Perception of cognitive function in older adults following coronary artery bypass surgery.

This study examined the effects of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) on objective and subjective measures of neurocognitive functioning. Participants were 170 older patients (127 men and 43 women; mean age = 61 years) undergoing CABG. Measures of neurocognitive function, depression, anxiety, and perceived cognitive abilities were administered immediately prior to and 6 weeks following surgery. Although objective measures of impaired cognitive performance following CABG were not related to perceived cognitive difficulties, the presence of anxiety and depression was related to the perception of cognitive functioning. Patients who reported high levels of anxiety and depression 6 weeks after surgery perceived themselves as having poorer cognitive function. Interventions designed to reduce emotional distress could improve patient's perceived cognitive abilities following CABG.     

Slowing of memory-search performance in men with mild hypertension

Previous reports have associated hypertension with a slowing of cognitive performance, although the component processes involved have not been identified. Our report compares the performance of 24 men with mild hypertension and 28 age-matched normotensive men on a test of short-term memory search in which the duration of component processes could be estimated. The results indicated that the rate of search through short-term memory was slower for the hypertensive than for the normotensives, whereas the duration of encoding and response processes was equivalent for the two groups. This hypertension-related slowing of memory comparison was independent of participants' error rates and education levels.