The Association of Multilingualism with Diverse Language Families and Cognition Among Adults with and without Education in India
In this episode, Dr. Scott Sperling and student leader, Grace Goodwin, discuss the article The Association of Multilingualism with Diverse Language Families and Cognition Among Adults with and without Education in India with the senior author, Dr. Miguel Arce Rentería. This study leveraged the rich linguistic diversity across all socioeconomic gradients in India to understand how multilinguilism impacts cognition later in life in individuals with and without formal education. Participants were from The Longitudinal Aging Study in India-Diagnostic Assessment of Dementia which included 4,088 individuals, 54% of whom did not have formal education. Analyses employed education-stratified regression models. Results showed that for individuals with formal education, multilingualism was associated with better cognitive functioning. For individuals without formal education, results differed based on the similarity of languages known by the individual such that those who knew multiple languages that were more similar linguistically (over those who knew multiple dissimilar languages) had better executive functioning than monolinguals. This study adds to our understanding related to the impact of multilingualism (including language similarity) and education on cognition in an aging population.
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20:25
p-Tau/Aβ42 Ratio Associates with Cognitive Decline
In this episode, Dr. Scott Sperling and Dr. Elaine Schultz discuss the article p-Tau/Aβ42 ratio associates with cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment, and cognitively unimpaired older adults with two the paper's authors, Dr. Ruchika Prakash and Michael McKenna. The goal of the study was to examine whether a CSF-based p-Tau/Aβ42 ratio predicted aspects of cognition (global cognitive functioning, episodic memory, and executive functioning) over a 2-year period (data collected at baseline, 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months). This study utilized data from 1,215 older adults through the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative including those who were cognitive unimpaired, those with mild cognitive impairment, and those with Alzheimer's Disease. Results showed that the p-Tau/Aβ42 ratio predicted global cognitive decline and episodic memory decline in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease and was able to predict decline in executive functioning across all group. This study highlights the potential impact of Alzheimer's-related pathology in the broader aging population on cognitive abilities, with particular impact on executive functioning.
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19:56
Pediatric Cognitive Reserve Moderates the Effect of Brain Structure in Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Evidence for an Optimized Residual Approach
In this episode, Dr. Scott Sperling and Dr. Kritika Nayar discuss the article Pediartic cognitive reserve moderates the effect of brain structure in Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Evidence for an optimized residual approach with the paper's first author Dr. Zubin Irani. This study examined the construct validity of a residual-based cognitive reserve index in a sample of pediatric patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Analyses included 115 children, 43 of which met diagnostic criteria for ADHD. Each participant underwent neuropsychological testing and neuroimaging at multiple time points. Statistical methods involved elastic-net regularized linear regression. Overall, cognitive reserve was shown to predict academic achievement (math computation at baseline, change in word reading over time). There was also evidence of cognitive reserve moderating the effect of total grey matter volume on baseline academic academic achievement as well as baseline ADHD symptoms. Taken together, results support this methodology for calculating cognitive reserve and its utility in a pediatric population.
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17:30
The Association of Sociodemographic Factors with Semantic Fluency Metrics
In this episode, Dr. Scott Sperling and student leader, Dr. Lisa Cruz, discuss the article The association of sociodemographic factors with total and item-level semantic fluency metrics with the paper's first author, Magdalena Beran, and senior author Dr. Jet Vonk. In this study, explored the association between sociodemographic factors (e.g., age, sex, level of education) and semantic fluency metrics (e.g., number of words, average cluster size, number of cluster switches, lexical/Zipf frequency, age of acquisition, and lexical decision response time). Analyses utilized data from 3 cross-sectional cohorts, totaling 2,391 individuals. Overall, results indicated that semantic fluency metrics are associated with effects of age, education, and sex/gender which can help to inform the generalizability of semantic fluency data.
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16:50
Understanding the Role of Working Memory and Organizational Skills on Academic Functioning in ADHD
In this episode, Dr. Scott Sperling and student leader, Ms. Grace Goodwin, discuss the article The role of working memory and organizational skills in academic functioning for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder with the paper's first author, doctoral candidate, Ms. Alissa Cole. Using bias-corrected, bootstrapped latent path analyses, this study explored the unique and shared contributions of working memory and organizational skills on academic achievement and performance in a sample of 309 children with and without Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Results highlight the extent to which working memory and organizational skills both separately and together impact academic achievement and academic performance, explaining as much as 100% of the variance, as well as eclipsing the diagnosis of ADHD itself in certain models. Overall, findings have strong real-world implications for interventions related to learning for children with ADHD.
Acerca de Meet the Authors: A Neuropsychology Podcast
We are pleased to introduce the Meet the Authors podcast series, brought to you by a collaboration of the Society for Clinical Neuropsychology (SCN) and the journal Neuropsychology. In this podcast series, a SCN student leader, with support from
members of the SCN Scientific Advisory Committee and podcast host Dr. Scott Sperling, will discuss a recently published study with the authors who undertook the research. This podcast aims to provide a behind the scenes look into the development, implementation, analysis, and future implications of cutting-edge neuropsychology research.
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