Cognitive Psychology Commons^™

Process Dissociation Analyses Of Memory Changes In Healthy Aging, Preclinical, And Very Mild Alzheimer Disease: Evidence For Isolated Recollection Deficits, Peter R. Millar

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recollection and familiarity are independent processes that contribute to memory performance. Recollection is dependent on attentional control, which breaks down in early-stage Alzheimer disease (AD), whereas familiarity is independent of attention. The present study examines the sensitivity of recollection estimates based on Jacoby’s (1991) process dissociation procedure to AD-related biomarkers in a large sample of well-characterized cognitively normal older adults (N = 519) and the extent to which recollection discriminates these individuals from individuals with very mild symptomatic AD (N = 64). Participants studied word pairs, e.g., “knee bone,” then completed a primed, explicit, cued fragment-completion memory task, e.g., “knee …

Intraindividual Variability As A Predictor Of Cognitive Decline In Elderly, Wendy S. Ramratan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is conceptualized as a transitional state between normal aging and fully developed clinical features of dementia. The literature on MCI is notable for varied measurement approaches and lack of stability in the diagnostic entity, with many individuals remaining stable or reverting to normal cognitive status. Researchers agree that multiple neuropsychological domains should be assessed to enhance the assessment and prediction of cognitive decline. In addition, within-person assessments capture trajectories of decline, which are better suited for understanding individual change than simple comparison to group norms. The current study investigated the ability of within-person change on novel …

Category Learning In Older Adulthood: Understanding And Reducing Age-Related Deficits, Rahel R. Rabi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Executive functions are important for learning rule-based (RB) categories, as well as non-rule-based (NRB) categories (e.g., categories learned implicitly, without a verbal rule). However, executive functioning is known to decline with age, leading to age-related deficits in category learning. The current thesis examines RB and NRB category learning in older adults using category sets that vary in difficulty (e.g., rule complexity, number of stimulus dimensions, salience of stimulus dimensions). In Chapter 2, older adults and younger adults completed three category sets (simple single-dimensional RB, disjunctive RB, and NRB). Older adults learned the simple, single-dimensional rules quite well. In contrast to …

Moderation Analysis Of Bowel Function Among Nutrients And Physical Function Or Depression, As Well As Whether Bowel Function Is Related To Cognition In Older Adults, Jessie Alwerdt

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As we age, the risk for gut issues, such as smooth muscle tone, may be an underlying indirect or direct cause or risk factor for many age-related issues, such as frailty. Consequences of decreased motility and depleted epithelial barrier may result in nutrient deficiencies that may increase the risk for malnutrition (Brownie, 2006). Further, there is increasing evidence that there is a gut-brain-axis relationship that may influence cognition and mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety. While there are relationships established, the interconnections of these factors have yet to be fully understood.

This dissertation examined several relationships specific to …