20s to 80s, considering phonological and lexical routes of reading. Methods: This study classified 120 normal adults into a younger group (20-39 years), middle-age group (40-59 years), and older group (60-89 years), and conducted a reading aloud task under various conditions. Results: The performance of the older group decreased in irregular words and regular nonwords compared to the younger (p < .001) and middle age (p = .001) groups. For irregular nonwords, performance of the older group decreased compared to the younger group (p = .002). Conclusion: The results show that lexical routes for reading irregular words with graphemes and phonemes not corresponding to each other are affected by aging. This signifies that the cognitive load for reading irregular nonwords grows with age; these nonwords should be read by borrowing phonological changes in words with similar phonological conditions through phonological and lexical routes. To sum up, declines in language ability and cognitive functioning and reduced attention during the normal aging process can affect the ability to use information through lexical routes, and reading that requires complex cognitive processing is more affected by aging.

Background: It has been suggested that primarily generalized brain pathology, rather that stroke lesion, is associated with the development of post-stroke depression (PSD) and post-stroke apathy (PSA). The present sub-study, part of the CASPER (Cognition and Affect after Stroke: a Prospective Evaluation of Risks) study, aimed to investigate associations between imaging markers of lesion-related and generalized brain pathology and the development of PSD and PSA during a one-year follow-up. Methods: In the CASPER study, 188 stroke patients received 3-Tesla MRI at baseline (three months post-stroke) for volumetric and visual rating of lesion-related, vascular, and degenerative brain pathology. Presence of lacunes, microbleeds, white matter hyperintensities, and enlarged perivascular spaces was summed to provide a measure of total cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD) burden (range 0-4). The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview and Apathy Evaluation Scale were administered at baseline and repeated at 6and 12-month follow-up to define presence of PSD and PSA, respectively. Results: Population-averaged logistic regression models showed that global brain atrophy (OR GEE 5.33, 95% CI 1.99-14.25) and severe cSVD burden (score 3-4) were significantly associated with the odds of developing PSA (OR GEE 3.04, 95% CI 1.20-7.69), independent of stroke lesion volume and co-morbid PSD. Medium cSVD burden (score 2) was significantly associated with the odds of developing PSD (OR GEE 2.92, 95% CI 1.09-7.78), independent of stroke lesion volume, co-morbid PSA, and prestroke depression. No associations were found with lesion-related markers. Conclusions:The results suggest that generalized degenerative and vascular brain pathology, rather than lesion-related pathology, is an important predictor for the development of PSA, and less strongly for PSD.

The purpose of this study was to compare word reading performance according to word condition between cognitively normal elderly and elderly with mild cognitive impairment. Methods: We studied 21 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 21 age-, sex-, and educationmatched cognitively normal older adults. Participants were asked to administer a reading aloud task under four different word conditions