Neural correlates of a standardized version of the trail making test in young and elderly adults: A functional near-infrared spectroscopy study

Müller, Laurent; Guhn, Anne; Zeller, Julia; Biehl, Stefanie C.; Dresler, Thomas; Hahn, Tim; Fallgatter, Andreas J.; Polak, Thomas; Deckert, Jürgen

doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.01.019

Cited by 57 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…The second factor was very specific and was measured only by the three TMT performance indices we considered. In agreement with current literature, we interpreted this specific factor to be "executive flexibility" (e.g., Arbuthnott & Frank, 2000;Gläscher et al, 2012;Moll et al, 2002;Müller et al, 2014;Sánchez-Cubillo et al, 2009). It should be noted that one of the advantages of this bi-factor orthogonalization lies in allowing in subsequent mediation tests the consideration of the indirect effect of age on "prospective memory" via "memory/speed" independent of the indirect effect of age on "prospective memory" via "executive flexibility".…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

“…The participants also underwent the Trail Making Test (TMT: Tombaugh, 2004), a test generally used to measure executive flexibility (e.g., Arbuthnott & Frank, 2000;Gläscher et al, 2012;Moll, de Oliveira-Souza, Moll, Bramati, & Andreiuolo, 2002;Müller et al, 2014;Sánchez-Cubillo et al, 2009). During the first part of the test (TMT.A) one has to connect as fast as possible in sequential order a set of 25 dots numbered 1 to 25 that are placed randomly on a sheet of paper.…”

Section: Executive Flexibility Taskmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, it can easily test multiple mediator models (MacKinnon, 2008;Preacher & Hayes, 2008;Preacher, Rucker, & Hayes, 2007). The Mplus 7.3 software (Muthén & Muthén, 1998-2014 was used to estimate model parameters and for handling missing-at-random data using the full information maximum likelihood (FIML) estimator. When data were continuous, overall model fit assessment was based upon the χ 2 /df ratio and practical fit indices such as the comparative fit index (CFI), the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) and the standardized root mean square residual (SRMR).…”

Section: Statistical Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The second factor, though well measured by all three indicators from the TMT, is essentially measured by the speed of completion of TMT.B. As several authors have pointed out, the TMT and more notably the TMT.B can be used as a measure of executive control (e.g., Arbuthnott & Frank, 2000;Gläscher et al, 2012;Moll et al, 2002;Müller et al, 2014;Sánchez-Cubillo et al, 2009). Consequently, we interpret this second factor, which was constrained to be uncorrelated with the more general "memory/ speed" factor, as an "executive flexibility" factor.…”

Section: Factorial Structure Of the Retrospective Memory And Executivmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Aging and performance on laboratory and naturalistic prospective memory tasks: The mediating role of executive flexibility and retrospective memory

2015

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Executive Flexibility Taskmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Statistical Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Factorial Structure Of the Retrospective Memory And Executivmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Aging and performance on laboratory and naturalistic prospective memory tasks: The mediating role of executive flexibility and retrospective memory

2015

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“…The selection of a two-second rest period as baseline reference was based on previous block design fNIRS studies (e.g. Müller et al 2014; Heinzel et al 2013). The baseline-corrected time series were subsequently averaged over the four repetitions of each task.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prefrontal activation may predict working-memory training gain in normal aging and mild cognitive impairment

Vermeij

Kessels

Heskamp

et al. 2016

Brain Imaging and Behavior

109

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Cognitive training has been shown to result in improved behavioral performance in normal aging and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), yet little is known about the neural correlates of cognitive plasticity, or about individual differences in responsiveness to cognitive training. In this study, 21 healthy older adults and 14 patients with MCI received five weeks of adaptive computerized working-memory (WM) training. Before and after training, functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to assess the hemodynamic response in left and right prefrontal cortex during performance of a verbal n-back task with varying levels of WM load. After training, healthy older adults demonstrated decreased prefrontal activation at high WM load, which may indicate increased processing efficiency. Although MCI patients showed improved behavioral performance at low WM load after training, no evidence was found for training-related changes in prefrontal activation. Whole-group analyses showed that a relatively strong hemodynamic response at low WM load was related to worse behavioral performance, while a relatively strong hemodynamic response at high WM load was related to higher training gain. Therefore, a ‘youth-like’ prefrontal activation pattern at older age may be associated with better behavioral outcome and cognitive plasticity.

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Compensatory activation in fronto-parietal cortices among HIV-infected persons during a monetary decision-making task

et al. 2016

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HIV infection can cause direct and indirect damage to the brain and is consistently associated with neurocognitive disorders, including impairments in decision-making capacities. The tendency to devalue rewards that are delayed (temporal discounting) is relevant to a range of health risk behaviors. Making choices about delayed rewards engages the executive control network of the brain, which has been found to be affected by HIV. In this case-control study of 18 HIV-positive and 17 HIV-negative adults, we examined the effects of HIV on brain activation during a temporal discounting task. Functional MRI (fMRI) data were collected while participants made choices between smaller, sooner rewards and larger, delayed rewards. Choices were individualized based on participants’ unique discount functions, so each participant experienced hard (similarly valued), easy (disparately valued), and control choices. fMRI data were analyzed using a mixed-effects model to identify group-related differences associated with choice difficulty. While there was no difference between groups in behavioral performance, the HIV-positive group demonstrated significantly larger increases in activation within left parietal regions and bilateral prefrontal regions during easy trials and within the right prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate during hard trials. Increasing activation within the prefrontal regions was associated with lower nadir CD4 cell count and risk-taking propensity. These results support the hypothesis that HIV infection can alter brain functioning in regions that support decision making, providing further evidence for HIV-associated compensatory activation within fronto-parietal cortices. A history of immunosuppression may contribute to these brain changes.

show abstract

Neural correlates of a standardized version of the trail making test in young and elderly adults: A functional near-infrared spectroscopy study

Cited by 57 publications

References 54 publications

Aging and performance on laboratory and naturalistic prospective memory tasks: The mediating role of executive flexibility and retrospective memory

Aging and performance on laboratory and naturalistic prospective memory tasks: The mediating role of executive flexibility and retrospective memory

Prefrontal activation may predict working-memory training gain in normal aging and mild cognitive impairment

Compensatory activation in fronto-parietal cortices among HIV-infected persons during a monetary decision-making task

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