While there is a multitude of studies on mild cognitive impairment (MCI; more than 80,000 articles), subjective memory complaints (SMC) have received less attention as a prodromal stage of Alzheimer’s disease (AD; less than 2000 articles). In this perspective review article, we argue that SMC should also be considered as another risk factor for the development of AD, and perhaps a pre-MCI condition. This recognition of SMC could help clinicians to identify individuals at risk of developing dementia and could provide protective treatment for them. Accordingly, in this perspective article, we review key studies that outline the nature of SMC, discuss how SMC is measured, explore SMC in MCI, introduce some approaches to SMC treatment, and we discuss future directions for SMC research. Overall, we argue that, like MCI, there should be more research on SMC as a risk factor for developing AD. Consequentially, we aim to highlight the need for further research on SMC and the condition’s role as a potential neuroprotector against AD (e.g., early-stage marker).

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe non-Hispanic blacks that use chiropractic health care to better understand this underserved demographic. Methods: E-mail and telephone calls were used to recruit doctors of chiropractic (DCs) in Texas and Louisiana to distribute anonymous surveys to their non-Hispanic black patients. Twenty doctors volunteered to participate. Each was sent 10 surveys and self-addressed envelopes to distribute. All doctors were given at least 3 months to distribute surveys to as many non-Hispanic black patients that they had. The survey contained 20 questions designed to develop a profile of non-Hispanic black patients that used chiropractic care. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize demographic and other patient attributes. Results: Two-hundred surveys were distributed and 44 were completed, yielding a response rate of 22%. Non-Hispanic black patients were more likely to be female (54.5%), be older than 50 years (56.8%), be a college graduate (59.1%), be employed (61.9%), report not receiving public assistance in the past 5 years (81.4%), report a household income of $20 000 to $60 000 a year (48.8%), and born in the United States (83.7%). Participants reported that there was a DC within 30 minutes of their address (81.4%), their DC always explained things to them in an easy-to-understand manner (81.8%), their DC always showed respect for what they had to say (88.6%), and their DC always cared about them as a person (86.4%). Conclusions: In the sample surveyed, non-Hispanic black patients tended to be female, be older, be college educated, be employed, and have a positive viewpoint on their interactions with their DC.

In this study, we investigated the ability of commonly used neuropsychological tests to detect cognitive and functional decline across the Alzheimer’s disease (AD) continuum. Moreover, as preclinical AD is a key area of investigation, we focused on the ability of neuropsychological tests to distinguish the early stages of the disease, such as individuals with Subjective Memory Complaints (SMC). This study included 595 participants from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) dataset who were cognitively normal (CN), SMC, mild cognitive impairment (MCI; early or late stage), or AD. Our cognitive measures included the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT), the Everyday Cognition Questionnaire (ECog), the Functional Abilities Questionnaire (FAQ), the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale–Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-Cog), the Montreal Cognitive Assessment scale (MoCA), and the Trail Making test (TMT-B). Overall, our results indicated that the ADAS-13, RAVLT (learning), FAQ, ECog, and MoCA were all predictive of the AD progression continuum. However, TMT-B and the RAVLT (immediate and forgetting) were not significant predictors of the AD continuum. Indeed, contrary to our expectations ECog self-report (partner and patient) were the two strongest predictors in the model to detect the progression from CN to AD. Accordingly, we suggest using the ECog (both versions), RAVLT (learning), ADAS-13, and the MoCA to screen all stages of the AD continuum. In conclusion, we infer that these tests could help clinicians effectively detect the early stages of the disease (e.g., SMC) and distinguish the different stages of AD.

The increasing prevalence of high levels of distress in university student populations has led academic and support staff to investigate options to help students cope with academic stress. Our research focused on investigating the benefit of early academic interventions for content engagement and feedback. In a 1st year psychology student sample of 547 we collected data on psychological measures (motivation and distress), practice test engagement and performance on assessment tasks. Assessment data from a baseline phase (practice tests were available) were compared to assessment data from an intervention  (reward for undertaking practice tests). Our experiment also allowed an investigation of the type of benefit gained from practice tests engagement (content specific benefit vs general engagement effects). Results show that undertaking practice tests ahead of assessment quizzes is associated with significantly higher assessment performance.  Practice test uptake significantly increased when an incentive was in place resulting in much higher assessment scores for students. Students who showed high levels of distress on the DASS performed significantly lower on assessments. However, highly distressed students who undertook practice testing showed performance at the same level as non-distressed students.