Cultural variation in verbal versus spatial neuropsychological function across the life span

Established culture-invariant measures are needed for cross-cultural assessment of verbal and visuospatial speed of processing and working memory across the life span. In this study, 32 younger and 32 older adults from China and from the United States were administered numerically based and spatially based measures of speed of processing and working memory. Chinese superiority on the numerically based tasks was found for younger adults. Age and increasing task demands diminished this cultural effect, as predicted by the framework proposed by D. C. Park, R. Nisbett, and T. Hedden (1999). However, the visuospatial measures of both working memory and speed of processing did not differ cross-culturally for either age group. The authors concluded that these visuospatial measures provide culture-invariant estimates of cognitive processes in East Asian and Western cultures, but that numerically based tasks show evidence of cultural and linguistic biases in performance levels.     

Growth rate and life span in Drosophila. II. A biphasic relationship between growth rate and life span

The relationship between growth rate and life span was studied in Drosophila by varying the amount of yeast available to each developing larva at constant temperature, 25 degrees C. With one approach the larvae developed in a standard medium at constant larval density and a varying amount of yeast added on the medium. Across the entire growth rate range covered in this way (10-100 micrograms/day, male flies) imaginal life span depended on growth rate in a biphasic way, the relationship having a parabolic form with a maximum at about 55 to 60 micrograms/day. Similar covariation of growth rate and life span was obtained by varying larval density at a constant amount of added yeast. With both these approaches growth rate variation was due to opposite variations of both components of growth rate, i.e. duration of development and body size. However, development in a medium without nutrients but with a varying amount of added yeast at constant larval density led to a similar biphasic relationship between growth rate and life span although duration of development did not vary. Therefore, the present results are not compatible with the hypothesis that there is a single causal negative relationship between growth rate and life span and demonstrate that duration of development is not a causative factor of the biphasic relationship between growth rate and life span established here.     

A life span perspective on drug use and affective distress in an african-american sample

Data from the second and third waves of an ongoing study of inner-city African Americans (N = 411) were used to assess the relationship between substance use and affective distress. Involvement with eight substances was examined individually and collectively over a 7-year interval, during which time the study cohort moved from ages 18 to 23 years to 26 to 31 years. Regression analysis indicated that substance use was associated directly with deleterious change in affective distress. Important gender differences were evident in the magnitude, related substances, and timing of these drug effects. Further analysis showed that the introduction of life-style controls for social integration and social attainment did not substantially alter the observed drug effect.     

Pituitary removal in adult mice increases life span

Dwarf mutations reduce levels of pituitary hormones and increase life span in mice. But because these dwarf mutations confer life-long hormone deficits that alter development and dramatically reduce fecundity, the relevance of these models to normal aging has been questioned. We examined effects of pituitary hormone withdrawal at different ages using hypophysectomy (surgical removal of the pituitary). Hypophysectomy at 1 month of age extended life span significantly (15%), but hypophysectomy at 9 months of age extended life span to the greatest magnitude (21%) of any age we tested. These results demonstrate pituitary hormone withdrawal can extend life span even if these hormones are removed relatively late in life.     

The perception of facial emotion across the adult life span

This study was designed to examine changes in the perception of facial emotion across the adult life span. Subjects were 30 young (ages 21 to 39 years), 30 middle‐aged (ages 40 to 59 years), and 30 older (ages 60 to 81 years) normal adult right‐handed females. The three groups of subjects were carefully screened for neurological and psychiatric disorders and for cognitive and visuoperceptual deficits; the groups were closely matched on demographic variables. Subjects were required to identify photographs of facial emotional expressions (Ekman & Friesen, 1976). There were no overall changes in accuracy of perception as a function of age. The ages of posers in the photographs did not influence the perceptual accuracy scores. This study contributes to the literature about the characteristics of normal emotional processing across the adult life span.     

P1-450 and P3-450 gene expression and maximum life span in mice

The effects of β-naphthoflavone on the inducibility of hepatic P₁-450 and P₃-450 mRNA were investigated in male B10.RIII/Sn, C57BL/10Sn, C3H/HeSnJ, and A/WYSn mice. Previous work has shown that the maximum level of aryl hydrocarbon hydrolase induction in these strains correlates with maximum life span. In this study we found that the maximum inducible levels of P₁- and P₃-450 RNA were significantly different among the strains, and these levels also correlate with life span. The differences were not due to strain-specific differences in the kinetics of P₁- or P₃-450 RNA induction. The differences were specific to expression of the P-450 genes, since the levels of hepatic α-actin and albumin RNA were not significantly different among the strains, and specific RNA levels were normalized to the level of total polyadenylated RNA. β-Naphthoflavone was found to induce α-actin mRNA approximately 2-fold and to transiently repress albumin RNA about 50% in all mouse strains.Maximum P₁- and P₃-450 gene expression correlated directly with the 10th deciles of survival of the mouse strains. Longer-lived strains expressed higher combined levels of P₁- and P₃-450 RNAs. Maximum P₁- and P₃-450 gene expression also correlated generally with the reported aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase receptor levels of each strain. It is unlikely that the hepatic P₁- and P₃-450 genes are ever maximally induced under the sheltered laboratory conditions used to determine maximum life span, as we consistently find very low levels of P-450 expression in uninduced animals. These uninduced levels were not statistically different between the strains. Therefore, the reason for the relationship between maximum life span and maximum P₁- and P₃-450 inducibility is unclear at present.     

The relationship between auditory ERP and neuropsychological assessments in schizophrenia.

To clarify the cognitive significance of event-related potential (ERP) abnormalities in schizophrenia, we examined the relationships of amplitudes and latencies of ERP components with performance on neuropsychological tests in schizophrenic patients. Twenty patients underwent the Trail Making B Test (TM-B), which is sensitive to frontal lobe dysfunction, and the logical memory, verbal paired-association, and visual reproduction subtests of the Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS), which are sensitive to temporal lobe dysfunctions, and ERP recordings during performance of an oddball auditory discrimination task. Pearson product-moment correlations indicated that an increased P200 amplitude was correlated with poor performance on the TM-B, whereas a decreased P300 amplitude was correlated with poor performance on the verbal paired-association subtest of the WMS. These findings suggest that a P200 abnormality represents the frontal lobe dysfunction, and a P300 abnormality represents the left temporal lobe dysfunction in schizophrenia.     

The relationship between brain morphometry and neuropsychological performance in alcohol dependence

The aim of this study was to explore local brain atrophy of patients with alcohol dependence using a voxel-based analysis of magnetic resonance images and to investigate the relationship of those atrophic regions with drinking history and neuropsychological performances. Statistical parametric mapping was applied for the global and regional comparison of segmented gray matter and white matter images from 20 patients with alcohol dependence and with those from 20 controls. The Rey auditory-verbal learning test, Rey-Osterrieth complex figure test, Stroop test, trail-making test, and Wisconsin card sorting test were conducted as neuropsychological evaluations. There was a significant decrease in both gray matter and white matter globally in alcohol dependence. Bilateral parahippocampal white matter areas were reduced in particular. Perseverative responses and perseverative errors in the Wisconsin card sorting test had significant correlation with the decrease of gray matter decrease including the left superior temporal gyri and right postcentral region. The psychological performance measures correlated with gray matter rather than white matter, whereas right temporal white matter correlated with drinking amount for last 4 weeks. This may imply that alcohol consumption in heavy amounts damages both gray matter and white matter, and gray matter atrophy mainly leads to cognitive impairment, whereas white matter is related to drinking history.     

Strict relationship between dialyzed serum concentration and cellular life span in vitro

To determine the extent of the contribution of growth factor level on the life span of human diploid fibroblasts in vitro, the growth rate changes of IMR-90 cells under altered dialyzed serum (d-FBS) concentrations were investigated at different population doubling levels (PDL). As the PDL increased, the cells showed an accelerated requirement for d-FBS in order to maintain a constant growth rate, thus indicating a rapid loss of responsiveness of the cells to serum growth factors. A similar relationship was observed when the growth rate was extrapolated to zero and the cellular life span was predicted from this relationship. The cells cultured with 0.3% and 10% d-FBS ceased their growth at 54 and 76 PDL, respectively, while their predicted life span was 58 and 80–85 PDL, respectively. The cells cultured with 0.3% d-FBS responded poorly to an increase in the d-FBS concentration after entering phase III. These results suggest that the serum growth factor level is one of the determinants of cellular life span in vitro.     

The relationship between experimental and neuropsychological measures of memory.

The current investigation sought to provide convergent and divergent validational information on both experimental and neuropsychological measures short versus long-term memory. Forty undergraduates (20 male, 20 female) were administered memory assessments from the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery, the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Test Battery, and the experimentally developed Paired Associates (Face-Name Association & Distractor tasks). Results indicated that the experimental measures of memory demonstrated a high degree of convergent and divergent validity. Both the Luria-Nebraska Memory Scale and the Halstead-Reitan correlated to long-term measures of memory. The Luria Memory Scale did not significantly correlate to short-term measures of memory. Selected subtests from the Halstead-Reitan correlated to experimentally-derived measures of short-term memory. Implications of this study are discussed and recommendations for future research is discussed.     

Growth rate and life span in Drosophila. III. Effect of body size and developmental temperature on the biphasic relationship between growth rate and life span

The previous finding of a biphasic relationship between life span and growth rate of Drosophila, developed at 25 degrees C, was confirmed at other temperatures in the usual range (19-28 degrees C) and for development in either a standard medium or one deprived of nutrients but with varying amounts of yeast added on the medium. The role of body size in this relationship was studied by developing flies in a nutrient-less medium with a constant, submaximal amount of added yeast and varying temperature. It was found that under these conditions, which abolished the usual inverse relationship between body size and developmental temperature, body size variations did not account for the observed variations in life span. Thus, corroborating previous studies from this laboratory, body size was ruled out as a causative factor in the life span-growth rate relationship.     

The relationship between neuropsychological functioning and driving ability in dementia: a meta-analysis

A meta-analysis of 27 primary studies was conducted to examine the relationship between neuropsychological functioning and driving ability for adults with dementia. When studies using a control group were included, the relationship between cognitive measures and on-road or non-road driving measures was significant for all reported domains; mean correlations ranged from.35 to.65. Caregiver reports of driving ability and cognitive variables were correlated significantly only on measures of mental status and visuospatial skills. When studies using a control group were excluded, moderate mean correlations were observed for visuospatial skills and on-road or non-road measures, and for mental status with non-road tests. Other effects were small or nonsignificant. Implications for basing driving recommendations on neuropsychological testing are discussed.     

The relationship between body-image and body-fat in adult women

Measures of body-fat or adiposity, body-image, and other psychological variables were obtained from a sample of 100 female volunteer subjects. The measures of adiposity included surface anthropometry, underwater weighing and a new electrical impedance method. Body-image measures were derived from two experimental techniques, namely the visual-size estimation (or calliper) method and a distorting-mirror, and also from a self-report body-satisfaction scale (BSS). The main findings were that measures of adiposity were positively and significantly related to each other. But, that by contrast, measures of body-image separated out into three distinct sets, namely: (i) 'mirror' accuracy, (2) 'callipers' accuracy, and (3) 'dissatisfaction/desire for change'. The 'accuracy' measures were found to be unrelated to measures of adiposity or other psychological variables: while the 'dissatisfaction' measures were found to relate to both of these. The implications of these findings for future studies of weight and eating disorder groups are discussed.     

The MAACL-R6 with an adult clinical sample

To determine the usefulness of the MAACL-R6 (sixth grade reading level version of the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List-Revised), its characteristics were studied in an adult clinical sample. As with the rescored samples, acceptable reliability and validity with this clinical sample was found. Also, the MAACL-R rescored on the sixth grade adjectives was equivalent in reliability and validity to the MAACL-R6 in this clinical sample, indicating that there was no context effect produced by being imbedded in the larger list of adjectives. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Psychol 53 : 491–495, 1997.     

The relationship between neuropsychological impairment in alcoholics and treatment outcome at one year.

One hundred and thirty-two (132) patients with a diagnosis of alcohol dependence who participated in an inpatient treatment program were assessed on select neuropsychological measures and followed for a one year period. Neuropsychological, personality, and demographic variables did not predict outcome defined as abstinence at one year follow-up. Relapsed patients displayed slightly better initial neuropsychological functioning compared to abstainers, although this effect was not significant when these measures were controlled for age and education. These findings and the clinical implications of neuropsychological assessment in alcoholic populations is discussed.     

The relationship between neuropsychological measures and self-care skills in patients with cerebrovascular lesions.

The present investigation examined the relationship between performance on the Michigan Neuropsychological Battery (MNB) and selected self-care skills in a group of patients with unilateral cerebrovascular lesions. Among MNB measures, left-sided somatosensory and motor functions were the best predictors of self-care skills, showing that in these stroke patients lower level cerebral functions mediated by the right hemisphere are more strongly related to the self-care skills examined than higher cerebral functions. Also, evidence that patients with cerebrovascular lesions in the left hemisphere performed better than patients with right hemisphere lesions in several self-care categories is further indication that right hemisphere processes have a special role to play in the mediation of these self-care activities. The research and clinical implications of these findings are noted.     

The relationship between plasma viral load and neuropsychological functioning in HIV-1 infection.

Plasma viral load is helpful in monitoring systemic HIV infection but the relationship between plasma viral load and CNS functioning remains unclear. Equivocal results have been reported on the relationship between plasma viral load and cognitive functioning. The present study tested cognitive functions with a standardized neuropsychological battery consisting of 28 test scores. Participants (N=140) were grouped into undetectable (<400 copies), low (401-10,000 copies), or moderate (10,001-100,000 copies) viral load groups. Statistical analyses (MANOVA and MANCOVA) revealed no differences in neuropsychological test performance between the viral load groups. Fairly healthy patients with moderate plasma viral loads do not appear to show increased neuropsychological dysfunction. CSF viral load may be more helpful in evaluating cognitive correlates of HIV encephalitis.     

The relationship between neuropsychological performance and daily functioning in individuals with Alzheimer's disease: ecological validity of neuropsychological tests.

The current study examined the relationship between neuropsychological test performance and functional status in 42 individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. A comprehensive battery of cognitive tests was employed in order to assess a wide range of neuropsychological abilities. Functional status was measured through the use of both a performance-based scale of activities of daily living (an expanded version of the Direct Assessment of Functional Status; DAFS, Loewenstein et al., 1989), and by a caregiver/informant-based rating scale (Instrumental Activities of Daily Living; IADL, Lawton & Brody, 1969). Findings suggest that neuropsychological functioning is moderately predictive of functional status. Using multiple regression analyses, neuropsychological variables accounted for 25% of the variance in the IADL and 50% of the variance in the DAFS. Individual domains of both functional measures were also significantly predicted by the neuropsychological variables. The findings provide evidence of a relationship between neuropsychological test performance and ADLs in an Alzheimer disease patient population.