11 years of age. Children completed an assessment of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral self-regulation, and social and behavioral functioning. Mediation was assessed using a bootstrapping approach (a relatively novel statistical method for assessing specific indirect effects in models with multiple mediators). Analyses indicated that, after controlling for socioeconomic status (SES), aspects of self-regulation accounted for individual variation in the outcomes, and acted as a significant mediator of the effects of TBI on the outcomes. Self-regulatory deficits may reflect the relative vulnerability of the prefrontal cortex to TBI and may help account for post-injury difficulties in social and behavioral functioning. (JINS, 2007, 13, 298–311.)

This study compares neuropsychological functioning in a Japanese schizophrenia spectrum disorder group and a group of healthy Japanese volunteers. Participants were 37 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, 28 schizotypal patients, and 99 psychiatrically-normal volunteers. A wide range of cognitive measures were examined. All participants completed a Japanese version of a neuropsychological battery assessing executive function, working memory, processing speed, language, verbal memory, and spatial organization. Comparisons of neuropsychological function demonstrated similarities and differences between patients diagnosed with schizotypal disorder and those diagnosed with schizophrenia. Impairments in verbal memory, language, and processing speed were common to both patient groups and may represent a vulnerability to schizophrenia. Impairments in aspects of working memory, spatial organization and executive function were preferentially observed in schizophrenia and may be features of the overt manifestation of psychosis. Possible differences in the contributions of prefrontal and temporolimbic structures provide direction for further studies. (JINS, 2007, 13, 672–682.)

We examined the role of schema knowledge in everyday action by assessing the use of unfamiliar implements by patients with subcortical and frontal lobe damage. Although the patients were relatively good at naming or showing how the unfamiliar implements could be used outside of the task context, the patients omitted using the objects in everyday life tasks more often than control participants—either omitting the action step involving the objects or performing the action using a familiar object that was not normally used for this purpose. The data suggest that knowledge about objects in the context of a task can play a determining role in how objects are used in everyday action. In patients with reduced attentional resources, the task schema can over-ride weak bottom-up cueing of action from the objects, with the result that unfamiliar implements are not used. (JINS, 2007, 13, 1035–1046.)

This study tested the hypotheses that older adults make less advantageous decisions than younger adults on the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). Less advantageous decisions, as measured by the IGT, are characterized by choices that favor larger versus smaller immediate rewards, even though such choices may result in long-term negative consequences. The IGT and measures of neuropsychological function, personality, and psychopathology were administered to 164 healthy adults 18–85 years of age. Older adults performed less advantageously on the IGT compared with younger adults. Additionally, a greater number of older adults' IGT performances was classified as “impaired” when compared with those of younger adults. Less advantageous decisions were associated with obsessive symptoms in older adults and with antisocial symptoms in younger adults. Performance on the IGT was positively associated with auditory working memory and psychomotor function in young adults, and in immediate memory in older adults. (JINS, 2007, 13, 480–489.)

Theories of the cognitive impairment underlying letter-by-letter reading vary widely, including prelexical and lexical level deficits. One prominent prelexical account proposes that the disorder results from difficulty in processing multiple letters simultaneously. We investigated whether this deficit extends to letters presented in rapid temporal succession. A letter-by-letter reader, G.M., was administered a rapid serial visual presentation task that has been used widely to study the temporal processing characteristics of the normal visual system. Comparisons were made to a control group of 6 brain-damaged individuals without reading deficits. Two target letters were embedded at varying temporal positions in a stream of rapidly presented single digits. After each stream, the identities of the two letters were reported. G.M. required an extended period of time after he had processed one letter before he was able to reliably identify a second letter, relative to the controls. In addition, G.M.'s report of the second letter was most impaired when it immediately followed the first letter, a pattern not seen in the controls, indicating that G.M. had difficulty processing the two items together. These data suggest that a letter-by-letter reading strategy may be adopted to help compensate for a deficit in the temporal processing of letters (JINS, 2007, 13, 110–119.)

Spina bifida meningomyelocele (SBM) is a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with adequate development of word reading and single word comprehension, but deficient text and discourse comprehension. Studies of comprehension in children with SBM are reviewed in relation to a comprehension model in which meanings are either activated from the surface code or constructed through resource-intensive integration and revision processes to form representations of the text base and models of the situation described by the text. Two new studies probed the construction of situation models in SBM. Experiment 1 tested the ability to build spatial and affective situation models from single sentences in 86 children with SBM (8 to 18 years of age) and 37 control children (8 to 16 years of age). Experiment 2 tested the ability to integrate across sentences to build spatial situation models in 15 children with SBM and 15 age-matched controls. Compared to age peers, children with SBM did not construct situation models that required integration of information across sentences, even though they could construct such models from single sentences. The data bear on the distinctive SBM neurocognitive profile, and more generally, on the significance of integration processes for the constructive aspects of language comprehension. (JINS, 2007, 13, 854–864.)

When assessing older adults for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia, it is important to understand how often low memory scores are obtained in healthy people in order to minimize false positive diagnoses. This study examines the base rates of low memory scores in older adults across a battery of memory tests. Participants included older adults (55–79 years; N = 742) from the Neuropsychological Assessment Battery (NAB; Stern & White, 2003a) standardization sample. The NAB Memory Module consists of four co-normed memory tests (i.e., List Learning, Shape Learning, Story Learning, and Daily Living Memory) yielding 10 demographically corrected T-scores. When all 10 T-scores were examined simultaneously, 55.5% of older adults had one or more scores one standard deviation (SD) below the mean. At <1.5 SDs, 30.8% of healthy older adults obtained one or more low memory scores. Obtaining low memory scores occurs more often with lesser intellectual abilities. For example, 56.5% of older adults with low average intellectual abilities obtained one or more low memory scores (<1.5 SDs) compared to 21.1% with high average intellectual abilities. Understanding the base rates of low scores can reduce over-interpretation of isolated low memory scores and minimize false positive diagnoses of MCI. (JINS, 2007, 13, 490–500.)The data in Tables 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 are original data produced by special permission of the Publisher, Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc., 16204 North Florida Avenue, Lutz, Florida 33549, from the standardization data presented in the Neuropsychological Assessment Battery Psychometric and Technical Manual by Travis White, Ph.D. and Robert A. Stern, Ph.D. Copyright 2001, 2003 by PAR, Inc. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission from PAR, Inc.

Informed consent is key to ethical clinical research and treatment, but partially rests on the ability of individual patients or research participants to use disclosed information to make a meaningful choice. Although the construct of decisional capacity emerged from legal and philosophical traditions, several investigators have begun examining the relationship of specific neuropsychological abilities to decisional capacity. This line of research may foster development of better consent procedures, as well as aid in refining the construct of decisional capacity toward a form that better reflects the underlying neurocognitive processes. We conducted a systematic search of the published literature and thereby identified and reviewed 16 published reports of empirical studies that examined the relationship between specific neuropsychological abilities and capacity to consent to research or treatment. Significant relationships between neuropsychological scores and decisional capacity were present across all the reviewed studies. The degree to which specific neuropsychological abilities have particular relevance to decisional capacity remains uncertain, but the existing studies provide a solid basis for a priori hypotheses for future investigations. These ongoing efforts represent an important conceptual and empirical bridge between bioethical, legal, and neuropsychological approaches to understanding meaningful decision-making processes. (JINS, 2007, 13, 1047–1059.)

Semantic memory is described as the storage of knowledge, concepts, and information that is common and relatively consistent across individuals (e.g., memory of what is a cup). These memories are stored in multiple sensorimotor modalities and cognitive systems throughout the brain (e.g., how a cup is held and manipulated, the texture of a cup's surface, its shape, its function, that is related to beverages such as coffee, and so on). Our ability to engage in purposeful interactions with our environment is dependent on the ability to understand the meaning and significance of the objects and actions around us that are stored in semantic memory. Theories of the neural basis of the semantic memory of objects have produced sophisticated models that have incorporated to varying degrees the results of cognitive and neural investigations. The models are grouped into those that are (1) cognitive models, where the neural data are used to reveal dissociations in semantic memory after a brain lesion occurs; (2) models that incorporate both cognitive and neuroanatomical information; and (3) models that use cognitive, neuroanatomic, and neurophysiological data. This review highlights the advances and issues that have emerged from these models and points to future directions that provide opportunities to extend these models. The models of object memory generally describe how category and/or feature representations encode for object memory, and the semantic operations engaged in object processing. The incorporation of data derived from multiple modalities of investigation can lead to detailed neural specifications of semantic memory organization. The addition of neurophysiological data can potentially provide further elaboration of models to include semantic neural mechanisms. Future directions should incorporate available and newly developed techniques to better inform the neural underpinning of semantic memory models. (JINS, 2007, 13, 865–880.)

This study provides an introduction to, and overview of, several papers that resulted from a randomized control trial that evaluated a new cognitive rehabilitation protocol. The program was designed to improve general strategic abilities in ways that would be expressed in a broad range of functional domains. The trial, which was conducted on a sample of older adults who had experienced normal age-related cognitive decline, assessed performance in the following domains: memory, goal management, and psychosocial status. The general rationale for the trial, the overall experimental design, and the approach to statistical analyses that are relevant to each paper are described here. The results for each functional domain are reported in separate papers in this series (JINS, 2007, 13, 120–131.)

The neural representation of peripersonal space may be distinct from the representation of extrapersonal space. Sex differences in the performance of motor tasks might relate to proximity to the body. In the spatial domain, females excel at tasks performed in peripersonal space, like the Object Location Memory Task (OLMT), whereas males excel at tasks performed in extrapersonal space, such as navigation. We compared performance on the OLMT in peripersonal space with performance on the same task in extrapersonal space (using a between-subjects design). As predicted, the typical female advantage was observed for the peripersonal OLMT. However, for the extrapersonal OLMT, the female advantage disappeared and males actually outperformed females. These results suggest that the sex differences observed in the OLMT, and potentially other tasks that exhibit sex differences in performance, may be related to sex differences to spatial-motor systems that are preferentially tuned to proximity. (JINS, 2007, 13, 683–686.)

The consequences of congenital brain disorders for adult cognitive function are poorly understood. We studied different forms of memory in 29 young adults with spina bifida meningomyelocele (SBM), a common and severely disabling neural tube defect. Nondeclarative and semantic memory functions were intact. Working memory was intact with low maintenance and manipulation requirements, but impaired on tasks demanding high information maintenance or manipulation load. Prospective memory for intentions to be executed in the future was impaired. Immediate and delayed episodic memory were poor. Memory deficits were exacerbated by an increased number of lifetime shunt revisions, a marker for unstable hydrocephalus. Memory status was positively correlated with functional independence, an important component of quality of life. (JINS, 2007, 13, 312–323.)

This study reports the effects of a 12-week multimodular cognitive rehabilitation training program on memory performance in two groups of older adults. In the Memory Training module, participants were instructed on the nature of memory and how to improve memory performance; internal and external strategies were described and practiced over the training sessions. Memory performance was assessed by four tests: Alpha Span, Brown-Peterson, Hopkins Verbal Learning Test − Revised (HVLT-R), and Logical Stories. One group received training on entry into the study (Early Training Group, ETG), the other after a 3-month delay (Late Training Group, LTG). The results showed no training-related improvement in working memory (Alpha Span), primary memory (Brown-Peterson, HVLT-R), or recognition memory (HVLT-R). While the most direct analyses of a training effect (analyses of covariance) rarely demonstrated significant effects, exploratory analyses provided some evidence for a training benefit in several measures of secondary memory (Logical Stories; HVLT-R) and strategic processing (Brown-Peterson; Logical Stories; HVLT-R). Positive results were largely restricted to the ETG, possibly because the LTG lost motivation as a consequence of their delayed training. The results need to be treated with caution, but are promising for the rehabilitation of memory functioning in older adults (JINS, 2007, 13, 132–142.)

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with impairments in occupational, social, and educational functioning in adults. This study examined relations of adaptive impairment to ADHD symptom domains (inattentive–disorganized and hyperactive–impulsive) and to deficits in executive functioning (EF) in 195 well-characterized adults (105 ADHD, 90 non-ADHD, between ages 18 and 37). Participants completed a battery of EF measures as well as assessments of adaptive functioning. Confirmatory factor analyses were used to validate latent factors for adaptive functioning and EF. In a measurement model, weaker EF was associated with poorer adaptive functioning (r = −.30). When multi-informant composite variables for current inattentive–disorganized and hyperactive–impulsive ADHD symptoms were included in the structural model, EF no longer predicted adaptive functioning. While both symptom composites were similarly related to EF (inattentive–disorganized r = .36; hyperactive–impulsive r = .29), inattentive–disorganized symptoms accounted for more variance in adaptive functioning (67.2% vs. 3.6%). Furthermore, for retrospectively reported childhood symptoms of ADHD, only the inattentive–disorganized symptom domain was related to EF or adaptive impairment. These results suggest that, in adults with ADHD, inattentive–disorganized symptoms may be the primary contributor to key aspects of poorer adaptive function and may be the behavioral path through which EF deficits lead to adaptive impairment. (JINS, 2007, 13, 324–334.)

This study evaluated the influence of cognitive reserve on neuropsychological test performance in 198 patients infected with the hepatitis C virus. IQ scores, educational level, and occupational rating were combined to calculate a Cognitive Reserve Score (CRS) for each patient. Similar to studies of infection with the human immunodeficiency virus, there was a significantly increased risk of impairment in neuropsychological test performance in individuals with lower CRSs. It is important to account for CRS when assessing cognitive findings in large-scale clinical trials. (JINS, 2007, 13, 687–692.)Financial relationships of the authors with Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., are as follows: K.L. Lindsay is a consultant and receives research support; A.S.F. Lok is a consultant and receives grant support; and R.J. Fontana is on the speaker's bureau. Authors with no financial relationships related to this project are as follows: L.A. Bieliauskas, C. Back-Madruga, E.C. Wright, and Z. Kronfol.

The catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism modulates executive functions and working memory and recent neuroimaging studies implicate an association with emotional processing. We examined the relationship between the COMT Val158Met polymorphism and facial emotion recognition and differentiation in 100 healthy individuals. Compared to Met homozygosity, Val homozygosity was associated with better and faster recognition of negative facial expressions such as anger and sad. Our study provides evidence for a possible influence of the COMT polymorphism on emotion recognition abilities in healthy subjects. Additional research is needed to further define the neurocognitive phenotypes associated with COMT polymorphisms. (JINS, 2007, 13, 881–887.)

The defining role of language for communicating and forming social bonds has captured the imagination of scientists and scholars throughout the ages, and scientific inquiry into the neural correlates of language is now centuries old. Theories of linguistic structure and function occupy center stage in fields as diverse as neuroscience, embryology, anthropology and evolution. This should come as no surprise as the neural basis of linguistic function holds promise for understanding how the mind works and what makes us uniquely human.

Individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) experience difficulties with socioemotional functioning, and it has been proposed that cognitive disinhibition may be one potential mechanism that contributes to difficulties in this area. To test this possibility, twenty individuals with AD and 20 demographically matched controls were administered self-report measures of depression, emotion regulation and empathy, in addition to a behavioral measure that has proven to be very sensitive to inhibitory failures (the Hayling Sentence Completion Test). Relative to controls AD participants exhibited increased inhibitory failures on the Hayling, and self-reported significantly reduced cognitive empathy, but did not differ with respect to affective empathy, depression or perceived capacity for emotion regulation. Controlling for general cognitive status, in the AD (but not the control) group, reduced cognitive inhibition was associated with lower levels of depression. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed. (JINS, 2007, 13, 1060–1064.)

Difficulties in social communication in individuals with Klinefelter syndrome (XXY chromosomal pattern) have largely been attributed to deficits in left hemisphere-mediated, language functions. This study examined the ability of XXY men to decode emotions from tone of voice, a pragmatic aspect of social communication that may be associated with right hemisphere functioning. A total of 26 XXY men and 20 men from the general population completed tasks involving emotion discrimination in speech, based on verbal content or tone of voice. The XXY group displayed relative difficulties in discriminating emotions in tone of voice, and, to a lesser extend, in verbal content. This finding suggests that the XXY chromosomal pattern may not only be associated with difficulties in semantic aspects of language, but with prosodic aspects, as well. Our findings may contribute to the development of more comprehensive models addressing the role of the X chromosome in normal and abnormal development of social communication. (JINS, 2007, 13, 1065–1070.)

The present study investigated prospective memory in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and healthy controls. In addition, the influence of task importance on participants' performance was examined. Experimental settings required participants to focus either on the prospective or the ongoing task. The three main findings are (1) PD patients performed as well on a prospective memory task as healthy controls when the focus was laid on the prospective memory task, (2) their prospective memory performance was impaired when the ongoing activity was stressed, and (3) differences in working memory capacity were related to these differential effects. Results indicate that PD patients can perform event-based prospective memory tasks to a normal degree if the prospective task component is prioritized. Data also suggest that a reduced working memory capacity plays an important role in this process. Findings are discussed in terms of conceptual, methodological, and clinical implications. (JINS, 2007, 13, 888–892.)