The Clinical neuropsychologist
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Objective: In the real-world environment, multiple and interacting state-dependent factors (e.g., fatigue, distractions) can cause cognitive failures and negatively impact everyday activities. This study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and a n-back task to examine the relationship between fluctuating levels of cognition measured in the real-world environment and self-report and performance-based measures of functional status. Method: Thirty-five community-dwelling older adults (M age = 71.80) completed a brief battery of objective and self-report measures of cognitive and functional status. ⋯ Hierarchical regressions further revealed that IIV was a significant predictor of self-reported functional status and cognitive failures over and above EMA average performance and global cognitive status. In contrast, for the objective, functional status composite, IIV did not explain additional variance. Conclusions: The findings suggest that IIV and self-report measures of functional status and cognitive failures may capture a real-world cognitive capacity that fluctuates over time and with context; one that may not easily be captured by objective, performance-based measures designed to assess optimal function.
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Comparative Study
Comparing mentorship and sponsorship in clinical neuropsychology.
Mentoring is a well-known concept that is widely regarded as beneficial for personal and professional development. The concept of sponsoring is less recognized although it is considered critical by some for career advancement. The purpose of this study was to provide an initial exploration of differences between mentoring and sponsoring within neuropsychology and to learn what sponsors look for in protégés. ⋯ Neuropsychologists who provide training are in the position to mentor and sponsor individuals; mentoring relationships often entail sponsorship and vice versa such that the two constructs may be considered part of a continuum. Improving knowledge and skills in mentorship and sponsorship will not only advance personal and professional development of protégés but will also positively impact mentors/sponsors and help shape the field of neuropsychology in deliberate ways.
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Youth with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) perform more poorly on preseason cognitive testing and report more baseline concussion-like symptoms but prior studies have not examined the influence of medication use on test performance or symptom reporting. This study investigated whether medication use is relevant when interpreting baseline ImPACT® results from student athletes with ADHD. ⋯ Contrary to our hypothesis, we found medication use had only a subtle effect on cognitive performance and no significant effect on concussion-like symptom reporting. Student athletes reporting medication use for ADHD performed comparably to student athletes with no ADHD on baseline testing.
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The Brain Injury Cognitive Screen (BICS) was developed as an in-service cognitive assessment battery for acquired brain injury patients entering community rehabilitation. The BICS focuses on domains that are particularly compromised following TBI, and provides a broader and more detailed assessment of executive function, attention and information processing than comparable screening assessments. The BICS also includes brief assessments of perception, naming, and construction, which were predicted to be more sensitive to impairments following non-traumatic brain injury. The studies reported here examine preliminary evidence for its validity in post-acute rehabilitation. ⋯ The study provides preliminary evidence of the BICS' sensitivity to cognitive impairment caused by acquired brain injury, and its potential clinical utility as a cognitive screen. Further validation based on a revised version of the BICS and more normative data are required.
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This study examined whether a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with earlier onset of Alzheimer disease (AD), independent of apolipoprotein ε4 status (Apoe4) and gender. ⋯ History of self-reported TBI can be associated with an earlier onset of AD-related cognitive decline, regardless of Apoe4 status and gender. TBI may be related to an underlying neurodegenerative process in AD, but the implications of age at time of injury, severity, and repetitive injuries remain unclear.