Planning ability impairments in probable Alzheimer's disease patients: Evidence from the Tower of London test

Satler, Corina; Guimarães, Luiza de Moura; Tomaz, Carlos

doi:10.1590/1980-57642016dn11-020006

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…The improvement in move-related scores (i.e., total correct scores and total move scores) without violation of time and rules is consistent with the findings of acute aerobic exercise studies that have used the Tower of London Test (Chang, Tsai, et al, 2011;Hung et al, 2013). This test is widely employed in neuropsychological studies and taps planning ability, planning quality, efficiency in problem-solving, and working memory (Hung et al, 2013;Satler et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Effects of exercise intensity and duration at a predetermined exercise volume on executive function among Apolipoprotein E (APOE)-ɛ4 carriers

et al. 2022

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Emerging evidence indicates that acute exercise improves executive function, but its effects on higher-order executive functioning among people with a risk of Alzheimer's disease are not well understood. This study addressed the effects of acute exercise on the planning dimension of executive function among late middle-age adults who carried Apolipoprotein (APOE)-ɛ4. Exercise volume was kept constant, but exercise intensity and duration were manipulated. Eighteen adults in the age range 55-70 years who carried APOE-ɛ4 were recruited for a laboratory-based study set in a within-subject, counterbalanced design. There was a reading control condition along with three exercise conditions: Acute cycle exercise at a moderate intensity for 30 min (MI-30); higher intensity exercise of a shorter duration (16 min); and lower intensity exercise of a longer duration (40 min).Exercise volume was set with reference to energy expenditure in MI-30. The Tower of London Test was administered at the end of each condition. Acute aerobic exercise improved the cognitive performance in regard to move-related scores and time-related scores, but not violation-related scores, when compared to the control condition in APOE-ɛ4 carriers. There was no difference in terms of the facilitation effect among the three exercise conditions. The present findings indicate that acute aerobic exercise, regardless of intensity/duration manipulation, facilitates higher-order executive function in late middle-aged APOE-ɛ4 carriers. Practitioners should, accordingly, consider exercise as a suitable intervention for those at risk of Alzheimer's disease.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Effects of exercise intensity and duration at a predetermined exercise volume on executive function among Apolipoprotein E (APOE)-ɛ4 carriers

et al. 2022

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“…This may suggest that planning deficits are modulated by injury severity, particularly since some authors [127] did not identify planning deficits associated with WM damage. By contrast, AD patients' planning deficits have been documented extensively and there is substantial consensus on their profiles [81,[128][129][130]. Thus, our findings of similarly reduced WM integrity in the CCs of mTBI and AD subjects are consistent with previous studies tying these areas to EF deficits [131,132].…”

Section: Executive Function (Ef) Deficitssupporting

confidence: 89%

Acute cognitive impairment after traumatic brain injury predicts the occurrence of brain atrophy patterns similar to those observed in Alzheimer’s disease

Rostowsky

Irimia

2021

GeroScience

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Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are often followed by persistent structural brain alterations and by cognitive sequalae, including memory deficits, reduced neural processing speed, impaired social function, and decision-making difficulties. Although mild TBI (mTBI) is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD), the extent to which these conditions share patterns of macroscale neurodegeneration has not been quantified. Comparing such patterns can not only reveal how the neurodegenerative trajectories of TBI and AD are similar, but may also identify brain atrophy features which can be leveraged to prognosticate AD risk after TBI. The primary aim of this study is to systematically map how TBI affects white matter (WM) and gray matter (GM) properties in AD-analogous patterns. Our findings identify substantial similarities in the regional macroscale neurodegeneration patterns associated with mTBI and AD. In cerebral GM, such similarities are most extensive in brain areas involved in memory and executive function, such as the temporal poles and orbitofrontal cortices, respectively. Our results indicate that the spatial pattern of cerebral WM degradation observed in AD is broadly similar to the pattern of diffuse axonal injury observed in TBI, which frequently affects WM structures like the fornix, corpus callosum, and corona radiata. Using machine learning, we find that the severity of AD-like brain changes observed during the chronic stage of mTBI can be accurately prognosticated based on acute assessments of post-traumatic mild cognitive impairment. These findings suggest that acute post-traumatic cognitive impairment predicts the magnitude of AD-like brain atrophy, which is itself associated with AD risk.

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“…According to the National Institute of Ageing (NIA), an individual will only be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s if their symptoms of memory loss and visual/spatial problems are “significant enough to impair a person’s ability to function independently,” yet rodent models routinely test locomotor, spatial, or memory deficits without any regard to how these issues might translate into functional outcomes. Goal-directed action control is crucial to independent functioning and its impairment in individuals with Alzheimer’s can be devastating, as it prevents individuals from reaching their goals and from making effective decisions ( Brown and Pluck, 2000 ; Satler et al, 2017 ). Therefore, it was the aim of the current study to investigate goal-directed action control in a preclinical, human amyloid precursor protein (hAPP)-J20 mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease for the first time.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Goal-Directed Action Is Initially Impaired in a hAPP-J20 Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease

Dhungana

Becchi

Leake

et al. 2023

eNeuro

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Cognitive-behavioural testing in preclinical models of Alzheimer’s disease has failed to capture deficits in goal-directed action control. Here we provide the first comprehensive investigation of goal-directed action in a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. Specifically, we tested outcome devaluation performance in male and female human amyloid precursor protein (hAPP)-J20 mice. Mice were first trained to press left and right levers for pellet and sucrose outcomes respectively (counterbalanced) over four days. On test, mice were pre-fed one of the outcomes to satiety and given a choice between levers. Devaluation performance was intact for 36-week-old wildtypes of both sexes, who responded more on the valued relative to the devalued lever (Valued > Devalued). By contrast, devaluation was impaired (Valued = Devalued) for J20 mice of both sexes, and for 52-week-old male mice regardless of genotype. After additional lever press training (i.e., 8 days lever pressing in total), devaluation was intact for all mice, demonstrating that the initial deficits were not a result of a non-specific impairment in reward processing, depression, or locomotor activity in J20 or aging mice. Follow up analyses revealed that microglial expression in the dorsal CA1 region of the hippocampus was associated with poorer outcome devaluation performance on initial, but not later tests. Together, these data demonstrate that goal-directed action is initially impaired in J20 mice of both sexes and in aging male mice regardless of genotype, and that this impairment is related to neuroinflammation in the dorsal CA1 hippocampal region.Significance statementTreatments for Alzheimer’s disease trialled in preclinical animal models have repeatedly failed to translate to the clinic. One potential reason for this could be that the cognitive-behavioural assays used in such models have been limited to one aspect of Alzheimer impairment: visuospatial memory. Here we demonstrate that male and female mice belonging to the transgenic hAPP-J20 mouse model also display consistent deficits in the initial acquisition of goal-directed action. This study therefore represents an important step towards the broader capture of Alzheimer-like cognitive deficits at a preclinical level which could improve translatability when used to more comprehensively test treatment efficacy prior to clinical trials.

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Planning ability impairments in probable Alzheimer's disease patients: Evidence from the Tower of London test

Cited by 8 publications

References 52 publications

Effects of exercise intensity and duration at a predetermined exercise volume on executive function among Apolipoprotein E (APOE)-ɛ4 carriers

Effects of exercise intensity and duration at a predetermined exercise volume on executive function among Apolipoprotein E (APOE)-ɛ4 carriers

Acute cognitive impairment after traumatic brain injury predicts the occurrence of brain atrophy patterns similar to those observed in Alzheimer’s disease

Goal-Directed Action Is Initially Impaired in a hAPP-J20 Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease

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