Establishing normative data for repeated cognitive assessment: A comparison of different statistical methods

Serial cognitive assessment is conducted to monitor changes in the cognitive abilities of patients over time. At present, mainly the regression-based change and the ANCOVA approaches are used to establish normative data for serial cognitive assessment. These methods are straightforward, but they have some severe drawbacks. For example, they can only consider the data of two measurement occasions. In this article, we propose three alternative normative methods that are not hampered by these problems—that is, multivariate regression, the standard linear mixed model (LMM), and the linear mixed model combined with multiple imputation (LMM with MI) approaches. The multivariate regression method is primarily useful when a small number of repeated measurements are taken at fixed time points. When the data are more unbalanced, the standard LMM and the LMM with MI methods are more appropriate because they allow for a more adequate modeling of the covariance structure. The standard LMM has the advantage that it is easier to conduct and that it does not require a Monte Carlo component. The LMM with MI, on the other hand, has the advantage that it can flexibly deal with missing responses and missing covariate values at the same time. The different normative methods are illustrated on the basis of the data of a large longitudinal study in which a cognitive test (the Stroop Color Word Test) was administered at four measurement occasions (i.e., at baseline and 3, 6, and 12 years later). The results are discussed and suggestions for future research are provided.     

What’s Inside Your Head Once You’ve Figured Out What Your Head’s Inside Of

Abstract

In this article, we investigate the foundations for a Gibsonian neuroscience. There is an increasingly influential current in neuroscience based on pragmatic and selectionist principles, which we think can contribute to ecological psychology. Starting from ecological psychology, we identify three basic constraints any Gibsonian neuroscience needs to adhere to: nonreconstructive perception, vicarious functioning, and selectionist self-organization. We discuss two previous attempts to integrate affordances with neuroscience: Reed’s ecological rendering of Edelman’s selectionism as well as Dreyfus’ phenomenological interpretation of Freeman’s neurodynamics. Reed and Dreyfus face the problem of how to account for “value.” We then show how the free-energy principle, an increasingly dominant framework in theoretical neuroscience, is rooted in both Freeman’s neurodynamics and Edelman’s selectionism. The free-energy principle accounts for value in terms of selective anticipation. The selection pressures at work on the agent shape its selective sensitivity to the relevant affordances in the environment. By being responsive to the relevant affordances in the environment, an agent comes to have grip on its interactions with the environment and can thrive in its ecological niche.     

The association between valuing popularity and relational aggression: the moderating effects of actual popularity and physiological reactivity to exclusion

The association between having a reputation for valuing popularity and relational aggression was assessed in a sample of 126 female children and adolescents (mean age = 12.43 years) at a 54-day residential summer camp for girls. Having a reputation for valuing popularity was positively related to relational aggression. This association was moderated by both popularity and physiological reactivity to social exclusion (i.e., respiratory sinus arrhythmia reactivity [RSAR] and heart rate reactivity [HRR]). Popular girls with a reputation for valuing popularity were at greater risk for engaging in relational aggression when they also exhibited blunted reactivity to social exclusion. Conversely, girls who had a reputation for valuing popularity but were not popular (i.e., the “wannabes”) were at risk for engaging in relational aggression when they exhibited heightened reactivity to exclusion.     

Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction Versus Complaints: A Discrepancy in Long-Term Findings

This review describes the discrepancy in findings between postoperative cognitive performance and postoperative cognitive complaints long time after an operation under general anesthesia. Shortly (from 6 hr to 1 week) after an operation a decline in cognitive performance is reported in most studies. However, long time (from 3 weeks to 1–2 years) after an operation this is rarely found although some patients are still reporting cognitive complaints. In general this kind of research is suffering from severe methodological problems (use of insensitive tests, lack of control groups, lack of parallel tests, different definitions of cognitive decline). However, these problems cannot totally explain the discrepancy in findings in the long term. Thus, there are patients who have persistent cognitive complaints long time after an operation, that cannot be measured with cognitive tests. More psychological factors such as fixation on short-term cognitive dysfunction, mood, coping style, and personality are possible explanations for these cognitive complaints in the long term. As a consequence, these factors should be a topic in future research elucidating the persistence of these cognitive complaints long time after an operation under general anesthesia.     

On the relative role of inhibition in age-related working memory decline

In this cross-sectional study, the mediating role of inhibition relative to speed in age-related working memory decline on different tasks was investigated. It was hypothesized that the role of inhibition is marginal or absent in a relatively "passive" or simple working memory task, but present in a relatively "active" or complex task in which the processing, rather than the storage capacity of working memory, is addressed. This hypothesis was tested with a structural equation model that was fitted on a subsample (N = 213) of the Maastricht Aging Study (MAAS). The first trial of the Verbal Learning Test (VLT) served as the passive test and the Self-Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (SPASAT) as the active test. Results showed that the role of inhibition was absent in predicting VLT performance, whereas it was comparable to the role of speed in predicting SPASAT performance. These findings suggest a relative, task-dependent role of inhibition in explaining age-related memory decline.     

Differences in feedback- and inhibition-related neural activity in adult ADHD

The objective of this study was to examine response inhibition- and feedback-related neural activity in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) using event-related functional MRI. Sixteen male adults with ADHD and 13 healthy/normal controls participated in this study and performed a modified Go/NoGo task. Behaviourally, attention and inhibition problems in the ADHD group were observed; no feedback-related differences between the groups were detected. The neuroimaging data showed that the ADHD group displayed more activation in the inferior frontal gyrus and putamen during response inhibition. During feedback-related processes, the ADHD group displayed less activation in the inferior frontal/orbitofrontal cortex, hippocampus/nucleus accumbens, and caudate nucleus, but more activity in the inferior frontal gyrus. These results indicate that at least two distinguishable underlying brain networks related to response inhibition and feedback are altered in adults with ADHD.     

The use of faces as stimuli in neuroimaging and psychological experiments: A procedure to standardize stimulus features

In psychological experiments involving facial stimuli, it is of great importance that the basic perceptual or psychological characteristics that are investigated are not confounded by factors such as brightness and contrast, head size, hair cut and color, skin color, and the presence of glasses and earrings. Standardization of facial stimulus materials reduces the effect of these confounding factors. We therefore employed a set of basic image processing techniques to deal with this issue. The processed images depict the faces in gray-scale, all at the same size, brightness, and contrast, and confined to an oval mask revealing only the basic features such as the eyes, nose, and mouth. The standardization was successfully applied to four different face databases, consisting of male and female faces and including neutral as well as happy facial expressions. An important advantage of the proposed standardization is that featural as well as configurational information is retained. We also consider the procedure to be a major contribution to the development of a de facto standard for the use of facial stimuli in psychological experiments. Such methodological standardization would allow a better comparison of the results of these studies.     

Dynamic Update with Probabilities

Current dynamic-epistemic logics model different types of information change in multi-agent scenarios. We generalize these logics to a probabilistic setting, obtaining a calculus for multi-agent update with three natural slots: prior probability on states, occurrence probabilities in the relevant process taking place, and observation probabilities of events. To match this update mechanism, we present a complete dynamic logic of information change with a probabilistic character. The completeness proof follows a compositional methodology that applies to a much larger class of dynamic-probabilistic logics as well. Finally, we discuss how our basic update rule can be parameterized for different update policies, or learning methods.     

Empirical test of bullies' status goals: assessing direct goals, aggression, and prestige

The literature suggests that status goals are one of the driving motivations behind bullying behavior, yet this conjecture has rarely if ever been examined empirically. This study assessed status goals in three ways, using dyadic network analysis to analyze the relations and goals among 10-11 and 14-15 year olds in 22 school classes (N boys=225; N girls=277). As a validation bullies were contrasted with victims. Bullies had direct status goals (measured with the Interpersonal Goal Inventory for Children) and showed dominance as measured with proactive aggression. Moreover, as predicted from a goal perspective, bullying behavior was related to prestige in terms of perceived popularity. In contrast, victims lacked status goals, were only reactively aggressive, and low on prestige. That being popular is not the same as being liked could be shown by the fact that bullies were just as rejected as victims by their classmates. Eighth-grade bullies had more direct status goals than fourth-grade bullies, possibly indicating that striving for the popularity component of status increases in early adolescence.