Veronica Di Palma, Lucia Fadda, Valentina Massimi, Carla Leonardi, Maria Stefania De Simone, Carlo Caltagirone, Giovanni Augusto Carlesimo
{"title":"Delayed recall from the primacy portion of a story predicts conversion of patients with mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease.","authors":"Veronica Di Palma, Lucia Fadda, Valentina Massimi, Carla Leonardi, Maria Stefania De Simone, Carlo Caltagirone, Giovanni Augusto Carlesimo","doi":"10.1111/jnp.70017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jnp.70017","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The serial position effect is a well-established phenomenon characterised by better recall of items at the beginning and end of a list compared to those in the middle. A reduced primacy effect-reflected by diminished recall of items from the initial positions-has frequently been reported in individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). This study aimed to examine the serial position curve in the Prose Memory test and to assess whether recall accuracy from the primacy portion of the story can predict progression from MCI to AD. Sixty-two patients diagnosed with MCI were included. After 3 years, 30 patients progressed to AD (cMCI), while 32 remained stable (sMCI). Immediate and delayed recall performance for the three segments of the story (Primacy, Middle and Recency) was analysed. In the immediate recall trial, both MCI groups and healthy controls showed enhanced recall accuracy only for the Primacy portion of the story. In the delayed trial, a reduced primacy effect significantly distinguished cMCI from sMCI patients. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis indicated acceptable diagnostic accuracy of delayed Primacy recall in differentiating converters from stable MCI patients. Delayed Primacy recall in the Prose Memory test predicted conversion from MCI to AD. These results suggest that delayed Primacy recall in prose memory may serve as a non-invasive marker for identifying individuals at risk for AD progression.</p>","PeriodicalId":197,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Neuropsychology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145335961","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Keitaro Murayama, Hirofumi Tomiyama, Kenta Sashikata, Mingi Kang, Aikana Ohno, Kenta Kato, Akira Matsuo, Tomohiro Nakao
{"title":"Differences in response inhibition between medication-free patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder with and without sensory phenomena.","authors":"Keitaro Murayama, Hirofumi Tomiyama, Kenta Sashikata, Mingi Kang, Aikana Ohno, Kenta Kato, Akira Matsuo, Tomohiro Nakao","doi":"10.1111/jnp.70016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jnp.70016","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a heterogeneous disorder, and approximately 70% of patients with OCD experience sensory phenomena (SP). Previous studies have revealed that patients with OCD exhibit a deficit in response inhibition (RI). However, few studies have investigated the relationship between SP and RI in patients with OCD. This study aimed to investigate differences in RI between non-comorbid, medication-free patients with OCD with and without SP. Thirty-seven patients with OCD with SP (OCD + SP), 27 without SP (OCD-noSP), and 50 controls (HCs) were compared in terms of RI using the stop-signal task. Both OCD groups had a deficit in RI compared with HCs, and no difference in RI was found between the OCD + SP and OCD-noSP groups. No correlation was observed between SP and stop-signal reaction time in the OCD + SP group. Our findings suggest that a deficit in RI is not related to SP in OCD.</p>","PeriodicalId":197,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Neuropsychology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145273246","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jackie M Poos, Indy Zinzen, Max Kalisvaart, Linde Assendelft, Karla Marticic Giljevic, Marit Ruitenberg, Rafael Bidarra, Esther van den Berg
{"title":"A gamified Faux Pas Test: Comparing psychometric properties to the pen-and-paper version in a Dutch population.","authors":"Jackie M Poos, Indy Zinzen, Max Kalisvaart, Linde Assendelft, Karla Marticic Giljevic, Marit Ruitenberg, Rafael Bidarra, Esther van den Berg","doi":"10.1111/jnp.70015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jnp.70015","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Psychometric properties of Tommy's Quest (TQ), a novel serious game to evaluate Theory of Mind (ToM) and the pen-and-paper Faux Pas Test (FPT) were assessed. Results from 67 cognitively unimpaired individuals indicated that TQ had adequate construct validity, internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Participants performed worse on TQ compared to the FPT, suggesting greater sensitivity to subtle deficits. These findings support serious games like TQ as a promising tool for ToM assessment, highlighting the need for clinical validation.</p>","PeriodicalId":197,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Neuropsychology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145257082","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Panagiotis Kourtesis, Andrea Lizarraga, Sarah E MacPherson
{"title":"Immersive virtual reality assessments of working memory and psychomotor skills: A comparison between immersive and non-immersive assessments.","authors":"Panagiotis Kourtesis, Andrea Lizarraga, Sarah E MacPherson","doi":"10.1111/jnp.70014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jnp.70014","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Immersive virtual reality (VR) enhances ecological validity and facilitates intuitive and ergonomic hand interactions for performing neuropsychological assessments. However, its comparability to traditional computerized methods remains unclear. This study investigates the convergent validity, user experience and usability of VR-based versus PC-based assessments of short-term and working memory, as well as psychomotor skills, while also examining how demographic and IT-related skills influence performance in both modalities.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Sixty-six participants performed the Digit Span Task (DST), Corsi Block Task (CBT) and Deary-Liewald Reaction Time Task (DLRTT) in both VR- and PC-based formats. Participants' experience in using computers and smartphones, and playing videogames, was considered. User experience and system usability of the formats were also evaluated.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>While performance on DST was similar across modalities, PC assessments enabled better performance on CBT and faster reaction times in DLRTT. Significant correlations between VR and PC versions supported convergent validity. Regression analyses revealed that performance on PC versions was influenced by computing and gaming experience, whereas performance on VR versions was largely independent of these factors, except for gaming experience predicting performance on CBT backward recall. Moreover, VR assessments received higher ratings for user experience and usability than PC-based assessments.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Immersive VR assessments provide an engaging alternative to traditional computerized methods, with minimal reliance on prior IT experience and demographic factors. This resilience to individual differences suggests that VR may offer a more equitable and accessible platform for automated cognitive assessment. Future research should explore the long-term reliability of VR-based assessments.</p>","PeriodicalId":197,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Neuropsychology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145243421","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tobias Bormann, Margret Seyboth, Dorothee Kümmerer, Volkmar Glauche, Michel Rijntjes, Cornelius Weiller
{"title":"A double dissociation between memory span and word processing among neurological patients attests to the functional independence of verbal short-term memory.","authors":"Tobias Bormann, Margret Seyboth, Dorothee Kümmerer, Volkmar Glauche, Michel Rijntjes, Cornelius Weiller","doi":"10.1111/jnp.70013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jnp.70013","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Reports of patients with impaired verbal short-term memory are central to the debate of whether there are independent short-term stores or whether immediate repetition is supported by activated long-term memory. Patients with selective impairments of verbal short-term memory support models with independent buffers. However, it has been argued that these patients were too rare to provide reliable data. Second, it has been suggested that these patients might suffer from subtle impairments of word perception, comprehension or production which previous studies had failed to notice. Ten neurological patients were assessed. Nine participants had impaired immediate spans for digits, letters and words whilst having unimpaired word perception, comprehension and production. Another patient exhibited better preserved immediate repetition despite severely impaired word perception, comprehension and production. This double dissociation provides unequivocal evidence for the functional independence of short- and long-term memory. The size of the present group of STM participants, the largest to date, makes it impossible to ignore data from neuropsychological patients.</p>","PeriodicalId":197,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Neuropsychology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145237478","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Davide Bruno, Chelsea Reichert-Plaska, Ainara Jauregi-Zinkunegi, Nicholas J Ashton, Henrik Zetterberg, Kaj Blennow, Nunzio Pomara
{"title":"Associations of plasma p-tau231 with serial position recall performance in free-of-dementia individuals.","authors":"Davide Bruno, Chelsea Reichert-Plaska, Ainara Jauregi-Zinkunegi, Nicholas J Ashton, Henrik Zetterberg, Kaj Blennow, Nunzio Pomara","doi":"10.1111/jnp.70012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jnp.70012","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cognitive assessment and analysis of plasma biomarkers are lower-cost options for the early assessment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we examined whether serial position markers in the Rey's AVLT were sensitive to plasma AD biomarkers in cognitively unimpaired older individuals. Participants (n = 327; mean age = 70.4, SD = 10.4) were free of dementia (MMSE = 24+) at baseline and recruited as part of the Memory Evaluation Research Initiative (MERI; Nathan Kline Institute, NY, USA). Data included plasma p-tau231, Aβ40 and Aβ42, AVLT scores and demographics. Bayesian linear and logistic regression analyses were carried out with plasma biomarkers as outcomes (including the Aβ42/40 ratio); memory scores, including traditional metrics and serial position scores, were predictors; and age, years of education, APOE ε4-status and reported gender were control variables. Results indicated that plasma p-tau231 was associated primarily with delayed primacy recall (first four words): the more primacy words were recalled, the lower the plasma p-tau231 levels were. This study confirms that serial position analysis of word-list recall data, and particularly delayed primacy, is a valuable tool for the identification of in vivo AD-related pathology in cognitively unimpaired individuals.</p>","PeriodicalId":197,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Neuropsychology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145129724","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Luis Heredia, María Marco, Nerea Carrión, Margarita Torrente
{"title":"Frontal Assessment Battery: Reliability, validity and discriminative ability in a Spanish sample of amnestic mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.","authors":"Luis Heredia, María Marco, Nerea Carrión, Margarita Torrente","doi":"10.1111/jnp.70011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jnp.70011","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Dementia constitutes one of the most widespread neurological disorders, representing an important health concern due to its increasing prevalence. Among the various types of dementia, Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common in the elderly, characterized by episodic memory impairment and also a decline in executive functions. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is considered a transitional stage between normal ageing and dementia, often described as a pre-dementia state. Distinguishing between these states is of paramount importance for the detection and appropriate care of patients. Functional Assessment Battery (FAB) is a screening tool for assessing executive function. In this study, 36 healthy individuals (HC), 31 single-domain amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) patients, and 29 Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients were assessed using FAB to determine its reliability, validity, and discriminative validity in a Spanish sample. Results indicated a good internal consistency of FAB in the AD sample (α = .71), but not in the aMCI group (α = .49). Significant differences between HC and both aMCI and AD groups were observed in the total scores of FAB. The FAB also showed good accuracy in distinguishing between HC and patients (AUC = 0.85), with an estimated optimal cut-off point of 16.5. However, its ability to distinguish between aMCI and AD individuals was lower (AUC = 0.68). More studies are necessary to corroborate our results using larger samples.</p>","PeriodicalId":197,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Neuropsychology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145079153","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ondrej Bezdicek, Jiří Motýl, Tomáš Nikolai, Adéla Fendrych Mazancová, Jakub Hort, Robert Jech, Martin Vyhnálek, Hana Horáková
{"title":"Differential cued recall memory impairment in mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's disease versus Parkinson's disease.","authors":"Ondrej Bezdicek, Jiří Motýl, Tomáš Nikolai, Adéla Fendrych Mazancová, Jakub Hort, Robert Jech, Martin Vyhnálek, Hana Horáková","doi":"10.1111/jnp.70010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jnp.70010","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Both Alzheimer's (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD) are often associated with memory dysfunction, but their pathophysiological underpinnings differ. The current research aimed to differentiate specific profiles of memory impairment due to AD versus PD. We used controlled learning and cued recall paradigm based on the Memory Binding Test (MBT) in 'clinically cognitively normal' controls (CN; n = 161), in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment due to AD (AD-aMCI; n = 50) and due to PD (PD-MCI; n = 22), and in PD with normal cognition (n = 18) as based on performance in the neuropsychological battery to prevent circularity in diagnostic decision-making. We applied analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis to determine between-group differences and detection potential of the MBT. We found statistically large between-group differences with worse memory performance in paired cued recall conditions in AD-aMCI<PD-MCI; AD-aMCI<PD-NC; AD-aMCI<CN (p < .001 after Bonferroni correction), and to a lesser extent in PD-MCI<CN (p = .039). However, PD-NC did not differ from PD-MCI, and PD-NC did not differ from CN (p > .050). The detection potential of MBT paired cued recall for differentiating memory impairment in AD-aMCI from CN yielded an AUC of 90% (95% CI, 85-96) and an AUC of 91% (95% CI, 81->99) between AD-aMCI and PD-MCI. Associative memory and binding impairment are most pronounced in AD-aMCI in comparison to PD-MCI and controls. Overall, the MBT is an efficient tool for the differential diagnosis of memory impairment due to the two most common neurodegenerative diseases.</p>","PeriodicalId":197,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Neuropsychology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144937343","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Clinimetrics: Towards a diagnostic neuropsychology grounded in Alzheimer's disease.","authors":"Ciro Rosario Ilardi","doi":"10.1111/jnp.70008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jnp.70008","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Neuropsychology's place in diagnosing dementia is still up for debate. With the advent of disease-modifying therapies, the optimisation of diagnostic pathways is increasingly urgent, particularly in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Yet, biomarker-driven frameworks eclipse neuropsychological testing as an ancillary tool rather than recognising it as a core component of clinical assessment. Emerging evidence indicates that relying solely on biomarkers does not provide a dependable forecast for the onset or progression of dementia. This drawback underscores how important neuropsychology is. Nonetheless, the clinical adoption of neuropsychological tests for diagnostic purposes requires a paradigm shift towards a more rigorous methodology. Despite its recognised diagnostic potential, the current neuropsychological framework is constrained by thresholds derived from normative distributions rather than Clinimetrics. Many existing tests rely on arbitrary cut-offs that do not account for disease prevalence, personological variability, or real-world cognitive performance. This oversimplified approach reduces the sensitivity of neuropsychological assessments and limits their integration into clinical practice. The development of population-specific clinimetric studies that establish weighted cut-offs for sensitivity and specificity based on clinical aims is crucial to ensure clinically meaningful decision-making.</p>","PeriodicalId":197,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Neuropsychology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144833539","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Michele Scandola, Maria Esposito, Riccardo Guidotti, Daniele Romano
{"title":"How artificial intelligence is shaping neuropsychology: A focus on cognitive assessment of neurodegenerative disorders.","authors":"Michele Scandola, Maria Esposito, Riccardo Guidotti, Daniele Romano","doi":"10.1111/jnp.70009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jnp.70009","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) algorithms are revolutionising the world, and they have the potential to revolutionise neuropsychology as well. A particularly fruitful field for this revolution is the cognitive assessment of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Mild Cognitive Impairment and Primary Progressive Aphasia. This narrative review explores the impact of ML and AI in classifying these patients by using biomarkers or neuropsychological tests, using vast amounts of data and providing previously unattainable insights. Additionally, the article will evaluate the accuracies of several ML algorithms, such as support vector machines, random forest or convolutional neural networks. The article will also discuss the challenges related to ML like the risk of overfitting and the need for ML algorithms to execute a differential analysis among several pathologies-a capability that current research has yet to achieve fully. Furthermore, it proposes new directions to improve the clinical utility and accuracy of ML classification algorithms in neuropsychology, underlining the possibility for theoretical advancements based on the results of these classifications.</p>","PeriodicalId":197,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Neuropsychology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144803027","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}