Psychological medicine
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Psychological medicine · Nov 1997
The effects of intelligence and education on the development of dementia. A test of the brain reserve hypothesis.
A number of recent epidemiological studies have shown that the prevalence and incidence of dementia are increased in population strata with low compared to high levels of education. This has been explained as a consequence of a greater 'brain reserve capacity' in people with a high level of education. Theoretically, however, brain reserve capacity is better reflected by intelligence than by level of education. Thus, the emergence of dementia will be better predicted by low pre-morbid intelligence than by low education. ⋯ This result supports the brain reserve theory. It also indicates that low pre-morbid intelligence is an important risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia. Use of reading ability tests is to be preferred over years of education as estimator of pre-morbid cognitive level in (epidemiological) dementia research.
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Psychological medicine · Nov 1997
Psychological preparedness for trauma as a protective factor in survivors of torture.
Although much research has focused on mechanisms of traumatization and factors related to post-trauma psychological functioning in survivors of trauma, there have been few studies of survivors of torture despite the widespread practice of torture in the world. The aim of this study was to examine the role of 'psychological preparedness' for trauma in post-traumatic stress responses in survivors of torture. ⋯ The study findings lend support to the role of prior immunization to traumatic stress and to unpredictability and uncontrollability of stressors in the effects of traumatization. Further research aimed at identifying the behavioural and cognitive components of psychological preparedness that play a role in traumatization may provide useful insights into effective treatment strategies for survivors of torture.
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Psychological medicine · Nov 1997
Temporal lobe magnetic resonance imaging can differentiate Alzheimer's disease from normal ageing, depression, vascular dementia and other causes of cognitive impairment.
Previous work suggests that temporal lobe magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can distinguish those with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) from healthy age-matched controls. However, its specificity with regard to conditions such as vascular dementia, depression and other disorders associated with cognitive impairment has not been determined. ⋯ Temporal lobe MRI may have an important role in assisting with the clinical diagnosis of DAT, particularly its differentiation from depression and other disorders that may cause diagnostic difficulties in clinical practice.