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Shanker, Shanti. "Neuropsychology of motivated forgetting." Thesis, Bangor University, 2016. https://research.bangor.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/neuropsychology-of-motivated-forgetting(74254543-1b02-4c4d-b6f8-da577cca45db).html.
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When confronted with an unwelcome reminder, people often inhibit the unwanted memory from awareness, a process that causes forgetting. This suppression-induced forgetting (SIF), also sometimes known as motivated forgetting, can be empirically measured by the Think/No-Think (TNT) task. Chapter 1 reviews the literature on memory inhibition. Imaging work indicates suppressing retrieval engages the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (rDLPFC), which in turn may inhibit the retrieval processes within the hippocampus. This thesis, using a range of methods, aims to better understand the neuropsychology of motivated forgetting. Chapter 2 investigates whether the ability to inhibit unwanted memories can be modulated through electrical stimulation. Stimulation methods do not appear to improve inhibition, at least in this cohort, one possible reason for this being the increased perceived thought control ability. Chapter 3 reports the first ever adaptation of the TNT task in patients with unilateral frontal lesions. Pilot testing in Chapter 4 reports the study in patients with unilateral frontal lesions. The results suggested that patients with left frontal lesions showed a robust SIF, compared to those with right-frontal lesions who showed none. Finally, Chapter 5 attempted to identify the structural connectivity underlying inhibitory control of motivated forgetting. The results indicate that the DLPFC is connected to the hippocampus by a subset of the two tracts, namely the anterior thalamic projection connecting the DLPFC to the caudate nucleus, and the fornix. Future directions to expand on the finding of this thesis are discussed in Chapter 6.
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Deakin, J. B. "The neuropsychology of decision-making." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2005. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.598466.
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This thesis is concerned with emotional decision-making and impulsivity. In a series of experiments, the processes involved in emotional decision-making were investigated. Techniques used included both established, neuropsychologically validated tasks known to be dependent on frontal lobe function, and an entirely novel paradigm. A probabilistic decision-making and gambling task has been widely used to delineate the differences between pathological groups and normal volunteers, and attempts to distinguish between different components of impulsivity. In a large cohort of healthy volunteers, older volunteers took longer to make poorer decisions but risked less when gambling. This pattern of changes is unlike the patterns demonstrated by any of the pathological groups previously reported. A factor analysis of the results suggest that the variability across healthy volunteers on the four measures of impulsivity provided by the task can be explained by two orthogonal components, only one of these is influenced by age. Delay aversion is an unusual phenomenon in adult humans. A new task was designed so that optimal choice and delay-averse behaviour could be distinguished. In previous delay aversion tasks, volunteers can either pick the best option and be delay tolerant or the less optimal choice and be delay-averse. I predicted that one would be able to detect smaller variations in delay aversion when there was less of a cost to the delay-averse choice. Normal adults chose optimally and did not demonstrate delay aversion. When age-groups were compared it was seen that older adults did not choose optimally, but in fact choose the sub-optimal and most delay-tolerant option. A group of individuals known to have a decision-making deficit are those with frontal variant frontotemporal dementia. It was hypothesised that this was due to a lack of availability of 5-HT which could be corrected by paroxetine. A double-blind randomised controlled trial was used to detect improved performance on this task (and other tasks sensitive to tryptophan depletion) as well as any change in symptoms using a course of paroxetine (an SSRI). Paroxetine did not improve symptoms and in fact impaired test performance. Surprisingly, long term administration of paroxetine produced a pattern of effects on the test battery which was almost indistinguishable from that of tryptophan depletion. Diazepam is known to have receptors distributed throughout the prefrontal cortex but its effects on tests of orbitofrontal function have never before been examined. In contrast to the well-known sedative effects of diazepam, I demonstrate disinhibitory effects on two speeded reaction time tasks. It is shown that diazepam can impair performance on reaction time tasks both by impairing sensitivity and by increasing the bias to respond. Furthermore diazepam impaired performance on tests of frontal lobe function including both tests of planning and decision-making that depend predominantly on dorsolateral and orbitofrontal regions of the PFC respectively. In summary, a variety of factors have been found that impinge on decision-making. It is demonstrated that older adults are less able to make an optimal choice both when deciding between rewards of different probabilities and when deciding between rewards which come after a different delay. Volunteers who take diazepam are more likely to pick the larger reward associated with the less optimal choice than normal volunteers and demonstrate impulsive behaviour in two speeded reaction time tests. Paroxetine had no effect on decision-making in an impaired group of volunteers with frontotemporal dementia but had a paradoxical effect of impairing performance in tasks that are impaired by damage to orbitofrontal cortex and by tryptophan depletion. Possible neuronal substrates for these effects are discussed, as are explanations for the surprising effects of paroxetine and future directions in therapeutics. Finally a tentative neurochemical and anatomical model is detailed that would account for the effects described here.
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Ayre, Gareth Andrew. "The comparative neuropsychology of dementia." Thesis, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/10443/850.
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On the basis of neuropathological, neurochemical, genetic, and clinical profile studies on patients, distinct forms of dementia, such as dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), have been distinguished which were originally thought to be Alzheimer's disease (AD). Dementia with Lewy bodies is probably the second most common form of dementia in the elderly. In this thesis, a well characterised and investigated cohort of DLB and AD patients were compared to non-demented elderly controls in order to establish profiles of cognitive decline in these groups. Initially, comprehensively matched experimental groups were compared using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB). The DLB group was less impaired than the AD group on a test of visual pattern recognition memory. However, the DLB group performed worse on a number of cognitive tests. Comparison of larger, carefully matched, experimental groups using the Cognitive Drug Research Computerised Assessment Battery (CDR) also revealed differences in the profile of cognitive impairment in DLB and AD. The DLB group showed more marked deficits in attentional abilities than the AD group. In particular, the DLB group were unable to sustain attention. Conversely, the DLB group were less impaired on a test of visual secondary recognition memory than the AD group. Further division of the DLB group into cases with and without persistent visual hallucinations revealed distinct patterns of cognitive impairment in these two groups. Generally, DLB cases with persistent visual hallucinations showed greater attentional and spatial working memory deficits than the DLB cases without persistent visual hallucinations. A final study compared decline in cognitive function over 1 year in DLB, AD and control groups. Similar rates of cognitive decline were identified in a number of cognitive domains in AD and DLB groups. In addition, disproportionate decline in the ability to sustain attention was identified in the DLB group. A comparative model relating known neuropsychological, neurochemical, and neuropathological features of DLB and AD was proposed.
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Alderdice, Fiona A. "The neuropsychology of alcohol abuse." Thesis, Queen's University Belfast, 1990. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.334532.
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Charlesworth, G. "Neuropsychology of frontal lobe dementia." Thesis, University of East Anglia, 1995. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.296874.
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Weber, Mareen. "The neuropsychology of sport concussion." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2010. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/1049/.
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This thesis presents four empirical chapters that challenge current sport concussion research and practice. Chapter 2 measured sport concussion knowledge in the UK general public using an online survey. It showed high sport concussion awareness, but limited and erroneous understanding. Chapter 3 examined the effect of terminology (i.e., concussion; mild traumatic brain injury, mTBI; minor head injury, mHI) on familiarity, injury outcome expectations and symptom self-report in athletes using a questionnaire. The mTBI terminology was the least familiar, reliably more negative conceptualised, but knowledge was more accurate than the other two. Symptom self-report did not vary with terminology or injury history. Chapter 4 compared the late neuropsychological functioning in self-reported sport-concussed to non-concussed athletes using a comprehensive test battery. Injury self-report was associated with worse memory recall and executive function shifting. Chapter 5 piloted a computerised neuropsychological test battery in athletes using a longitudinal control group design. A single case study showed transient deficits in memory recall and executive function at one to six weeks post-concussion. The overall data suggest that (i) education is needed; (ii) the interchangeable terminology use is inappropriate; (iii) sport concussion assessment should be complemented by memory recall and executive function tests; (iv) case studies might be more appropriate than group comparisons.
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Baker, David Wayne. "Neuropsychology and appropriate modes of instruction /." Access Digital Full Text version, 1989. http://pocketknowledge.tc.columbia.edu/home.php/bybib/10858489.
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Thesis (Ed.D.) -- Teachers College, Columbia University, 1989.<br>Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: A. Harry Passow. Dissertation Committee: James H. Borland III. Bibliography: leaves 192-207.
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Hemberger, Helga Christine. "The neuropsychology of obsessive-compulsive symptoms." Thesis, The University of Sydney, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/1902.
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Obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms occur in a variety of clinical conditions, but the underlying pathogenesis of these symptoms remains elusive. Few neuropsychological investigations have compared idiopathic Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) with patient groups where OC symptoms are acquired. The present study investigated the neuropsychological correlates of OC symptoms in OCD and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a neurodegenerative illness in which OC symptoms are often acquired. Neuroimaging in OCD has consistently implicated the frontal-striatal-thalamic circuit, particularly the orbitofrontal cortex and basal ganglia. These areas overlap considerably with the sites of cerebral pathology found in FTD. OCD has been associated with a number of neuropsychological deficits, with most consistent findings pointing towards impaired executive function (EF), and less commonly reported deficits in visual memory and visuospatial ability. The neuropsychological hallmark of FTD is deficits in EF. However in both OCD and FTD, the relationship between cognitive deficits and OC symptoms remains unclear. Further, the extent to which OC symptoms are comparable between the groups is ambiguous. Part I of the present study compared 19 OCD subjects to 20 age, education and IQ-matched healthy controls on a battery of neuropsychological tests of all major cognitive domains with emphasis on EF. A measure of Theory of Mind (ToM) thought to be sensitive to orbitofrontal function was also administered. OCD subjects performed worse than controls on a measure of visual memory, visuospatial reasoning and on only one measure of EF. OCD symptom subtypes, as measured by the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (OCI), were not correlated with any cognitive deficits. No group differences in ToM were found. It is suggested that prior research has overestimated the severity and significance of EF deficits in OCD. Part II of the study compared 9 FTD participants with 10 matched healthy controls on the same neuropsychological test battery and OC symptom measures. In addition, a measure of compulsive behaviours used in neurological populations was administered to carers. While the incidence of OC symptoms was comparable to reports in previous studies (78%), the OCI was not sensitive in the detection of OC symptoms in FTD. The similarities and differences in OC symptoms between the two patient groups are discussed.
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Hemberger, Helga Christine. "The neuropsychology of obsessive-compulsive symptoms." University of Sydney, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/1902.
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Doctor of Clinical Psychology<br>Obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms occur in a variety of clinical conditions, but the underlying pathogenesis of these symptoms remains elusive. Few neuropsychological investigations have compared idiopathic Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) with patient groups where OC symptoms are acquired. The present study investigated the neuropsychological correlates of OC symptoms in OCD and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a neurodegenerative illness in which OC symptoms are often acquired. Neuroimaging in OCD has consistently implicated the frontal-striatal-thalamic circuit, particularly the orbitofrontal cortex and basal ganglia. These areas overlap considerably with the sites of cerebral pathology found in FTD. OCD has been associated with a number of neuropsychological deficits, with most consistent findings pointing towards impaired executive function (EF), and less commonly reported deficits in visual memory and visuospatial ability. The neuropsychological hallmark of FTD is deficits in EF. However in both OCD and FTD, the relationship between cognitive deficits and OC symptoms remains unclear. Further, the extent to which OC symptoms are comparable between the groups is ambiguous. Part I of the present study compared 19 OCD subjects to 20 age, education and IQ-matched healthy controls on a battery of neuropsychological tests of all major cognitive domains with emphasis on EF. A measure of Theory of Mind (ToM) thought to be sensitive to orbitofrontal function was also administered. OCD subjects performed worse than controls on a measure of visual memory, visuospatial reasoning and on only one measure of EF. OCD symptom subtypes, as measured by the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (OCI), were not correlated with any cognitive deficits. No group differences in ToM were found. It is suggested that prior research has overestimated the severity and significance of EF deficits in OCD. Part II of the study compared 9 FTD participants with 10 matched healthy controls on the same neuropsychological test battery and OC symptom measures. In addition, a measure of compulsive behaviours used in neurological populations was administered to carers. While the incidence of OC symptoms was comparable to reports in previous studies (78%), the OCI was not sensitive in the detection of OC symptoms in FTD. The similarities and differences in OC symptoms between the two patient groups are discussed.
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Cardinal, Rudolf N. "Neuropsychology of reinforcement processes in the rat." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2001. https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/236348.
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This thesis investigated the role played by regions of the prefrontal cortex and ventral striatum in the control of rats' behaviour by Pavlovian conditioned stimuli, and in their capacity to choose delayed reinforcement. First, the function of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in simple Pavlovian conditioning tasks was addressed. The ACC is a subdivision of prefrontal cortex that has previously been suggested to be critical for the formation of stimulus-reward associations. It was found that lesions of the ACC did not prevent rats from learning a simple conditioned approach response to a conditioned stimulus (CS) predictive of food reward, or from utilizing that CS as a conditioned reinforcer subsequently. Additionally, these subjects successfully acquired a conditioned freezing response to a CS predicting footshock. However, the same animals were impaired at the acquisition of autoshaped behaviour, an impairment that has been demonstrated previously. An autoshaping deficit was also observed when lesions were made following training. The phenomenon of Pavlovian-instrumental transfer was intact in these subjects. The hypothesis was developed that the ACC is not critical for the formation of stimulus-reward associations per se, but is critical when multiple stimuli must be discriminated on the basis of their differential association with reward. In support of this hypothesis, animals with lesions of the ACC were impaired on a version of the conditioned approach task in which a second, neutral stimulus, perceptually similar to the CS, was added; the lesioned subjects exhibited reduced discrimination. Second, the role of the nucleus accumbens (Acb) in Pavlovian-instrumental transfer was investigated. The nucleus accumbens core, together with a larger amygdalar-striatal network of which it is a component, has previously been shown to be necessary for the expression of 'simple' Pavlovian-instrumental transfer. Rats with lesions of the nucleus accumbens core (AcbC) and shell (AcbSh) were tested on a 'response-specific' Pavlovian-instrumental transfer task, in which a Pavlovian CS selectively enhances instrumental responding for the outcome with which the CS was originally paired. AcbC lesions impaired the response specificity of this effect, while AcbSh lesions abolished Pavlovian-instrumental transfer entirely. These results are consistent with some - but not all - previous results in suggesting that the shell provides 'vigour' and the core provides 'direction' for the potentiation of behaviour by Pavlovian CSs. Third, an attempt was made to train rats on a task for assessing preference for delayed reinforcement, using the 'adjusting-delay' paradigm. It was not immediately apparent that the rats reacted to the contingencies operative in this task, and mathematical analysis of their behaviour was conducted to establish whether their behaviour was sensitive to the delay, and what 'molar' features of performance on this task could be explained by delay-independent processes. Fourth, a different delayed reinforcement choice task was developed, modifying a previously published task in which the subject is repeatedly offered a choice, in discrete trials, of a small reward delivered immediately, and a large reward delivered after a delay, with the delays systematically varied by the experimenter. Rats were trained on versions of this task in which the large, delayed reinforcer was or was not explicitly signalled by a cue present during the delay. The behavioural basis of performance on this task was examined, and d-amphetamine, chlordiazepoxide, and alpha-flupenthixol were administered systemically. It was found that the effects of d-amphetamine depended on whether the delayed reinforcer was signalled or unsignalled, increasing preference for signalled delayed reinforcement at some doses, but decreasing preference for unsignalled delayed reinforcement. These results may resolve contradictions in the literature, and are suggested to reflect the known effect of amphetamine to potentiate responding for conditioned reinforcers. Fifth, rats that had been trained on this task (with no explicit signals present during the delay) were given lesions of the ACC, AcbC, or medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). ACC-lesioned rats were no different from sham-operated controls in their ability to choose a large, delayed reinforcer. Lesions of mPFC reduced the tendency of subjects to shift from one lever to the other during the course of a session, but mPFC-lesioned subjects responded normally to removal of the delays, suggesting a loss of stimulus control. However, rats with lesions of the AcbC were severely impaired on this task, preferring the small, immediate reward, even though they discriminated the reinforcers. Additionally, the effects of intra-Acb amphetamine were assessed using a different version of the delayed reinforcement choice task, and found to have slight but inconsistent effects to reduce preference for the delayed reinforcer, though this effect did not depend on whether the delayed reward was signalled or unsignalled. These results suggest that the AcbC contributes significantly to the rat's ability to choose a delayed reward, a finding that has important implications for the understanding of Acb function. It is suggested that dysfunction of the AcbC may be a key element in the pathology of impulsivity.
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Maybey, Victoria. "Assessment of sub-optimal effort in neuropsychology." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.434707.
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Thornton, H. B. "The neuropsychiatry and neuropsychology of Lipoid Proteinosis." Thesis, Link to the online version, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10019/1242.
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Chamberlain, S. R. "The neuropsychology of impulsivity and cognitive flexibility." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2007. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.597406.
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Despite the theoretical and clinical importance of the terms impulsivity and cognitive flexibility, there has been relatively little research in humans setting to (i) to fractionate these terms neuropsychologically using objective computerised tests; (ii) to investigate the relationship between impairments in these domains and the manifestation of psychiatric symptoms; and (iii) to investigate the neurochemical substrates of these functions. The first half of this thesis investigates impulsivity and cognitive flexibility in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and trichotillomania (repetitive hair-pulling). Impaired response inhibition (i.e. increased motor impulsivity) was found in both OCD and trichotillomania patients, but only patients with OCD exhibited cognitive inflexibility across several tasks. Following up these studies, motor impulsivity and cognitive inflexibility were identified in unaffected first-degree relatives of OCD patients, suggesting that these deficits represent trait rather than state impairments that can exist in the absence of medication confounds and clinical phenotype. The second half of this thesis investigates the neurochemical substrates of impulsivity and cognitive flexibility by using single-dose pharmacological manipulations in healthy volunteers and in neuropsychiatric patients. A double-dissociation is observed for the involvement of noradrenaline and serotonin in response inhibition and probabilistic learning in healthy volunteers. Inhibition of noradrenaline reuptake (with atomoxetine) improved response inhibition with no effect on probabilistic learning with no effect on response inhibition. Agonism of serotonin 1A receptors (with buspirone) had no effect on response inhibition in healthy volunteers. Atomoxetine was also shown to improve aspects of impulse control in adult patients with ADHD.
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Jones, Catharine Rhian Gwyn. "The neuropsychology and functional anatomy of timing." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2005. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1444806/.
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This thesis explores the neural correlates of motor and perceptual timing. Motor timing involves the production of a timed movement (e.g. dancing), whereas perceptual timing requires a perceptual judgement (e.g. deciding which of two events lasted longer). A body of research has investigated this type of timing, concentrating on millisecond- and seconds-range intervals. Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and cerebellar pathology exhibit motor and perceptual timing deficits, which has led to the suggestion that both the basal ganglia and cerebellum are involved in this type of temporal processing. The research presented here uses a variety of techniques (functional imaging, transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and clinical studies on patients) to investigate the contribution of different neural structures to temporal processing. Using positron emission tomography (PET), the basal ganglia and cerebellum were both found to be active during millisecond- and seconds-range timing. However, only the basal ganglia were active when non-temporal aspects of the task were controlled for. At the cortical level, rTMS was used to show that the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was essential to the reproduction of seconds-range intervals, possibly due to a role in memory processes. In a further study, the motor and perceptual timing performance of patients with PD was modulated by dopaminergic medication, with medication improving performance. Patients with cerebellar disease displayed increased variability in timing tasks that included a significant motor component, but did not show impaired accuracy. A second PET study, comparing patients with PD and healthy controls, showed that the basal ganglia were active during motor timing for the control group. Compared to their medicated state, the patients showed decreased coupling between the basal ganglia and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex when 'off' medication. These studies support the notion that the basal ganglia, and not the cerebellum, play a fundamental role in motor and perceptual timing.
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Drysdale, Emma E. "The neuropsychology of affective disorders and schizophrenia." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/24540.
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The underlying causes of major mental illness are not understood and diagnoses are made largely on the basis of characteristic clinical symptoms described by the patient. A long-standing aim of biological psychiatry is to identify clinical measurements related to illness that may assist in diagnosis in the same way that the measurement of blood glucose level is used in the diagnosis of diabetes. In genetic studies such biological markers of disease have been termed "endophenotypes". Neuropsychological impairments are well described in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. This study investigates a possible role of specific neuropsychological impairments as markers and "endophenotypes" of illness. The aims of the present study were to (a) confirm previous findings in schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder of selected cognitive impairments and effects of clinical state and medication, and (b) to establish whether members of a large family multiply affected with bipolar and unipolar affective disorder showing linkage to a chromosome 4 locus, show changes similar to the population group of bipolar and unipolar patients. Groups of forty-one unipolar affective disorder patients, thirty-seven bipolar affective disorder patients, twenty-six schizophrenic patients, fifteen high risk family members and thirty-one healthy controls were assessed with a neuropsychological test battery focussing mainly on the domains of memory and executive function. Bipolar and schizophrenic patients had similar impairments of verbal learning and memory relative to controls. Schizophrenic patients were also impaired on executive function tasks. Performance was not due to symptom severity or medication. There were no significant differences between unipolar affective disorder patients and controls. The second major finding from this work is that cognitive deficits were measured in relatives in one family who were at high genetic risk of developing bipolar disorder but who had not developed symptoms of the disorder. It can be concluded that these cognitive deficits may be considered as 'endophenotypes' in genetic studies of bipolar disorder.
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Ridler, Khanum. "Neuroimaging and neuropsychology in tuberous sclerosis complex." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2004. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.616471.
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Rogers, Andrew C. "The neuropsychology of schizophrenia : symptoms and medication." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/21499.
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This thesis attempted to investigate the relationship between symptom expression, medication effects, outcome status and neuropsychological functioning in schizophrenia. As the heterogeneity of schizophrenia is now widely accepted, symptom ratings from the comprehensive Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (Kay et al., 1986) were entered in to a factor analysis after the work of Liddle (1987) and Liddle and Barnes (1990). The factor analysis of symptoms was carried out with patients at both the acute stage of illness and at the chronic stage. Almost twice as many chronic patient subjects were used in the latter study than had been used before (n=66). The acute stage analysis was seen as a preliminary investigation as only twenty six patients were recruited. This reflects the difficulty in recruiting early stage floridly ill patients for demanding psychiatric and neuropsychological assessment. The emergent factors, at each stage, were correlated with neuropsychological performance on an array of executive, psychomotor and hemispatial neglect tests. Neuropsychological assessment was also compared with healthy control data to assess the degree, if any, of impairment from the norm, independent of symptoms. In the chronic stage study, four factors coined reality distortion, poverty of sociability and affect, disorganisation and excitability were generated. Poverty of sociability and affect was related to impaired short term working memory, episodic memory and semantic verbal fluency. Disorganisation significantly correlated with episodic memory functioning and disinhibition of inappropriate responding. None of the other factors were directly related to neuropsychological performance. The relation between episodic memory functioning and poverty of sociability and affect was explained in terms of poor cognition due to developmental experience and the retention and use of socially appropriate schema. Disorganisation appeared to be underpinned by possible frontal type organisational difficulties in the correct temporal ordering of information for recall. At the acute stage, five factors emerged reflecting a paranoid state, poverty of affect, disorganisation/poverty of sociability and delusions.
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Laurila, Linda. "Neuropsychology of Semantic Memory: Theories, Models, and Tests." Thesis, University of Skövde, School of Humanities and Informatics, 2007. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:his:diva-67.
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<p>Semantic memory is part of the long-term memory system, and there are several theories concerning this type of memory. Some of these will be described in this essay. There are also several types of neuropsychological semantic memory deficits. For example, test results have shown that patients tend to have more difficulties naming living than nonliving things, and one probable explanation is that living things are more dependent on sensory than on functional features. Description of concrete concepts is a new test of semantic memory, in which cueing is used, both to capture the maximum performance of patients, and to give insight into the access versus storage problem. The theoretical ideas and empirical results relating to this new test will be described in detail. Furthermore, other tests of semantic memory that have been commonly used will also be briefly described. In conclusion semantic memory is a complex cognitive system that needs to be studied further.</p>
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Henry, Julie D. "Meta analytic studies of fluency paradigms in neuropsychology." Thesis, University of Aberdeen, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.252092.
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Tests of verbal fluency are presumed to measure executive dysfunction yet in practice are sensitive to brain damage <i>per se</i>, and the <i>comparability</i> of fluency based on phonemic and semantic criteria has been questioned. Relative to healthy controls, the effect size for each type of fluency was quantified for patients with focal cortical lesions, and using the random effects meta-analytic model, mean effects calculated for sub-groups stratified according to lesion location and laterality. Focal frontal patients were comparably impaired on both measures (<i>rs</i> = .48 and .47 respectively), but semantic fluency was relatively more dependent on temporal structures (.63), and associated with a deficit substantially in excess of the corresponding phonemic fluency deficit (.47). Thus, whilst both types of fluency place comparable demands on executive processes, semantic fluency is relatively more dependent on semantic memory. Phonemic fluency deficits qualified as <i>differential </i>deficits (i.e. they exceeded the averaged performance deficit across a range of other cognitive tasks) for frontal, but <i>not </i>non-frontal or specifically, temporal patients. Fluency deficits were then quantified for patients with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), dementia of the Alzheimer’s type (DAT), schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease (PD) and depression. AS for frontal patients TBI was associated with comparable phonemic and semantic fluency deficits (<i>rs =</i> .46 and .43 respectively), and for moderate and severe injuries these deficits were differential deficits. For patients with DAT, schizophrenia and depression there was evidence of generalised cognitive dysfunction, but for each disorder semantic fluency was more impaired than phonemic fluency. However, <i>differential </i>deficits on tests of semantic memory only emerged when there were also substantial demands on effortful retrieval and/or cognitive speed. Finally, both demented and non-demented PD patients were also more impaired on semantic relative to phonemic fluency. However, semantic memory was impaired even when demands on effortful retrieval and cognitive speed were minimal.
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Ornstein, Tisha Joy. "The comparative neuropsychology of schizophrenia and neurosurgical disorders." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.621362.
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Dudas, Robert Bela. "The neuropsychology of memory in dementia and depression." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.614044.
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Barrera, Alvaro. "Formal thought disorder in schizophrenia : psychopathology and neuropsychology." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2005. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.614864.
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Wilkison, Claire N. "The Cognitive Neuropsychology of Choice and Decision-Making." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1510053529118277.
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MILANI, GIADA. "The role of clinical neuropsychology in neuromotor rehabilitation." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Ferrara, 2022. http://hdl.handle.net/11392/2485757.
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L'ictus e la sclerosi multipla (SM) sono condizioni di disabilità cronica, che comprendono deficit motori, cognitivi e psicologici, quindi una scarsa qualità della vita correlata alla salute (HRQoL). Attraverso un approccio biopsicosociale multidisciplinare, il focus del presente lavoro è quello di esplorare i potenziali benefici delle tecnologie e degli interventi basati sulla plasticità in un contesto di riabilitazione clinica.
In questa tesi discuto i risultati preliminari sugli effetti della stimolazione cerebellare transcranica a corrente continua (ctDCS) combinata con il Task-Oriented Circuit Training nella SM: quest'ultimo ha migliorato l'equilibrio, la mobilità e il funzionamento esecutivo, ma la tDCS cerebellare non ha potenziato gli effetti dell'allenamento. L'ansia e la depressione non hanno mostrato cambiamenti significativi, sebbene i pazienti percepissero una migliore HRQoL mentale dopo il trattamento.
È presentato inoltre un protocollo di studio nella SM con l'obiettivo di testare l'efficacia della Video Game Therapy rispetto all'allenamento con piattaforma di equilibrio. La nostra aspettativa è di rilevare con la VGT un effetto più significativo su mobilità, equilibrio, dual-task e componente psicologica.
Inoltre, vengono esposti i dati di pazienti con ictus subacuto sottoposti ad Action Observation Training. Tutti i pazienti hanno migliorato la funzione motoria; tuttavia, il deficit di attenzione, la gravità dell'ictus e l'ansia/depressione sono predittori significativi per l'incremento nel funzionamento senso-motorio. I pazienti con deficit di attenzione hanno descritto un livello inferiore di coinvolgimento e una minore accuratezza negli esercizi computerizzati interattivi utilizzati per mantenere la concentrazione durante il training. Il trend dell’accuratezza mostra un miglioramento sostenuto fino alla 3° settimana e poi un calo, forse a causa di una diminuzione del coinvolgimento nel training.
Nei pazienti affetti da malattie croniche è necessario mantenere nel tempo una certa continuità nel trattamento multidisciplinare per ridurre l'impatto sulla malattia. Attraverso la Stroke Impact Scale, abbiamo dimostrato che la disabilità e la HRQoL sono migliorate dopo la riabilitazione indipendentemente dal tipo di trattamento, ma si sono deteriorate 6 anni dopo l'ictus, ad eccezione dei domini di memoria e capacità di pensiero, emozioni e comunicazione. La gravità dell'ictus, il sesso maschile e l'età avanzata sono fattori che hanno influenzato il punteggio totale. Il punteggio alla SIS-16 (solo domini fisici), la presenza di deficit sensoriale e il setting del paziente erano fattori legati a SIS-16 alla fine della riabilitazione e dopo 6 mesi.
Durante il COVID-19 il servizio di riabilitazione è stato interrotto/limitato e le modalità di intervento sono cambiate. Per contenere il contagio, è stato proposto un programma di teleriabilitazione in un campione di pazienti con disabilità fisiche, che mostrano un buon livello di fattibilità e accettabilità, nonostante i limiti tecnologici. L'età, la riserva cognitiva e la resilienza risultano predittori di soddisfazione con la teleriabilitazione. Restano da definire le linee guida per il lavoro in modalità remota, nonché una formazione del personale e dei pazienti e la creazione di piattaforme digitali adeguate.
Questi studi presentano il limite della piccola dimensione campionaria e della mancanza di dati neurofisiologici quantitativi; inoltre sono stati condotti anche durante la pandemia, comportando difficoltà organizzative e risultando fattore confondente dei dati raccolti.
In conclusione, gli studi confermano che la presenza di disturbi cognitivi o dell'umore oltre ad influenzarsi a vicenda possono avere un forte impatto sul processo di riabilitazione e sul suo esito finale; da qui l'importanza del ruolo del neuropsicologo nel setting neuroriabilitativo<br>Stroke and multiple sclerosis (MS) are chronic disability condition, comprising motor, cognitive and psychological deficit, thus a poor health-related quality of life.Through a multidisciplinary biopsychosocial approach, the focus of the present work is to explore the potential benefits of plasticity-based technologies and interventions in a clinical rehabilitation setting. Studies described below confirm that the presence of cognitive or mood disorder besides influencing each other’s may greatly impact the process of rehabilitation and its final outcome.
In this thesis I discuss preliminary results on the effects of combined cerebellar transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (ctDCS) with Task-Oriented Circuit Training in MS: the latter effectively ameliorated balance, mobility and executive functioning, but cerebellar tDCS did not boost training effects. Anxiety/depression did not show significant changes, although patients perceived a better mental HRQoL after treatment.
We also present, in MS, a study protocol with the aim to test the efficacy of Video Game Therapy compared with balance platform training. Our expectancy is to detect a more significant effect on mobility, balance and dual-task through VGT, besides an improvement in the psychological component.
Moreover, I presented data of subacute stroke patient who underwent Action Observation Training. All patients improved motor function; however, attention deficit, stroke severity and anxiety/depression are significant predictor for increment of sensorimotor functioning. Patients with attention deficit described a lower level of engagement and a lower mean accuracy of interactive computerized exercises used to maintain concentration during the training. With regards to accuracy, trends showed sustained improvement up to the 3° week and then decayed – perhaps due to a decrease in involvement of the training.
In chronic diseases patients, it is essential to maintain a certain continuity in the multidisciplinary treatment over time due to reduce the impact on illness. Through the Stroke Impact Scale, we showed that Disability and HR-QoL improved after rehabilitation independently of type treatment, but deteriorated 6 years after stroke, except for Memory and Thinking Ability, Emotions and Communication domains. Stroke severity, male gender and older age are all factors that influenced total score. Baseline SIS-16 (only physical domains), presence of a sensory deficit and patient's setting were factors related to SIS-16 at the end of rehabilitation and after 6 months. During COVID-19, rehabilitation service has been interrupted or limited and the modalities of intervention have inevitably changed. To contain the contagion, was proposed a telerehabilitation program in a sample of patients with physical disabilities, which show a good level of feasibility and acceptability, despite some technology challenges. Age, cognitive reserve, and resilience were significant predictors of satisfaction with telerehabilitation. However, since the COVID-19 is still present, it remains to be set out practical guidelines on how to work with remote modality, as well as a staff and patient training and creation of adequate digital platforms.
These studies, besides the limit of the small sample size and lack of quantitative neurophysiological data, were carried out also during the pandemic, involving organizational difficulties, as well as being a confounding factor of data collected.
In conclusion, this thesis highlights the relation between cognitive and motor processes and raise several practical implications for designing effective rehabilitation programs, that impact also in mood and HRQOL. Of note, intervention must be encompasses not only physical activity but address all aspects of everyday life, including cognitive functioning, psychological well-being and social participation; hence the importance of the role of the neuropsychologist in the neurorehabilitation setting.
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Kirkpatrick, Timothy. "The neuropsychology of borderline personality disorder in serious offenders." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2014. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.669751.
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Elliott, Rebecca. "The neuropsychology of schizophrenia and depression : a comparative appraoch." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1995. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.263014.
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Polster, Michael R. "Drug-induced amnesia : implications for the neuropsychology of memory." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1990. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.291963.
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Brown, Verity Joy. "The neuropsychology of action : the role of the striatum." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1989. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.315242.
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VIEIRA, MARTA BOLSHAW GOMES. "THE INTERFACE BETWEEN NEUROPSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY IS BEING STUDIED." PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO, 2010. http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=35641@1.
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PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO<br>COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DO PESSOAL DE ENSINO SUPERIOR<br>PROGRAMA DE SUPORTE À PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO DE INSTS. DE ENSINO<br>A interface entre a neuropsicologia e a psicopatologia vem sendo muito estudada. No entanto, há ainda uma grande demanda de caracterização de processamento de cada função cognitiva em pacientes com transtorno de pânico (TP). Neste trabalho, visou-se verificar se há diferenças de desempenho neuropsicológico entre adultos com TP e controles saudáveis. Participaram deste estudo 30 adultos, 15 com TP diagnosticado pelo MINI (versão 5.0) e 15 controles saudáveis emparelhados por escolaridade, idade, nível sociodemográfico e habilidades intelectuais. Administraram-se os instrumentos NEUPSILIN, discurso narrativo e fluências verbais da Bateria MAC, subtestes do WAIS-III, Wisconsin, Hayling, Teste das Trilhas, Teste dos Sinos, Teste Stroop, RAVLT e Buschke. Os escores médios foram comparados pelo teste não-paramétrico Mann-Whitney (p é menor ou igual a 0,05). Encontraram-se diferenças significativas no processamento de componentes executivos: velocidade de processamento, iniciação, inibição, assim como nas memórias episódica e de trabalho. Mais estudos são necessários com amostras clínicas maiores e mais homogêneas, controlando-se depressão e agorafobia.<br>Nevertheless there is still a great demand of process characterization of each cognitive function on patients with panic disorder (PD). In this study we tried to verify if there are differences in the neuropsychological performance between adults with PD and a healthy control group. 30 adults took part on this study, 15 with diagnosed PD and 15 healthy control subjects, matched by school years, age, sociodemographic level and intellectual abilities. A neuropsychological test battery was administered including the NEUPSILIN, narrative speech and verbal fluency of MAC battery, WAIS-III subtests, Wisconsin, Hayling, Trail-Making test, Stroop, RAVLT, Buschke and Bells Cancellation Test. The median scores were compared using the non-parametric Mann-Whitney (p less than or equal to 0,05). We found significant differences on executive components: processing speed, initiation, inhibition, episodic and working memory. Further enquires are necessary, with a larger and more homogeneous samples, and controls for depression and agoraphobia.
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Riello, Marianna. "Neural Correlates of Semantic Memory: from Neuropsychology to Neuroimaging." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2011. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/367864.
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This thesis will describe two functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) experiments and one Voxel-Based Morphometry (VBM) study, each investigating how the human brain identifies objects and their associated properties. In particular, we used three different categories of objects – living (animals), nonliving (tools and nontools) and faces (famous and non-famous) – to examine the type of knowledge attribute in question: one perceptual (movement) and two semantic attributes (typical object location and biographic knowledge).
We know from neuropsychological literature that the most anterior portions of the temporal cortices critically support human conceptual knowledge. Unfortunately, the Anterior Temporal Lobe (ATL) is a challenging region for fMRI due to susceptibility artifacts, especially at high fields. For these reasons we established an optimized fMRI protocol (described in the second Chapter) by adjusting key acquisition parameters like phase-encoding gradient polarity, slice thickness, echo time, and slice angle. The protocol gave reliable Blood-Oxygen-Level Dependence (BOLD) signal sensitivity in the ATL.
Clinical data describe patients with specific semantic impairments at the level of category (living, nonliving) as well as disproportionate deficits for a modality or type of knowledge (e.g., visual/perceptual knowledge or manipulation knowledge). Functional neuroimaging studies on semantic organization with normal subjects found an “action network†specific for tools rather than living items. In the first experiment (Chapter 3) we devised an fMRI paradigm to investigate the processing of movement (action) and place (encyclopedic) features, and their influence on category-specific activations. Within the “movement network†statistical analyses did not show any significant interaction between categories. These findings suggest that the visuomotor “action network†is not specific for tools because it is also activated when the action related knowledge is elicited for other categories, such as animals.
The second and the third experiment (Chapter 4) focus on the processing of faces. Neuropsychological literature attributes semantic and lexical retrieval deficits in patients to ATL lesions. In Part I of Chapter 4, we report data from a VBM study on patients with known lesions in the temporal lobe. Unfortunately, as far as we know, data on patients and functional neuroimaging in healthy individuals has not clarified the differential role of this area in the two mental operations because semantic and lexical processes usually occur simultaneously and automatically. In Part II, we devised an event-related fMRI activation paradigm that allowed us to study the identification (i.e., association of semantic biographical information) of celebrities, with and without the ability to retrieve the proper name. While semantic retrieval reliably activated the ATL, only more posterior areas in the left temporal and temporal-parietal junction were significantly modulated by covert lexical retrieval. These results support findings from patients with ATL lesions and suggest that their anomia is due to semantic rather than lexical retrieval impairment.
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Riello, Marianna. "Neural Correlates of Semantic Memory: from Neuropsychology to Neuroimaging." Doctoral thesis, University of Trento, 2011. http://eprints-phd.biblio.unitn.it/625/1/PhD_Thesis_Marianna_Riellox.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis will describe two functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) experiments and one Voxel-Based Morphometry (VBM) study, each investigating how the human brain identifies objects and their associated properties. In particular, we used three different categories of objects – living (animals), nonliving (tools and nontools) and faces (famous and non-famous) – to examine the type of knowledge attribute in question: one perceptual (movement) and two semantic attributes (typical object location and biographic knowledge).
We know from neuropsychological literature that the most anterior portions of the temporal cortices critically support human conceptual knowledge. Unfortunately, the Anterior Temporal Lobe (ATL) is a challenging region for fMRI due to susceptibility artifacts, especially at high fields. For these reasons we established an optimized fMRI protocol (described in the second Chapter) by adjusting key acquisition parameters like phase-encoding gradient polarity, slice thickness, echo time, and slice angle. The protocol gave reliable Blood-Oxygen-Level Dependence (BOLD) signal sensitivity in the ATL.
Clinical data describe patients with specific semantic impairments at the level of category (living, nonliving) as well as disproportionate deficits for a modality or type of knowledge (e.g., visual/perceptual knowledge or manipulation knowledge). Functional neuroimaging studies on semantic organization with normal subjects found an “action network” specific for tools rather than living items. In the first experiment (Chapter 3) we devised an fMRI paradigm to investigate the processing of movement (action) and place (encyclopedic) features, and their influence on category-specific activations. Within the “movement network” statistical analyses did not show any significant interaction between categories. These findings suggest that the visuomotor “action network” is not specific for tools because it is also activated when the action related knowledge is elicited for other categories, such as animals.
The second and the third experiment (Chapter 4) focus on the processing of faces. Neuropsychological literature attributes semantic and lexical retrieval deficits in patients to ATL lesions. In Part I of Chapter 4, we report data from a VBM study on patients with known lesions in the temporal lobe. Unfortunately, as far as we know, data on patients and functional neuroimaging in healthy individuals has not clarified the differential role of this area in the two mental operations because semantic and lexical processes usually occur simultaneously and automatically. In Part II, we devised an event-related fMRI activation paradigm that allowed us to study the identification (i.e., association of semantic biographical information) of celebrities, with and without the ability to retrieve the proper name. While semantic retrieval reliably activated the ATL, only more posterior areas in the left temporal and temporal-parietal junction were significantly modulated by covert lexical retrieval. These results support findings from patients with ATL lesions and suggest that their anomia is due to semantic rather than lexical retrieval impairment.
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Palm, Marisha Emily. "The neurochemistry, neuropsychology and functional neuroanatomy of generalised anxiety disorder." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2007. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.492844.
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Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) is a common mental illness characterised by excessive worry and anticipatory anxiety. The present study aims to elucidate the neuropsychology, neurochemistry, structural and functional neuroanatomy of female patients with GAD using dietary manipulation of 5-HT and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
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Ackroyd, Katie Elizabeth. "The contribution of neuropsychology to the understanding of depth perception." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2003. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.273940.
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JESUS, MILENA VASCONCELOS MARTINS DE. "NEUROPSYCHOLOGY ASSESSMENT: A STUDY OF THE QUALITATIVE ASSESSMENT IN PRACTICE." PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO, 2010. http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=15876@1.
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CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO<br>Os constructos responsáveis pela fundamentação teórica da
neuropsicologia foram, em grande parte, constituídos a partir da convergência de
várias ciências. Sendo assim, para que se possa compreender a neuropsicologia, é
necessário ter em mente um percurso histórico desde os estudos iniciais da
história da mente e do cérebro. A avaliação neuropsicológica ocupa um lugar
central na neuropsicologia, uma vez que auxilia no exame de determinadas
manifestações do indivíduo para a investigação do funcionamento cognitivo e
mental. A avaliação neuropsicológica deve abranger a análise quantitativa e a
análise qualitativa. Os resultados quantitativos dos testes neuropsicológicos
refletem a maturidade conceitual e o nível cognitivo dos pacientes, porém é
importante ressaltar que muitas variáveis externas aos testes podem interferir
nesse desempenho. Assim, os escores dos testes, isoladamente, fornecem pouca
informação acerca do funcionamento do paciente, sendo muitas vezes importante
verificar como ele soluciona um problema e o porquê de não conseguir executar
determinadas tarefas. Com o objetivo de averiguar a importância da avaliação
qualitativa na prática dos psicólogos que realizam a avaliação neuropsicológica,
foi realizada uma entrevistada semiestruturada com 11 profissionais. A entrevista
semiestruturada, neste caso, visou o entendimento amplo do processo de avaliação
neuropsicológica na prática de cada profissional. Os resultados foram organizados
em princípios de classificação, dando origem, por sua vez, a conjuntos de
categorias que, ao serem analisados, permitiram concluir que a importância dada
pelos neuropsicólogos à avaliação qualitativa ainda está muito aquém da avaliação
quantitativa.<br>Constructs responsible for the theoretical basis of neuropsychology were
largely formed from the convergence of various sciences. Thereafter, so that we
can understand the neuropsychology, it is necessary to bear in mind a historical
journey since the initial studies of the mind and brain history. Neuropsychological
assessment plays a central role in neuropsychology, as it assists in the
examination of certain manifestations of individual for investigation of cognitive
and mental functioning. Neuropsychological assessment should cover quantitative
and qualitative analysis. The quantitative results of the neuropsychological tests
reflect the conceptual maturity and cognitive level of patients, however it is
important to stress that many external tests variables may interfere with this
performance. Thus, scores from tests, separately, provide little information about
the patient s functioning; being often important to check how he or she solves a
problem and why can not perform certain tasks. In order to investigate the
importance of qualitative assessment in the practice of psychologists who carry
out the neuropsychological assessment, a semi-structured interview was
performed with 11 professionals. The semi-structured interview, in this case,
aimed at comprehensive understanding of the neuropsychological assessment
process in regard to the practice of each professional. Results were organized in
classification principles, leading afterwards to sets of categories that, since
analyzed, allowed to conclude that the importance given by neuropsychologists to
the qualitative assessment is still far short of quantitative one.
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Laws, Keith. "The cognitive neuropsychology of schizophrenia : an investigation of person knowledge." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.627291.
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Murphy, Fionnuala Catherine. "The neuropsychology of depression and mania : cognitive and emotional processes." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.621909.
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Shakespeare, T. J. "Neuropsychology, eye tracking and neuroimaging perspectives on Posterior Cortical Atrophy." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2014. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1429892/.
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This thesis describes investigations of the clinico-radiological syndrome Posterior Cortical Atrophy, addressing two broad themes: the consequences of PCA for everyday activities (particularly scene perception) and the heterogeneity of symptoms in PCA. Despite improvements in the recognition and characterisation of PCA, we have little understanding of what the world looks like to someone with PCA. This thesis investigates patients’ perception of real-world stimuli (scenes) using a number of methodologies; characterising their response times when categorising scenes and giving a novel qualitative report of patients’ verbal descriptions (Chapter 2). It is possible that oculomotor behaviour is a contributory factor in these tasks, therefore a study of fixation, saccades and smooth pursuit was carried out. This characterised in detail for the first time the oculomotor abnormalities present in PCA (Chapter 3), facilitating further investigation of patients’ eye movements when viewing scenes (Chapters 4 and 5), revealing a striking impairment in the ability to change fixation patterns in response to task demands. The consequences of PCA for everyday activities are also investigated through a questionnaire given to carers allowing a wide range of symptoms and behaviours to be investigated over different stages of disease severity (Chapter 6). The range of symptoms and severity that this questionnaire measures will eventually allow better characterisation of the heterogeneity within PCA, and the early onset Alzheimer’s Disease spectrum more broadly. One specific manifestation of this heterogeneity is investigated in Chapter 7, demonstrating that a proportion of PCA patients show asymmetric motor symptoms (myoclonus and limb rigidity on the left side) associated with atrophy of motor cortex in the right hemisphere. Together, these studies improve our knowledge of the consequences of PCA for scene perception and more general everyday activities, and address aspects of heterogeneity in the syndrome; with implications for interventions to improve diagnosis and clinical management.
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Dollman, Aimee. "Exploring factors that influence academic and behavioural outcome and the specific role of premorbid functioning, in a sample of children with severe traumatic brain injury." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12760.
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Includes bibliographical references.<br>Children who have sustained severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) demonstrate a range of deficits in neurocognitive and behavioural domains (Anderson, Northam, Hendy, &Wrennall, 2001; Babikian & Asarnow, 2009; van’t Hooft, 2010). These impairments may have adverse effects on academic and behavioural outcomes and can therefore interfere with school re-entry, educational progress, and ultimately, quality of life of the injured child (Anderson & Yeates, 2010; Keenan & Bratton, 2006; Lallo & van As, 2004). Pre-injury characteristics may increase risk for, and play a role in, TBI outcome, however, many studies exclude children with known adverse premorbid functioning (Dennis et al., 2007; Farmer etal., 2002). There are also dearth of published studies incorporating a variety of factors affecting outcome (e.g., socio economic status (SES), age at injury, time since injury, premorbid functioning, family environment) as well as academic and/or behavioural outcome variables in the same study generally. The broad aim of the study was therefore to contribute to the existing pediatric TBI (pTBI) literature on outcomes and factors influencing outcomes. In this study, I focused on investigating both academic and behavioural outcomes in a group of South African children of school-going age who had sustained a severe TBI. This study includes two parts. For the first part of the study, the aim was to explore the relationship between commonly reported factors that influence outcome after TBI (premorbid functioning, age at injury, time since injury, family environment and SES), and academic and behavioural outcome. For the second part of the study, the aim was to investigate the specific role of premorbid functioning in academic and behavioural outcome. The sample included 27 children who had been admitted to Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital (RXH) and received intracranial monitoring for closed severe TBI between 2006-2011, who were of school-going age at the time of the injury. In terms of part one of the study, the results show elevated problems with academic outcome, and behavioural and executive functioning in the sample. The results also show that in this sample, factors such as family environment and premorbid functioning are particularly important with regards outcome in the home environment; while factors such as age at injury, family environment and SES play more of a role within the classroom environment.
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Swanepoel, Tarah. "Young adults' sexual strategies and mating displays in the virtual world: an evolutionary perspective." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12356.
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Includes bibliographical references.<br>Life History Theory (LHT) predicts that natural selection favours a degree of developmental plasticity when it comes to sexual strategies and mating displays. Individuals should develop a faster life history strategy (showing, for example, higher mating effort and a preference for a variety of mates) when they are raised in a relatively unstable environment with high extrinsic mortality. In contrast, individuals should develop a slower life history strategy (showing, for example, lower mating effort and a preference for investment in longterm parenting) when they are raised in a relatively stable environment with low extrinsic mortality. Most previous research examining predictions derived from LHT regarding sexual strategies and mating displays has used survey designs and self-report instruments exclusively. The current study represents a departure from such designs in that I used a quasiexperimental design to examine sexual strategies and mating displays in virtual chatrooms, and to test LHT-based predictions about those strategies and displays. Specifically, I tested the hypotheses that, in the chatrooms, individuals would adopt sexual strategies and mating displays reflective of their different life history strategies, and that these behaviours would manifest in the virtual world much like they have been documented to manifest in the real world. I used the Mini-K Short Form questionnaire, a 20-item instrument designed to measure both cognitive and behavioural aspects of life history strategy, to designate undergraduate males (n = 44) and females (n = 47) as having either a fast or a slow life history. Ten separate groups of these participants, each featuring 3-5 men and 4-5 women, then interacted in separate 1-hour online chat sessions. Results showed that LHS accurately predicted the ways in which male and female participants engaged with one another. Furthermore, men that remained consistent in their LHS presentation (i.e., they behaved in ways consistent with what their LHS predicted they should) were more popular among women than men who were not consistent in this presentation. These results demonstrate the power of evolutionary-based theories of sexual interaction to predict sexual strategies and mating displays in online settings. Further, the 'pure' environment of the online platform, without extraneous real-world constraints, provided an opportunity to document and examine sexual strategies and mating displays in new and exciting ways.
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Macfarlane, Robert. "A study on the short-term cognitive outcome of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty with intra-coronary stenting." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/11797.
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Includes bibliographical references (leaves 23-26).<br>This study explores the short term cognitive outcome of percutaneous transluminalcoronary angioplasty with intra-coronary stenting. Participants were assessed cognitively using specific neuropsychological tests used to measure performance in the seven cognitive domains. Forty people took part in the study, with twenty of them making up the stented group, and twenty of them making up the control group. The stented group were assessed a few days before, and then a few weeks after their procedures. The control group were simply assessed whenever they agreed to participate, and then again a few weeks later. There were ten males and ten females in each group. The participants were all between the ages of 34 and 75, and the sample had an average age of 57. The researchers were given access to patients at Groote Schuur Hospital and Gatesville Medical Centre. Analysis of variance was used in order to assess differences between the groups with respect to changes in cognitive performance in all seven cognitive domains. Results indicated that there were not significant differences between the groups, with respect to changes in cognitive performance between the first and second interviews.
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Mahomed, Aqeela. "Rehabilitation of executive functioning following pediatric traumatic brain injury: evaluating a goal management training intervention." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13690.
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Includes bibliographical references.<br>Background and aims. Executive function (EF), defined as a set of interrelated skills and behavioural competencies required for independent, purposeful, goal-directed activity, are particularly susceptible to impairment following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Despite this knowledge, data concerning the rehabilitation of executive dysfunction in pediatric populations is lacking to date. A Goal Management Training (GMT) intervention, based on Duncan et al.’s (1996) theory of goal neglect, has been successfully implemented for the remediation of EF in adults. The current study adapted the GMT to a healthy South African sample and evaluated the efficacy in a pediatric TBI sample. Method. The study comprised of 3 parts. Part 1 involved the translation and adaptation of the pediatric GMT (pGMT) intervention so that it was suitable for use with South African children. This included the implementation of various health professionals’ evaluations of these adaptations. Part 2 involved evaluating the pGMT by implementing the programme with 3 healthy control participants. Lastly, Part 3 involved evaluating the efficacy of the revised pGMT with 3 children who had sustained a moderate to severe TBIs. For Parts 2 and 3 I employed a multiple case study approach. Data for parts 2 and 3 were analyzed using the Reliable Change Index (RCI; Jacobson & Truax, 1991) . The RCI distinguished between three levels of change, each at confidence levels of 68.2%, 95% and 99%. Outcomes were based on neuropsychological test outcomes, changes in everyday behaviour, self-report measures, and reports from parents and teachers. Results. Regarding the cognitive measures for the TBI group, all three participants did not show improvement on the same domains. Positive changes from pre- to post-intervention on a number of attention and executive function measures at confidence intervals of 68.26% to 99% were evident. Regarding the behavioural measures parents/guardians and/or teachers reported significant positive changes for all of the participants on at least one index at confidence intervals of 68.26% to 99%. In terms of real world generalization, only one participant’s teacher and parents commented on her improvements academically, behaviourally, and socially. No significant real world behavioural changes were reported for the other two participants. Results indicated that the adapted pGMT was successfully applied to the South African context for both healthy and TBI samples, although levels of success, in terms of post-intervention outcomes, varied with each TBI individual. Conclusions. These results suggest that the pGMT intervention could be an efficacious cognitive rehabilitation tool for the remediation of everyday behaviours associated 9 with executive dysfunction in South Africa. However, the variability in the results do not provide conclusive evidence at this stage. Individual, injury-related and familial factors need to be considered and may affect outcome. In addition, limitations such as the small sample size and uncontrolled confounding effects (e.g., practice or maturation effects) could also contribute to seemingly positive effects. Greater evidence from future, larger and more controlled studies, is required
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Dodge, Lydia. "Investigating the effects of acute intracranial pressure and brain oxygenation on neuropsychological outcomes 12 months after severe pediatric traumatic brain injury." Master's thesis, Faculty of Humanities, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/30832.
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Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the major causes of mortality and morbidity among children and adolescents all over the world and studies suggest a higher incidence of pediatric TBI (pTBI), as well as poorer post-TBI outcomes, in countries with extreme levels of socioeconomic inequality such as South Africa. pTBI leads to a multitude of long-term adverse outcomes in a wide range of domains and in general, a dose-response pattern is evident. Multiple acute and post-acute stage predictors of outcome have been investigated, however acute stage neurological and neurosurgical variables are relatively absent from this knowledge base. This study was conducted to better understand the heterogeneity in outcomes of pTBI: it aimed to investigate the nature and severity of neuropsychological deficits in pTBI patients one year after injury and to investigate the association between acute stage physiological changes in intracranial pressure (ICP) and brain tissue oxygenation (PbtO2) and neuropsychological outcomes one year after pTBI. Results of the study indicated that children who sustained TBI performed significantly poorer than healthy, matched controls on multiple cognitive, behavioural and quality of life domains, however, neither acute ICP nor PbtO2 reliably predicted within-TBI group performance. The results of the study emphasise the poor relationship of ICP and PbtO2, and the complexity of the relationship between acute physiological variables and outcomes after pTBI. Further studies of this kind should be done on large sample sizes and include multiple physiological variables.
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Jansen, van Vuuren Anica. "Handedness and the geometry and hemodynamics of the branches of the aortic arch." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12883.
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Includes bibliographical references.<br>Asymmetry in the vasculature arising from the human aortic arch seems the obvious place to look for an anatomical basis for lateralized cerebral functions, but this relationship has never systematically been investigated. This study explored the relationship between handedness and the anatomical and hemodynamic characteristics of the carotid arteries, analysing potential asymmetries between the left and right common, internal and external carotid arteries in leftha-nded versus right-handed individuals. The study is separated into two chapters: geometric (n = 199) and hemodynamic (n = 234). A revised version of the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory classified all participants into relevant handedness preference categories. For the geometric study, detailed measurements of the common carotid arteries in computed tomography angiography scans were obtained using Radiant DICOM Viewer (64-bit) imaging software. Selected geometric parameters of the vessels measured included minimum, mean, and maximum diameters, length, angle and calculated resistance to blood flow. Cases of unconventional branching patterns were analysed separately. For the hemodynamic study, Speed and Accuracy Target Tests quantified the participants’ handedness performance. Doppler ultrasound was performed using the Vivid i GE Ultrasound system, on the common, internal and external carotid arteries. Hemodynamic parameters of the Doppler waveform were recorded, including Peak systolic and end-diastolic velocity, Resistive index, Pulsatility index, volume flow rate, and vessel diameter. The data was analysed with mixed design ANOVAs, discriminant function analyses, multiple regressions, and paired and independent t-tests, to investigate the asymmetries and predictive properties of the measured variables
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Harding, Steven. "Does mood induction elicit emotion recognition biases? : an empirical study with implications for depression research." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13691.
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Depression is a highly prevalent, debilitating, and sometimes-fatal mental illness. Typically, its treatment approaches are conceptualised as a dichotomy between psychological and pharmaceutical. However, a new model, in line with cogent philosophical reasoning and recent empirical evidence, integrates these approaches. The cognitive neuropsychological model places affective processing biases as central to depression aetiology and treatment-in both biological psychiatry and cognitive psychology. One affective bias, emotion recognition, is central to the tenets of this model, which, unlike some cognitive theories, places improved affective biases as temporally prior to improved mood, and as the underlying mechanism of antidepressant action. To test this account of emotion recognition bias, 103 undergraduate students participants underwent negative, positive, and neutral mood induction in a betweengroups design to assess whether mood-congruent emotion recognition biases would emerge in a multimodal (facial, vocal, musical) emotion recognition battery, while controlling for depression symptoms and assessing maladaptive cognitive schemas. Few significant emotion recognition biases resulted, but significant negative correlations between negative schemas and overall facial and musical accuracy emerged, even when controlling for depression lending some support to the cognitive neuropsychological model's premise of a bilateral relationship between schemas and emotion recognition, both of which may play a substantial role in the etiology of depression.
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Madadi, Nazanin. "Assessing the effect of Addison's disease on patient quality of life within the South African context." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/11648.
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Includes bibliographical references (leaves 43-46).<br>This study finds that our patients do indeed have the same QOL, and that we should therefore be able to apply the European findings here. Measuring QOL alone, however, gives us very general information which is not sufficient for our study. The second aim of this research is to compare different aspects of QOL in AD, as this has not been researched before. This knowledge should help clinicians to recognise QOL impairment better, which will enable modifiable risk factors to be adjusted with early intervention. (For example, psychological impairment can be reduced with counselling.) This study also finds that some AD patients who suffer a combination of other autoimmune diseases have a lower QOL. The main instrument used for this research was the Rotterdam QOL questionnaire.
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Stephen, Dale C. "Investigating history of concussion and data from head impact telemetry (xPatch) in relation to neuropsychological outcomes in a sample of adult rugby players in Cape Town." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22736.
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While Rugby Union has worldwide popularity, with over 5 million registered and nonregistered players participating every year, the game lends itself to a high incidence of concussion among players. Rugby players, more so than that recorded for any other contact sport, including American Football, are also more frequently exposed to head collisions not resulting in concussion (i.e., subconcussive head injuries). Despite some evidence for a potential association between such injuries and acute neurological and neuropsychological difficulties, which may at times persist among some players, overt symptoms still guide the initial on-field response for further concussion management to be initiated. The aim of this study was threefold: 1) to investigate the relationship between rugby players' history of concussion and neuropsychological outcomes, 2) to explore the use of a head impact telemetry (HIT) device in describing high-impact head collisions (and potentially subconcussive injuries), and 3) to explore the relationship between that HIT data and neuropsychological outcomes. Study 1 investigated differences between non-contact sport participants (n = 23) and rugby players with (Rugby Concussed; n = 31), and without a history of concussion (Rugby Not Concussed; n = 26) in a baseline cognitive assessment. Results showed that at the beginning of the rugby season there were no differences in cognitive abilities at a group level; a more severe concussion history was largely not associated with a poorer performance on these cognitive outcomes. Study 2 was a pilot study utilising the xPatch to objectively capture a rugby player's exposure to head impacts in an amateur rugby team (UCT IRL team; n = 8). Although the majority of impacts captured were of a 'mild' severity, there were many acceleration forces, particularly rotational accelerations, recorded above an injury threshold potentially implicated with concussion. Following from this, Study 3 used a prospective and repeated-measures design with the same UCT IRL team, to evaluate a means for investigating a player's neuropsychological vulnerability to high-impact subconcussive head injuries. Using correlational analyses, the Reliable Change Index (RCI) and head collision data from Study 2, there was a lack of evidence to indicate that player's increased exposure to repeated high-impact head collisions results in a generally poorer neuropsychological performance. However, a number of test practice effects are noted. Combined, these findings suggest that (a) identifying possible enduring neuropsychological difficulties retrospectively is limited, and issues such as test-practice effects and test sensitivity should be considered in future, preferably prospective studies, (b) rugby players are vulnerable to sustaining multiple high-impact subconcussive head injuries and the data suggests utility in including HIT like the xPatch, and (c) that implementing a multi-faceted protocol for monitoring rugby players' that negates a reliance on concussion diagnosis is necessary to better understanding individual recovery trajectories.
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Ockhuizen, Helen Ju-Reyn. "The prevalence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and an investigation of behavioural and executive functioning outcomes (among those who have sustained TBIs) in a sample of male young offenders." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12881.
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Includes bibliographical references.<br>Adolescents are at risk for antisocial behaviour as well as for sustaining traumatic brain injuries (TBI; Moffitt, 1993; Williams, Cordan, Mewse, Tonks & Burgess, 2010). International literature has long made known the explicit link that exists between TBI and delinquent behavior (Eslinger, Flaherty-Craig, & Benton, 2004; S. Anderson, Bechara, Damasio, Tranel, & Damasio, 1999). The onset of antisocial behaviour post-TBI may not be surprising given the vulnerability of the frontal lobes in sustaining such an injury. Considering the strong overlap between the behaviour of offenders and the behavioural outcomes of sustaining TBIs, the high prevalence rates of TBI in offending populations is not surprising (Perron & Howard, 2008; Slaughter, Fann, & Ehde, 2003; Turkstra, Jones, & Toler, 2003; Williams et al., 2010). In this study, I investigate the prevalence of TBI in an offending population and the overlap between offending behaviour and outcomes of sustaining TBIs.
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Westbury, Chris. "A variation of forms : the cognitive neuropsychology of primary progressive aphasia." Thesis, McGill University, 1995. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=40020.
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Mesulam's (1982) report describing six patients with a slowly progressive aphasia without accompanying signs of dementia led to the recognition of a syndrome now known as Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA). Many more patients have been described since Mesulam's description was published: 171 published contacts with 112 patients diagnosed with the syndrome are reviewed in this thesis. However, the published literature is both unsystematic and incomplete, making it difficult to place the findings into a coherent theoretical framework. In addition, no previous work has specifically attempted to specify the difference between PPA and dementia of Alzheimer's type (DAT), although the two disorders are easily confused since many language deficits can masquerade as memory or cognitive deficits. This thesis is an attempt to remedy these short-comings. Using a serial case study approach, the linguistic deficits of 11 PPA patients are analyzed in a cognitive neuropsychological framework, and contrasted with the linguistic deficits of a group of 11 DAT patients. Several tools were developed or refined specifically to manage the details of such an analysis. These include a production system designed to infer functional dissociations in the language system from an analysis of patient performance on a computerized version of the Psycholinguistic Assessment Battery (Caplan & Bub, 1990). Although the results suggest that there is great heterogeneity of symptoms within the PPA population, several deficits which may prove useful in making the differential diagnosis are examined closely, including deficits in reading, abstract word comprehension, auditory comprehension, affixed word processing, and semantic access. Implications of the findings for current models of language processing are discussed.
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Gray, Alastair Lewis. "The comparative neuropsychology of Alzeheimer's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies." Thesis, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.251345.
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Baxendale, Sally Ann. "The neuropsychology of temporal lobectomy : preoperative correlations and post operative predictions." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.286670.
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