Effect of musical experience on verbal memory in Williams syndrome: evidence from a novel word learning task

Williams syndrome (WS) is a neurogenetic developmental disorder characterized by an increased affinity for music, deficits in verbal memory, and atypical brain development. Music has been shown to improve verbal memory in typical individuals as well as those with learning difficulties, but no studies have examined this relationship in WS. The aim of our two studies was to examine whether music can enhance verbal memory in individuals with WS. In Study 1, we presented a memory task of eight spoken or sung sentences that described an animal and identified its group name to 38 individuals with WS. Study 2, involving another group of individuals with WS (n = 38), included six spoken or sung sentences that identified an animal group name. In both studies, those who had participated in formal music lessons scored significantly better on the verbal memory task when the sentences were sung than when they were spoken. Those who had not taken formal lessons showed no such benefit. We also found that increased enjoyment of music and heightened emotional reactions to music did not impact performance on the memory task. These compelling findings provide the first evidence that musical experience may enhance verbal memory in individuals with WS and shed more light on the complex relationship between aspects of cognition and altered neurodevelopment in this unique disorder.     

精神分裂症患者攻击行为与临床症状、记忆及智力的相关性

目的探讨精神分裂症患者攻击行为与临床症状、记忆及智力的相关性,分析临床症状、记忆及智力能否作为精神分裂症患者攻击行为的预测因子。方法以2014年5月-2016年5月在中山市第三人民医院早期干预科住院的符合《国际疾病分类(第10版)》(ICD-10)精神分裂症诊断标准的患者为研究对象,所有患者均处于急性发作期。依据既往暴力史和修订版外显攻击行为量表(MOAS)加权总分为5分区分攻击组和非攻击组,其中攻击组69例,非攻击组39例。采用阳性和阴性症状量表(PANSS)评估临床症状,采用韦氏记忆量表修订版(WMS-R)、韦氏成人智力量表中国修订版(WAIS-RC)评估记忆和智力,并对MOAS与PANSS、WMS-R和WAIS-RC评分进行相关分析。结果攻击组MOAS加权总分、言语攻击、对财产的攻击和体力攻击的评分均高于非攻击组,差异均有统计学意义(P0.05或0.01)。攻击组PANSS总评分和阳性症状评分均高于非攻击组,差异均有统计学意义(P0.05或0.01)。两组WMS-R和WAIS-RC评分比较差异均无统计学意义(P均0.05)。MOAS加权总分、体力攻击评分与PANSS总评分、阳性症状评分和一般精神病理评分呈正相关(r=0.203~0.535,P0.05或0.01),体力攻击评分与心智评分呈负相关(r=-0.343,P0.05)。结论与非攻击组相比,攻击组的攻击行为体现在言语攻击、对财产的攻击与体力攻击方面。PANSS总评分与阳性症状可能与精神分裂症患者的攻击行为相关。记忆和智力与精神分裂症患者的攻击行为不相关,不能作为攻击行为的预测因子。     

Consolidation deficits in traumatic brain injury: The core and residual verbal memory defect

While memory deficits are consistently found to be a salient problem in individuals with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), the specific memory processes (i.e., encoding, consolidation, and retrieval) underlying the verbal memory deficit are disputed in the literature. The current study evaluated the recovery of these verbal memory processes over time. A TBI patient group evaluated acutely after the injury (baseline) and again at 6 months and 1 year post injury was compared to a demographically similar control group evaluated only once. The current results replicated previous findings in support of an impaired consolidation hypothesis as the primary deficit underlying memory impairment in TBI. These deficits are reflected in relatively more rapid forgetting through 1 year post injury and relatively less proactive interference up to 6 months post injury.     

A neuropsychological comparison of psychotic disorder following traumatic brain injury, traumatic brain injury without psychotic disorder, and schizophrenia

Neuropsychological functioning in individuals with psychotic disorder following traumatic brain injury (PDFTBI), traumatic brain injury without psychosis (TBIWP), and schizophrenia were compared against each other and to the means of normal subjects. It was predicted that the PDFTBI group would be similar to the schizophrenic group in patterns of deficits, but milder in severity. Compared to scores from a normal sample, the PDFTBI group scored significantly lower in intelligence, vocabulary, verbal memory, and executive functioning, while the schizophrenic group scored significantly lower in intelligence, working memory, verbal memory, visual spatial abilities, and executive functioning. No differences were found between normal subjects and the TBIWP group. Implications of our findings for the conceptualization of psychotic disorders are discussed.     

Neuropsychological Functioning in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A Comparison

Persons with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) (n = 30), individuals who had sustained a mild traumatic brain injury with postconcussive symptoms (MTBI) (n = 33), and healthy controls (n = 20), who were age-and education-matched, were compared on measures of complex information processing, attention/concentration, memory, and higher-order cognitive processes. MTBI and CFS patients demonstrated a similar deficit in complex information processing and verbal learning. Overall, however, individuals who suffered a MTBI demonstrated a greater degree of impairment than did individuals with CFS and healthy controls. Implications for treatment and future research are discussed.     

Association of aggressive behavior with altered serotonergic function in patients who are not suicidal

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether aggression and serotonergic dysfunction are related in the absence of a history of suicidal behavior. Although serotonergic dysfunction has been implicated in aggressive and impulsive behavior, most studies of such behavior have included individuals with a history of suicide attempts. Low concentrations of CSF 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) have been consistently associated with suicidal behavior, presenting a potential confound in the link between aggression and serotonergic dysfunction. METHOD: The authors examined the association between aggression and CSF 5-HIAA concentrations in a group of 64 patients who had different DSM-III-R axis I diagnoses and no past suicidal behavior. Aggressive (N=35) and nonaggressive (N=29) groups were defined by a median split on a six-item history of adulthood aggressive behavior. RESULTS: The aggressive group had significantly lower CSF 5-HIAA concentrations than the nonaggressive group. Aggressive individuals also scored significantly higher on self-report measures of hostility, impulsiveness, and sensation seeking. CSF 5-HIAA concentrations, however, did not correlate with self-reported hostility and impulsivity. CONCLUSIONS: There is an association between aggressive behavior and serotonergic dysfunction independent of suicidal behavior in patients with axis I disorders who exhibit relatively milder forms of aggressive behavior. Analogous to findings with suicidal behavior, a low concentration of CSF 5-HIAA is related to aggressive behavior but does not show the same relationship to the continuum of aggressive feelings and thoughts.     

Aggressive behaviors among demented nursing home residents in Japan

This study investigates the frequency of aggressive behaviors in a sample of elderly nursing home residents with dementia in Japan. Behavioral data were collected on 391 residents using the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI). Data were also gathered on residents' age, sex, and ability to perform self-care. Another scale was used to code the degree of resistance that each resident manifested during bathing, toileting, dressing and eating. In addition, qualitative data were collected from caregivers regarding their main caregiving problems with dementia residents. Findings show that 45.4% of the sample manifested aggressive behavior during the 2-week study period. Men were significantly more likely to manifest physically aggressive behavior, but there was no gender difference for verbal aggression. Age had no relationship to aggressive behavior. Residents who were most dependent in self-care had significantly higher frequencies of aggressive behaviors. Caregivers reported that most aggressive behavior took place during personal care. The majority of caregivers identified verbal agitation rather than physical aggression as their main caregiving problem. This study represents the first time that the CMAI has been translated and used in Japan and the first time empirical data has been collected on the behavior of dementia patients in Japanese nursing homes.     

Inference in right hemisphere damaged individuals' comprehension: the role of sustained attention

The ability to make inferences for the purposes of comprehension is considered an important factor in pragmatic ability. In this experimental group study with stroke patients, the ability to make inferences and its associations with sustained attention and verbal working memory were explored. A group of 14 left-hemisphere-damaged individuals had more difficulty with tasks requiring the ability to revise inferences than a matched control group. Their results on those tasks tended to be associated with verbal working memory capacity. A group of 14 right-hemisphere-damaged (RHD) individuals also had problems in revising inferences, but their results were associated with sustained attention. In addition, the RHD subjects had problems in making inferences about characters' attitudes or motives. A lack of significant differences in results on tasks between the groups of brain damaged individuals indicate that comprehension of complex information might be impaired post stroke, irrespectively of whether the damage is to the left or right hemisphere. The results suggest that sustained attention, whilst not being a solitary sufficient factor, might somehow be involved in comprehension problems related to RHD. Implications for further research and clinical management of these sometimes subtle problems are discussed.     

Verbal recall and recognition following traumatic brain injury: a [0-15]-water positron emission tomography study

Although several studies exist which have examined static functional neuroimaging following traumatic brain injury (TBI), controlled cognitive activation studies of episodic memory in this population have not been published. The present investigation studied verbal recall using [O-15]-water positron emission tomography (PET) in 5 individuals who sustained severe TBI (M GCS=6.8; M years post-injury=3.18), and 4 non-injured control participants. Statistical image analysis demonstrated changes in frontoparietal regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in both groups, but there were interesting differences between groups and across conditions. Frontal lobe rCBF changes in TBI patients were reduced during free recall but enhanced during recognition, when compared to controls. Changes in cerebellar rCBF were observed in the control group during free recall, but not in the TBI sample. In both groups, bifrontal rCBF increases were noted on recognition tasks. The present findings provide evidence of alterations in specific substrates involved in verbal recall following brain injury.     

Verbal Recall and Recognition Following Traumatic Brain Injury: A [O-15]-Water Positron Emission Tomography Study

Although several studies exist which have examined static functional neuroimaging following traumatic brain injury (TBI), controlled cognitive activation studies of episodic memory in this population have not been published. The present investigation studied verbal recall using [O-15]-water positron emission tomography (PET) in 5 individuals who sustained severe TBI (M GCS=6.8; M years post-injury=3.18), and 4 non-injured control participants. Statistical image analysis demonstrated changes in frontoparietal regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in both groups, but there were interesting differences between groups and across conditions. Frontal lobe rCBF changes in TBI patients were reduced during free recall but enhanced during recognition, when compared to controls. Changes in cerebellar rCBF were observed in the control group during free recall, but not in the TBI sample. In both groups, bifrontal rCBF increases were noted on recognition tasks. The present findings provide evidence of alterations in specific substrates involved in verbal recall following brain injury.     

Volume of focal brain lesions and hippocampal formation in relation to memory function after closed head injury in children

OBJECTIVES: (1) A study of verbal learning and memory in children who had sustained a closed head injury (CHI) at least 3 months earlier. (2) To relate memory function to focal brain lesion and hippocampal formation volumes using morphometric analysis of MRI. METHODS: A group of 245 children who had been admitted to hospital for CHI graded by the Glasgow coma scale (GCS), including 161 patients with severe and 84 with mild CHI completed the California verbal learning test (CVLT) and underwent MRI which was analysed for focal brain lesion volume independently of memory test data. Brain MRI with 1.5 mm coronal slices obtained in subsets of 25 patients with severe and 25 patients with mild CHI were analysed for hippocampal formation volume. Interoperator reliability in morphometry was satisfactory. RESULTS: Severity of CHI and age at study significantly affected memory performance. Regression analysis showed that bifrontal, left frontal, and right frontal lesion volumes incremented prediction of various learning and memory indices after entering the GCS score and age into the model. Extrafrontal lesion volume did not contribute to predicting memory performance. CONCLUSIONS: Prefrontal lesions contribute to residual impairment of learning and memory after severe CHI in children. Although effects of CHI on hippocampal formation volume might be difficult to demonstrate in non-fatal paediatric CHI, further investigation using functional brain imaging could potentially demonstrate hippocampal dysfunction.     

Medical and cognitive outcome in children with traumatic brain injury

BACKGROUND: Head injury is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in pediatrics. Comprehensive studies on outcome are scarce despite significant clinical concern that multiple areas of functioning may be impaired following moderate to severe head injury. The literature suggests that sequelae include not only medical problems but also impairments in cognitive functioning. METHODS: A retrospective medical and psychology chart review of patients, age 1-18 years, admitted to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario with moderate (Glasgow Coma Scale [GCS] 9-12) or severe head injury (GCS < or = 8) from November 1, 1993 until December 31, 1998 was conducted. Correlations were performed between medical variables (i.e., GCS, Pediatric Risk of Mortality [PRISM] III score, duration of ICU and hospital stay) and measures of intelligence and memory functioning. RESULTS: Eighty-three children age 1 to 18 were included. Seventy percent of the children were classified as having a severe head injury. There was a mortality rate of thirteen percent. Younger age at injury, lower GCS, and higher PRISM III scores predicted higher mortality. Medical complications were documented systematically. Forty-four patients underwent at least one cognitive assessment and 17 of these children had intelligence testing at three points in time: baseline (< four months), early recovery (five to 15 months) and follow-up (16 to 38 months). The mean intelligence and memory scores fell within the average range at the latest point in follow-up. For those children who underwent three serial assessments, the mean verbal and performance IQ fell within the low average range at baseline improving significantly to fall within the average range by early recovery. Continued improvements were apparent in verbal memory beyond early recovery, with the mean obtained at follow-up falling within 1 SD of the normative mean. Despite the return to normal ranges for the group means the proportion of scores falling below 1.5 standard deviations from the mean was greater than population norms for verbal IQ, performance IQ and verbal memory. Lower GCS scores and longer duration of stay in ICU or hospital were predictive of lower nonverbal intelligence. Lower GCS was also predictive of lower visual memory scores. CONCLUSIONS: This study describes a population of Canadian children who suffered moderate or severe traumatic brain injury. Initial GCS was the best predictor of mortality and cognitive outcome. These children demonstrated a temporal improvement in intelligence and memory functioning, with their mean performance on these cognitive measures falling within the average range at 16 to 38 months postinjury, although there was considerable variability in the outcomes between individuals.     

Abuse-provoking characteristics of institutionalized mentally retarded individuals

Abuse-provoking characteristics of institutionalized mentally retarded individuals were examined. A group of 80 abused retarded clients in a residential setting were compared to a group of 80 nonabused clients. The two groups were compared on IQs, social quotients, presence of physical disabilities, aggressive behavior, ability to communicate verbally, presence of self-injurious behavior, ability to ambulate, sex, and age. Six of these characteristics (social quotient, aggression, verbal ability, age, self-injurious behavior, and ambulation) were significant in differentiating the abused from nonabused retarded individuals. A discriminant function was developed to help identify those clients who may be at risk of being abused.     

The advantage of reading over listening text comprehension in Down syndrome: what is the role of verbal memory?

The current study was designed to investigate the role played by verbal memory in the advantage shown by individuals with Down syndrome in reading over listening text comprehension (Roch & Levorato, 2009). Two different aspects of verbal memory were analyzed: processing load and coding modality. Participants were 20 individuals with Down syndrome, aged between 11 and 26 years who were matched for reading comprehension with a group of 20 typically developing children aged between 6;3 and 7;3 years. The two groups were presented with a listening comprehension test and four verbal memory tasks in which the degree of processing load and the coding modality were manipulated. The results of the study confirmed the advantage of reading over listening comprehension for individuals with Down syndrome. Furthermore, it emerged that different aspects of verbal memory were related respectively to reading and to listening comprehension: visual memory with low processing load was related to the former and oral memory with high processing load to the latter. Finally, it was demonstrated that verbal memory contributed to explain the advantage of reading over listening comprehension in Down syndrome. The results are discussed in light of their theoretical relevance and practical implications.     

Aggression in elderly schizophrenia patients: a comparison of nursing home and state hospital residents

This study examined the role of cognitive functioning, adaptive functioning, and symptomatology in predicting aggression in institutionalized geriatric schizophrenic patients residing in either a state institution (n=56) or a nursing home (n=113). Patients were assessed with a neuropsychological battery and rated for positive and negative symptoms, social functioning, and aggressiveness. Nursing home residents were older and more cognitively and functionally impaired than institutional residents. The prevalence of verbal, but not physical, aggression was similar to findings in younger, acutely hospitalized patients in previous studies. In the hospitalized group, severity of negative symptoms was predictive of physical aggression. In the nursing home group, severity of positive symptoms was predictive of verbal aggression and self-care deficit was predictive of physical aggression. Results indicate that verbal aggression, like positive symptoms, decreases little with aging in institutionalized schizophrenic patients, and that predictors of aggressive behavior are as difficult to identify in elderly patients as in younger ones.     

Verbal aggression in Alzheimer's disease. Clinical, functional and neuropsychological correlates

OBJECTIVES: To determine the clinical, functional and neuropsychological correlates of verbal aggression in Alzheimer's disease in a group of consecutive first attendees to a memory clinic. METHODS: 150 people were evaluated and diagnosed as suffering with probable Alzheimer's disease. These people were tested using the Behave-AD for the presence of verbal aggression, delusions, depression and agitation. They were also assessed with cognitive, functional and neuropsychological scales. RESULTS: Twenty-eight per cent of this group of Alzheimer patients had exhibited some verbal aggression in the preceding month. Male gender (p = 0.022), the presence of paranoid and delusional ideation (p = 0.003) and agitation (p = 0.042) were significantly associated with verbal aggression in a stepwise backward logistic regression analysis. CONCLUSION: The presence of verbal aggression should prompt the clinician to search for delusional ideation, which may respond to pharmacotherapy.     

Inference in right hemisphere damaged individuals' comprehension: The role of sustained attention

The ability to make inferences for the purposes of comprehension is considered an important factor in pragmatic ability. In this experimental group study with stroke patients, the ability to make inferences and its associations with sustained attention and verbal working memory were explored. A group of 14 left‐hemisphere‐damaged individuals had more difficulty with tasks requiring the ability to revise inferences than a matched control group. Their results on those tasks tended to be associated with verbal working memory capacity. A group of 14 right‐hemisphere‐damaged (RHD) individuals also had problems in revising inferences, but their results were associated with sustained attention. In addition, the RHD subjects had problems in making inferences about characters' attitudes or motives. A lack of significant differences in results on tasks between the groups of brain damaged individuals indicate that comprehension of complex information might be impaired post stroke, irrespectively of whether the damage is to the left or right hemisphere. The results suggest that sustained attention, whilst not being a solitary sufficient factor, might somehow be involved in comprehension problems related to RHD. Implications for further research and clinical management of these sometimes subtle problems are discussed.     

Two weeks of transdermal estradiol treatment in postmenopausal elderly women and its effect on memory and mood: verbal memory changes are associated with the treatment induced estradiol levels.

The present randomized double blind study investigated the effects of a 2 week transdermal estradiol treatment on memory performance in 38 healthy elderly women. Cognitive performance was tested at baseline and after 2 weeks of estradiol or placebo treatment using verbal, semantic, and spatial memory tests as well as a mental rotation task and the Stroop. Initial results showed no differences after treatment between placebo or estradiol treated subjects. However, within treatment group analysis revealed that estradiol treated subjects who reached higher estradiol levels (larger than 29 pg/ml) performed significantly better after treatment in the delayed recall of the paired associate test (verbal memory) than subjects who reached lower estradiol levels (P < 0.05). A nonsignificant trend was observed for the immediate recall condition (P < 0.10). These findings were strengthened by correlations between treatment-induced estradiol levels and changes in verbal memory performance. In addition, there was an association between estradiol levels and mood changes. However mood changes were not significantly associated with changes in verbal memory performance (P > 0.20). The present study supports the idea that estradiol replacement has specific effects on verbal memory in healthy postmenopausal women, with delayed recall being more affected. It suggests that these effects can occur relatively rapidly, and that there may be a dose response relationship of estradiol to memory enhancement. Furthermore, the fact that these results were obtained in women who had been menopausal for an average of 17 years before entering the study indicates that the brain maintains a sensitivity for estrogens even after years of low estradiol plasma concentrations.     

Group therapy for memory impaired patients: A partial remediation is possible

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To analyse the prospect of memory training for patients with organic brain damage. METHODS: Sixty-two patients with memory disorder were assigned to three different groups: a control group (n=16) with low dose memory training, a process oriented memory training group (POT) (n=24) and a group (ST) who was taught to compensate for memory problems with different strategies (n=22). Most of the patients had suffered a stroke. Inclusion criteria were medium to weak memory impairment defined by the patients' performance in the California Verbal Learning Test. Patients with complete amnesia were excluded. Specific care was taken that the groups did not differ in age, time since illness, duration of rehabilitation effort, verbal and performance IQ, memory and attention performance. The two treatment groups received 20 hours memory training, the low dose memory training control group 7 sessions. RESULTS: The treatment groups improved in verbal and prospective memory, but only the group with POT experienced a significant improvement compared with the control group. Training effects were specific, i. e. they affected verbal memory, but were not encapsulated, i. e. generalized to the recall of prose passages and of appointments. The POT group also showed a statistically weak outperformance compared with the ST group and some attentional improvement as well. CONCLUSION: Memory training is effective in patients with organic brain lesion, but only if applied frequently. Comparing the two training high intensity treatments, a POT focus seems to be superior to teaching a set of compensation strategies.