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Examining Attentional Control And Processing Speed Deficits As Underlying Mechanisms Of Neuropsychological Impairment In Schizophrenia, Mayte Forte

Graduate Masters Theses

Neuropsychological impairment is a key characteristic of schizophrenia (SZ), but its cognitive profile and underlying information processing mechanisms are not yet well understood. We compare patterns of neuropsychological functioning in 85 persons with SZ and 76 healthy controls across measures of intelligence, memory, and executive function. We then test the hypothesis that neuropsychological impairment in SZ is related to dual deficits in two related but distinct information processes: processing speed and attentional control. All research participants completed Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition (WAIS-III), Wechsler Memory Scale Third Edition (WMS-III), and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), all of which provided measures …

Assessing The Impact Of White Noise On Cognition In Individuals With And Without Adhd, Scott Roye

LSU Master's Theses

Although originally viewed only as a childhood disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is now recognized to persist into adulthood in many individuals. Adults with ADHD often demonstrate academic, cognitive, and general functioning deficits as a result of their symptoms. Theorists have suggested that features typically associated with ADHD, such as distractibility, excessive motor activity, and executive dysfunction, may stem from being under stimulated at a physiological level. This lack of arousal potentially causes individuals to seek out stimulation, making them more susceptible to background noise and other environmental stimuli. However, previous research primarily focuses on children and adolescents with …

The Relationships Among Emotion, Cognitive Dysfunction And Anosognosia In Huntington’S Disease, Danielle C. Hergert

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Huntington's disease (HD) is a genetic, neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by motor, cognitive and psychiatric disturbances. Anosognosia, or lack of awareness of symptoms, is commonly observed in neurodegenerative disorders, including HD. Most theories suggest that emotion, executive functioning, and memory play important roles in self-awareness. There is limited research of anosognosia in HD and no theoretical model of how it manifests in the disease. The purpose of this study was to examine Metacognitive Knowledge, or overall beliefs about the self, and Online Awareness, or the ability to predict (Anticipatory Awareness) and evaluate (Emergent Awareness) task performance, in …

Attention And Functional Connectivity In Survivors Of Childhood Brain Tumors, Michelle E. Fox

Psychology Theses

To study potential hyperactivity and hyperconnectivity based on the latent resource hypothesis, this study assessed functional connectivity in survivors of childhood brain tumors compared to their healthy peers during an attention task using psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analyses and evaluated for a relationship with performance. Twenty-three survivors and 23 healthy controls completed a letter n-back task in the scanner. An empirically-based seed was placed in the parietal lobe, a theoretical seed was placed in the hippocampus, and a control seed was placed in the occipital lobe. Differences in both performance and functional connectivity networks from each seed emerged between groups, with …

Neurocognitive Correlates Of The Comprehensive Trail Making Test (Ctmt) In Brain Injured Children, Abigail Rose Mayfield

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Comprehensive Trail-Making Test (CTMT) is a commonly used assessment tool shown to be sensitive to brain dysfunction. Research has found cognitive abilities such as possessing speed, working memory, motor speed, sustained attention, and cognitive flexibility influence performance on the CTMT in non-clinical populations.

However, little research has been done to examine the neurocognitive abilities that influence performance on the CTMT in clinical populations. Research has demonstrated that the factor structure of the CTMT differs between clinical and non-clinical groups, which supports the need for further validation of the CTMT in clinical populations. This study examines the neurocognitive correlates that …

A Statistical Examination Of Impaired Performances Across Concussion Screening Instruments, Kathryn Ann Ritchie

Master's Theses (2009 -)

It is well documented that healthy individuals routinely obtain impaired scores on neuropsychological tests, which confounds the differential diagnosis process. Relatively little is known regarding the rates at which healthy individuals obtain impaired scores on measures that are used to detect cognitive symptoms associated with sports related concussion (SRC). The current study generated expected rates of impaired performance on the Standardized Assessment of Concussion (SAC), the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics Sports Battery (ANAM), Immediate Post-Concussion and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT), and Axon Sports (Axon) neurocognitive measures by conducting Monte Carlo analyses using data obtained from a large normative sample of amateur …

Construct Validity For The Poreh Nonverbal Memory Test On Participants With Right, Left, And Bilateral Temporal Lobe Epilepsy, Sarah E. Tolfo

ETD Archive

The present study examined the construct validity of a novel nonverbal memory measure, the Poreh Nonverbal Memory Test (PNMT), using a heterogeneous sample of patients with epilepsy. Results from this study shows that the PNMT differentially correlated with existing memory measures. Namely, the PNMT delay scores significantly correlated with ROCF delay scores, and RAVLT delay and ROCF delay scores were significantly correlated with each other. However, the PNMT did not significantly correlate with RAVLT, which was hypothesized. PNMT and RAVLT learning trials produced logarithmic learning curves that indicate both are good measures of learning. When controlling for gender, education, and …

The Effect Of Coaching On The Ability To Identify And Pass A Measure Of Insufficient Effort, Shannon Kovach

Open Access Master's Theses

Malingering, the feigning or exaggeration of illness or injury in order to obtain an external reward, is a well-studied topic in forensic psychology and neuropsychology. In recent years, considerable research has examined coached malingering, or ways in which individuals may gather information to develop a strategy to avoid being detected as a malingerer. One example of coached malingering is using the Internet to seek out information on which measures in a typical neuropsychological battery may be used to identify malingerers. Obtaining this information allows individuals to devise a strategy for how to perform on such tests to avoid detection. Previous …

The Role Of Cognitive Reserve In Recovery From Traumatic Brain Injury, Kayla Steward

All ETDs from UAB

Objective: To examine whether cognitive reserve (CR) attenuates the initial impact of TBI on cognitive performance (passive model) and results in faster cognitive recovery rates in the first year post-injury (active model), and whether the advantage of CR differs based on the severity of TBI. Setting: Inpatient/outpatient clinics at academic medical center. Participants: Adults with mild TBI (mTBI; n=28), complicated mild TBI (cmTBI; n=24), and moderate-to-severe TBI (msevTBI; n=57), and demographically-matched controls (n=66). Design: Retrospective; longitudinal cohort assessed at 1-, 6-, and 12-months post-injury. Main Measures: Outcomes were 3 cognitive domains: processing speed/executive function, verbal fluency, and memory. Premorbid IQ, …

Neuropsychological Assessment And Intervention In Residential Substance Use Disorder Treatment, Ely May Marceau

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

With persistent and chronic use of alcohol and drugs, structural and functional changes occur in the brain, contributing to the development and maintenance of substance use disorder (SUD). The cyclic nature of addiction is increasingly understood in a neuroscientific framework. Influential theories describe allostatic changes that occur over time as the initial highly rewarding effects of substances subsequently lead to reduced capacity of prefrontal brain regions to exert effective self-regulation, while an increasingly reactive amygdala-striatum system becomes progressively more vulnerable to substance-cues, stress, negative affect, and compulsive substance use (Koob & Volkow, 2016; Noël, Brevers, & Bechara, 2013; Volkow & …

The Effect Of Acute Pain On Executive Function, Jenna M. Morogiello

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Executive functions are high-level cognitive processes that allow a person to successfully engage in an independent and self-fulfilling life. Previous literature indicates that acute pain can affect executive function, which may be due to a limited amount of shared neural resources of the brain.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine if acute pain affects executive function in recreationally active individuals who sustain a musculoskeletal injury.

Methodology: Twenty-four participants who presented with acute pain due to a musculoskeletal injury underwent a neuropsychological battery within 72 hours of injury and within two weeks from the initial testing session. …