The Boston Naming Test (BNT) is a 60-item confrontation naming task requiring participants to name a series of pictures. Prior research has shown that bilingual children have smaller vocabularies than monolinguals and that this effect continues into adulthood. Numerous studies have confirmed that bilingual adults name fewer pictures correctly than monolinguals on the BNT. Research also shows that self-reported workload correlates with neuropsychological test performance and that estimates of workload provide additional information regarding cognitive outcomes. Hardy and Wright (2018) conditionally validated a measure of perceived mental workload called the NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX; Hart & Staveland 1988) with healthy adults on a neuropsychological test (i.e., the Tower of Hanoi). Research also shows that bilinguals report higher perceived workloads on cognitive tasks compared to monolinguals. Although this work has recently extended to other tests, to our knowledge, the workload profile of the BNT remains relatively unexplored. We evaluated BNT performance and perceived workload via the NASA-TLX in monolinguals and bilinguals. We predicted that monolinguals would outperform bilinguals on the BNT, but that bilinguals would report higher workloads.

The study sample consisted of 84 healthy participants (36 monolinguals, 48 bilinguals) with a mean age of 28.94 (SD = 10.76). Participants completed the standard 60-item BNT in English. The NASA-TLX scale was utilized to evaluate perceived workload across six subscales. The NASA-TLX was also completed in English after the completion of the BNT. ANOVAs were used to test BNT performance and perceived workload ratings between our language groups.

We found that monolinguals performed better on the BNT compared to bilinguals, p =.001, np2 = 24. However, bilinguals reported exerting more effort when completing the BNT compared to monolinguals, p =.002, np2 = .11. Additionally. bilinguals also experienced more frustration when completing the BNT compared to monolinguals, p =.034, np2 = .05.

As expected, results revealed that monolinguals outperformed bilingual participants on the BNT. However, bilinguals exerted more effort on the BNT and reported the BNT to be more frustrating. A possible reason for bilinguals underperforming and reporting higher perceived workloads on the BNT may be because correct responses were only accepted in English. This may have caused bilingual speakers to exert increased effort to complete the task in a non-native language. In turn, this increased effort likely increased cognitive load and led to higher frustration levels. Further research is needed to confirm our findings and support the idea that bilingualism leads to perceiving greater effort and frustration, and to determine whether there are subgroup differences in BNT performances among bilingual individuals (e.g., English learned as a first language compared to English learned as a second language).

Many of those who experience the trauma and abuse of sex trafficking also struggle with a variety of physical and mental health issues, a major one of those issues being posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this study, we explored the relationship between verbal comprehension and a PTSD diagnosis to see if this aspect of intelligence might be stronger for individuals without a diagnosis of PTSD.

Participants included 22 adolescent girls between the ages of 14 and 18 who had experienced sex trafficking. Participants were referred to Fuller Psychological and Family Services for learning difficulties, where they were given comprehensive clinical neuropsychological evaluations, including a Wechsler Intelligence Scale (WISC or WAIS) and a screening for PTSD. WISC or WAIS Full Scale IQ ranged from 75 to 115 (M = 85.1, SD = 11.2).

Contrary to the hypothesis that those without PTSD would have higher verbal comprehension scores than those with PTSD, the results indicated no difference between the two groups, t(23) = -.86 , p = .40. However, verbal comprehension scores across both groups were significantly below the normal range, suggesting a relationship between trauma and verbal comprehension.

The diagnosis of PTSD may impact intelligence in ways not anticipated for this population, or perhaps our method of diagnosing PTSD did not adequately nuance the varying responses to trauma. By further exploring the relationships between Verbal Comprehension Indexes and markers of resilience, we may be able to better understand the characteristics of resilience demonstrated by those who become involved in prostitution.

Health literacy is the degree to which an individual is able to attain, process, and understand information, skills, and services required to make informed decisions. Limited health literacy is a risk factor for problems understanding health information and adhering to medical instructions, underuse of preventive services, increased hospitalizations and associated medical costs, and higher mortality rates. Recognizing individuals with reduced health literacy can be difficult given demographic information such as age or years of education do not reliably reflect an individual’s health literacy level. Cross-sectional studies have identified limited health literacy as associated with lower scores on cognitive tests measuring memory, executive function (EF), and processing speed, independent from the influence of demographic variables (e.g., age, race, education). This study assessed the association of objective measures of executive functioning and health literacy when controlling for premorbid estimated intellectual functioning and relevant demographic variables.

A sample of 44 adult patients (20 Male; 24 Female) referred for neuropsychological evaluation for memory complaints who were administered the Test of Premorbid Functioning (TOPF), and multiple measures of EF including the Trail Making Test - Part B (TMT-B), Stroop Color and Word Test (SCWT), and Letter (FAS) and Semantic (Animals) Fluency as part of part of a larger standardized battery. Patients were also administered the Short Assessment of Health Literacy-English (SAHL-E). All included patients had <2 performance validity test failures. The sample was 50% non-Hispanic Black, 31.8% non-Hispanic White, 15.9% Hispanic, 2.3% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 54.5% female. Diagnostically, 50.9% of the sample were cognitively normal, 36.4% had mild cognitive impairment, and 15.9% had dementia. Two multiple regressions were conducted to evaluate (1) the predictive power of EF on the SAHL-E, and (2) the moderating impact of estimated premorbid IQ and demographics via the TOPF on the relationship between EF and SAHL-E.

The first regression was not significant (p=.168) with FAS as the only independent predictor of SAHL-E performance (ß=.387, p<.05). The overall model was significant with the addition of the TOPF (p<.001). FAS accounted for 29% (ß=.336, p<.05) of the variance in SAHL-E when controlling for TOPF and other measures of EF.

These results indicate that novel generativity is a significant predictor of health literacy beyond the influence of estimated premorbid intelligence and demographic factors. Importantly, these findings suggest that broadly speaking EF abilities have minimal impact on health literacy, although reduced verbal generativity to letter cues is associated with reduced health literacy. Identification of at-risk populations such as individuals with limited health literacy is clinically important and can make way for early intervention. Health information targeted at this at-risk population should go beyond vocabulary and more specifically reduce the burden on verbal fluency.

Brain science demonstrates that people who stutter (PWS) exhibit insufficient activation in the auditory speech area of the left hemisphere (Kikuchi, et al. 2011 ; Garnett, et al. 2018). In this study, we reported the auditory brainstem response of PWS: in PWS with moderate and severe impairment, significantly longer interpeak latencies (IPLs) between waves I and V (IPL [I-V]) of the right ear than those of the left ear were observed. However, in PWS with mild impairment, the IPLs (I-V) of the left ear were significantly longer than those of the right ear (Anzaki et al., 2020). We considered that the differences in the IPLs (I-V) between the right and left ears cause monitoring disturbance in communication, which results in developmental stuttering. It has been reported that stuttering was improved by delayed auditory feedback (DAF) (Stromsta, 1956; Sakai, 2008). Thus, we improved the DAF system and developed an application that can be used by PWS to listen to their own voices with no differences in the IPLs (I-V) between their left and right ears. We verified the effectiveness of this application.

This study included five male adults with developmental stuttering (ADSs), with a mean age and handedness index of 36 years and 84, respectively. The application was adjusted so that the IPLs (I-V) of the left and right ears were the same. For example, one ADS showed that the IPL (I-V) of their right ear was 0.5 msec longer than that of their left. Subsequently, the application was adjusted so that the IPL (I-V) of his left ear would be delayed by 0.5 msec. We asked the participants to use the application for six months when free talking and reading aloud. Using the Japanese Standardized Test for Stuttering (JSTS) (Ozawa, et al. 2013), we compared their disfluencies with and without the application.

As per the JSTS, the stuttering severity in all participants improved. Case 1, who had severe impairment (level 5), showed a moderate improvement (level 4), Cases 2 and 3, who had moderate impairment (level 4), showed a mild improvement (level 3), and Cases 4 and 5, who had mild impairment (level 3), exhibited a normal level of improvement (level 1). We calculated the z-scores of the improvement rates of the JSTS based on the standard deviations according to the severity (Anzaki, 2019). The z-scores of Case 4 and 5 were 4.01 and 2.01, respectively, indicating a significant improvement.

In our report last year, although ADSs with moderate and severe impairment showed improvement by stimulation intervention on the left hemisphere through the right ear, those with mild impairment exhibited only a slight or no improvement as per the JSTS (Anzaki, et al. 2021). The application developed in this study was found to significantly improve the disfluencies of all the participants as per the JSTS, especially those with mild impairment. Therefore, we considered that stuttering disorders are layered; ADSs have auditory monitoring disorder in the base.

As word finding or "naming" impairment is a symptom of multiple neurological conditions, naming assessment is an integral component of most neuropsychological evaluations. For decades, the Boston Naming Test (BNT) has been, and remains, the most widely used measure of naming. Although it has been shown that naming is generally stable from young adulthood through middle age, we have observed, clinically, that young adults tend to have greater difficulty on the BNT than older adults. Considering that the BNT was developed more than 50 years ago, and that language and culture change over time, we hypothesized that 1) increasing age would be associated with stronger performance on the BNT, whereas 2) there would be no association between age and naming performance on more recently developed naming measures.

Participants were healthy adults who served as normative subjects in the revision study of the Auditory (ANT) and Visual Naming (VNT) Tests. Due to known effects of education level on BNT performance, we excluded those with less than 16 years of education, targeting young adults through middle age, resulting in 118 adults, 20 through 50 years of age (mean age: 32.9 ± 9.2 years; mean education: 16.8 ± 1.2 years; mean FSIQ: 106.0 ± 12. 6). All participants were native English speakers or learned English by age 5 and were fully educated in English. Untimed accuracy (i.e., response within 20 seconds) is the standard performance measure for the BNT; the ANT and VNT additionally include tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) scores, which incorporate response time and reliance on phonemic cueing (TOT score = number of items named in > 2 seconds but < 20 seconds, plus items named correctly after 20 seconds, following a phonemic cue). Pearson correlations examined the relation between age and naming performance on the BNT, ANT and VNT.

Pearson correlations revealed a small but significant, positive correlation between age and BNT performance (r =.22, p = .017), yet no correlation between age and performance on the ANT (ANT Accuracy: r = .05, p=.60, ANT-TOT: r = -.14, p = .12) or VNT (VNT Accuracy: r = .04, p=.67, VNT-TOT; r = -.03, p = .72).

In this sample of healthy adults, naming performance improved with increasing age on the BNT; however, while vocabulary knowledge may broaden, naming efficiency should not improve with age. By contrast, we found no relation between age and naming performance on the more recently developed ANT and VNT. Results underscore the need to revise test stimuli on verbal measures, particularly those that assess naming, and suggest caution in interpreting BNT performance in young adults, as poor BNT performance might not accurately represent their true naming ability.

Working memory is a vital construct in efficient verbal memory encoding (Cotton & Ricker, 2021). Working memory is impacted by attentional capacities (Riccio, Cohen, Garrison, & Smith, 2005). Mood symptoms impact efficient information processing and consolidation of memory (Hubbard, 2016; Lukasik, 2019). This study examines self-reported symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress as possible moderators of the relationship between working memory and a verbal list-learning task.

Archival data from 415 adults (Mage= 56.10, SD=18.05; Medu= 15.5 SD=2.2; 53% female; 73% white) were collected at an outpatient clinic. Sex and race were not available in a small percentage of cases included in analyses. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale 4th Edition Digit Span subtest was given to assess attention and working memory. Although Digit Span Forward is a measure of simple attention, not working memory, it was included in initial analyses because the subtest was given as a whole. The three components of Digit Span total, Forward, Backward, and Sequencing were also investigated separately, with the two latter scores being better representations of working memory. Learning was assessed via the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT-II) total T-Score (Trials 1-5). Mood was assessed via the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-42).

Results of a hierarchical linear regression showed a significant effect between total Digit Span performance and total learning on the CVLT-II in the Block 1 (F(3, 411)=14.383, p =<.001 , AR2=.095). Standardized beta weights and p-values for Digit Span Forward, Backward, and Sequencing were (ß=-.50, p=.374), (ß= .159, p=.009), and (ß=.210, p<.001) respectively. In Block 2, when the DASS variables were introduced, the model remained significant F(3,408)=2.602, p=.05 , AR2=.017). The DASS anxiety and stress subscales had significant beta weights in the model (ß=-.172, p=.015) and (ß=.144, p=.039) respectively, with depression being insignificant (ß=--.023, p=.724).

Mood symptoms have been shown to be an important consideration when assessing working memory and verbal learning performance (Massey, Meares, Batchelor, & Bryant, 2015). Present results demonstrate that when accounting for working memory, anxiety and stress were significant predictors of performance on a measure of verbal learning. Additionally, as the components best representing working memory, Digit Span Sequencing and Backward were significantly correlated with verbal learning, whereas a measure best representing simple attention, Digit Span Forward, was not significantly correlated with verbal learning.

Health numeracy is the understanding and application of information conveyed with numbers, tables and graphs, and probabilities in order to effectively manage one's own healthcare. Health numeracy is a vital aspect of communicating with healthcare providers and participating in one's own medical decision making, which is especially important in aging populations. Current literature indicates that assessing and establishing one's health numeracy abilities is among the first steps in providing necessary resources and accommodating patients' individual needs. Additionally, older adults with diffuse cognitive impairment often have issues with facets of executive functioning; however, the extant literature does not discuss the role of executive functioning in relation to health numeracy in this population. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between performance on tasks of executive functioning and objectively-measured health numeracy abilities in older adult patients.

This study included a sample of 42 older adult patients referred for neuropsychological evaluation for memory complaints who were administered the Test of Premorbid Functioning (TOPF), Trail Making Test - Part B (TMT-B), and Stroop Color and Word Test (SCWT Color Word Interference [CWI]) as part of a larger standardized battery. Patients were also administered the Numerical Understand in Medicine Instrument - Short Form (NUMI-SF). All included patients had <2 performance validity test failures. The sample was racially diverse (47.6% Black, 35.7% White, 14.3% Hispanic, 2.4% Asian) and 54.8% female. Average age was 62.95 (SD= 8.6) and average education was 14.1 (SD=2.7). Diagnostically, 47.6% of the sample were cognitively normal, 33.3% had mild cognitive impairment, and 19.0% had dementia. Average NUMI-SF score was 4.79 (SD= 1.7). Two multiple regressions were conducted to evaluate the extent to which executive functioning, as measured by the TMT-B and SCWT CWI predicted NUMI-SF, and the additive predictive power of premorbid IQ and demographics via the TOPF on the relationship between executive functioning and NUMI-SF.

The first regression, which measured the relationship between the TMT-B and SCWT CWI upon NUMI-SF scores, was not significant (p=.616). The model was significant with the addition of the TOPF (ß=.595, p<.001) and TOPF alone predicted ∼60% of the variance in NUMI-SF score, while TMT-B and SCWT CWI remained non-significant.

These results indicate that common measures of executive functioning are not reliable predictors of health literacy with or without the moderating of premorbid intellectual functioning taken into consideration. This suggests that health numeracy is likely to be minimally affected by deficits in executive functioning and rather may be better accounted for by premorbid intellectual functioning and/or other sociodemographic factors (e.g. socioeconomic status, education quality, occupation). Future studies will benefit from elucidating the contributions of other social determinant factors on predicting health numeracy.

The Temporal Self-Regulation Theory (Hall and Fong, 2007) proposes that initiation and maintenance of effortful health behaviors relies on executive functions (EF: cognitive abilities associated with goal-directed behavior). Alcohol harm reduction strategies are health behaviors that aim to minimize the likelihood or severity of consequences associated with alcohol use. Some drinkers have the intention to drink safely but lack the ability to effectively initiate and execute the harm reduction behaviors. Executive functions may be one mechanism that helps explain the gap between safe drinking intentions and behavior. Specific components of EF may be differentially associated with alcohol harm reduction strategy use; working memory and set-shifting may be especially important in planning and following through with alcohol harm reduction strategies, and individuals with greater working memory capacity and set-shifting abilities may be more successful in implementing strategies that require preplanning and have a focus on altering typical the manner of drinking (e.g., not mixing types of alcohol). Inhibition may be important for resisting temptations that are inconsistent with safe drinking goals, and those with stronger inhibitory control may be more likely to follow through with strategies that require withholding responses despite desire to engage in the behavior, such as stopping or limiting drinking (e.g., not exceeding a predetermined number of drinks).

Using ecological momentary assessment, the current study explored the extent to which an intention-behavior gap in harm reduction strategy use exists among college student drinkers (n=77), and investigated how potential individual differences in EF (i.e., working memory, set-shifting, and inhibition) were associated with translating intentions of drinking safely into action. Daily monitoring assessments contained brief measures of intention to use harm reduction strategies, actual strategy use, and alcohol-related behaviors, and were assessed daily for twenty-one days.

Multilevel model analyses revealed that although intention to use strategies predicted actual strategy use, measures of EF did not significantly moderate the relationship. Exploratory analyses indicated that set-shifting significantly moderated the intention-behavior gap for a subset of harm reduction strategies that relies more heavily on modifying behavior during a drinking event. Set-shifting did not significantly moderate the intention-behavior gap for a subset of strategies that relies more heavily on pre-planning before the drinking event.

Findings from the current study suggests that those who plan to use strategies typically follow through regardless of individual differences in EF. Efforts to increase intention to drink safely can be incorporated into existing alcohol prevention and intervention programs, which would likely lead to increased use of harm reduction strategies and decreased alcohol-related consequences.

The preschool children born very low birth weight(VLBW) still have executive functions(EFs) deficits even with normal early development(Ni, Huang, & Guo, 2011). Consequently, early intervention might be more important than expected. This study aims to investigate the follow-up outcome of the therapeutic effects of integrative neuropsychological training model(INTM) focused on EFs for school-age VLBW children with EFs deficits.

The VLBW children, recruited from the Regional Cohort Network for premature infants who were admitted to neonatal intensive care units, had normal scores in Bayley and Wechsler Intelligence systems before 6 years old. They also received follow-up neuropsychological assessment for EFs at 6 or 8-year-old. The deficits of EFs were defined from the result of Digit Span Subtest of WISC-IV, Knox's Cube Test(KCT), Tower of London(ToL), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test(WCST), and Comprehensive Nonverbal Attention Test Battery(CNAT). A total of 8 VLBW children with EFs deficits were recruited and received EFs training at 6 or 8-year-old. The INTM combined with Comprehensive Memory Training System(CMTS), Executive FUNction Training(EFT), and multi-ecological materials focused on enhancing the four aspects of EFs, including working memory, planning, cognitive flexibility, and inhibition ability. Then, they received follow-up neuropsychological assessment for EFs at 8 or 10-year-old.

The results showed that all children got benefits from 20 hours of INTM and most of the EF aspects remained improved at follow-up. A total of 8 VLBW children with an average of 3.4 aspects EFs deficits had an average of 1.4 aspects of EFs deficits left at the follow-up. More precisely, 5 of them had 1 aspects of EFs deficits and 3 of them had 2 aspects of EFs deficits.

This study revealed that such a short-term INTM had long-term effects in enhancing the EFs of those VLBW children who had normal early development but later grew into EFs deficits at school-age. Besides, their EFs are still improving even after two years of intervention. Further study on more subjects with longer follow-up might help VLBW children to achieve better neuropsychological function.

The process of metacognitive monitoring refers to one’s ability to incorporate rapid in-the-moment self-assessments of their cognitive performance. An area of interest within this literature concerns metacognitive accuracy (MA), or the extent to which an individual can discern when their own judgments are incorrect/correct. Much of the work in this area has either focused on school-aged samples or clinical samples, with findings of impairment in metacognitive processes associated with traumatic brain injury, Schizophrenia, cerebrovascular accidents, and Alzheimer’s disease. Notably, decreased working memory and executive functioning are frequently reported in samples with low MA, suggesting a possible reliance on basic cognitive resources in the facilitation of metacognitive processes. Thus, the goal of this investigation was to elucidate potential relationships between individual domains of cognition and higher-order MA. We hypothesized that performance on measures of working memory and executive function would be positively associated with measures of MA.

Data from 87 undergraduate students who volunteered in research for class credit were used. All participants completed a computerized metamemory task where six lists of 12 words each paired with varying point values were first presented to the participants. After each list, participants were instructed to score as many points as possible by recalling words they could remember. After a brief delay, participants completed a recognition task using the words presented earlier and provided a retrospective confidence judgement (RCJ) following each item. A metric for MA, meta d', was calculated using signal-detection theory analysis from the reported RCJs and recognition task performance. Participants also completed neuropsychological tests of attention (Trails A), working memory (WM; Backward Digits), executive function (EF; Trails B), mental flexibility (MF; Trails B/A Ratio), and processing speed (Symbol Digit Modalities). A sequential multiple regression was performed with meta d’ serving as the criterion, with education, age, and performance on neuropsychological measures entered as predictors.

The model indicated that a moderate percentage of the variability (R2 = .201) in metacognitive accuracy could be attributed to the combination of predictors in the model (F (7,79) = 2.843, p = .011). Examination of the regression coefficients indicated that only measures of attention (ß = .638, p = .01), MF (ß = .473, p = .041), and WM ß = .244, p = .024) were significantly related to MA after controlling for all other variables in the model.

The model suggests that working memory, attention, and mental flexibility increased in a linear fashion as MA increased. Our hypotheses were partially supported, while working memory predicted MA, its contribution to the overall model was the smallest among the significant predictors. While executive function was not a significant contributor to the model, MF (a component of EF) was. The largest contributor to the model was attention, which supports prior findings in the literature. This outcome would suggest that while separate from EF, metacognitive processes in neurotypical students may rely on other, more basic cognitive processes. These results may prove beneficial in guiding the development of rehabilitative interventions for MA in clinical samples.

Clinical and experimental neuropsychology patients are not always able to complete a given test due to limitations in their functioning and it can lead to frustration and time wasted, leading researchers to examine the value of metrics that can be derived earlier in a test so as to ascertain and salvage useful information. The Trail Making Test (TMT) is an oft-utilized test of executive function and has been the focus of such exploration (e.g., first error vs. time to complete Trails B which can be lengthy in dementia cases and lead to discontinuation and loss of scorable data; Christidi et al., 2013; Correia et al., 2015). The present retrospective study utilized archival chart review to examine the association between a patient's diagnosis and occurrence of the first error on Trails B (TB1err).

De-identified data was culled from adult private practice records (n=137) in the northeastern United States (the study was conducted in compliance with local IRB review). Trails A and B times, as well as Digit Span scores (for checking construct validity) were pulled from reports, and Trails B record forms were scored to extract the enumerated stimulus where any first error was observed in the patient's rendering of the trail connecting alternating numbers and letters. Paired t-tests compared the average TB1err of normative individuals (no diagnosis) with patients with a primary diagnosis of mood disorder, traumatic brain injury (TBI), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or dementia. Additionally, Pearson's correlations were computed comparing TB1err with Trails B time, and another test of executive function (Digit Span backwards).

The order of diagnoses according to the average occurrence of the first error on Trails B (from later, to sooner occurrence) was as follows: normative (no diagnosis), mood disorder, TBI, MCI, and finally dementia. There was a significant difference on this first error metric (TB1err) when comparing normative and dementia patients (p = .03; 8.3 vs 4.2 for the average enumeration of 1st error on Trails B). Furthermore, significant correlations were found between this derived TB1err metric and Digit Span backwards (r = .31; p <.001) as well as overall TrailsB performance (r = -.39; p < .001).

The present study adds to a growing literature on the utility of deriving test metrics to maximize useful data for clinical and experimental neuropsychology. Results from this retrospective chart review indicate additional validity data to support the use of extracting the first error on Trails B as a way to salvage useful data even when a patient may not be able to complete the full TMT as designed. In this preliminary sample there was a significant difference found for normative vs. dementia patients on this derived TB1err metric and suggests it is worthy of additional research to see if it can reliably differentiate various diagnoses. We expect this finding will also be useful in experimental designs wherein time is often limited and loss of data due to incomplete testing might be avoided by extracting the first error on TrailsB.

There is increasing interest in examining a general psychopathology factor (p factor) in children and adolescents. In previous work, the relationship between the p factor and cognition in youth has largely focused on general intelligence (IQ) and executive functions (EF). Another cognitive construct, processing speed (PS), is dissociable from these cognitive constructs, but has received less research attention despite being related to many different mental health symptoms. This study aimed to examine the association between a latent processing speed factor and the p factor in youth.

The present sample included 795 youth, ages 11-16 from the Colorado Learning Disability Research Center (CLDRC) sample. Confirmatory factor analyses tested multiple p factor models, with the primary model being a novel second-order, multireporter p factor where caregivers reported on externalizing symptoms (oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder modules from the Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents [DICA]; aggression, delinquency, and attention problems subscales from the Child Behavior Checklist; and inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive subscales from the Disruptive Behavior Rating Scale) and youth self-reported on internalizing symptoms (Child Depression Inventory, generalized anxiety module from the DICA, and withdrawn, anxious/depression, and somatic subscales from the Youth Self Report). We then tested the correlation between the p factor and a latent PS factor. The latent PS factor was composed of WISC Symbol Search, WISC Coding, Colorado Perceptual Speed Test, and Identical Pictures Test. Three secondary p factor models were examined for comparison to previous literature, including (1) a bifactor, multi-reporter model, (2) a second-order model with just caregiver-report, and (3) a bifactor model with just caregiver-report.

There was a significant, negative correlation between the p factor and PS (r=-0.42, p<.001), indicating that slower processing speed is associated with higher general mental health symptoms. This finding was robust across models that used different raters (youth and caregiver-report vs. caregiver-report only) and modeling approaches (second-order vs. bifactor). This association is stronger than previously reported associations with IQ or EF in the p factor literature. Further, in this sample, we found that the association between PS and the p factor was robust to covariation for general cognition, whereas the correlation between general cognition and the p factor was fully accounted for by PS.

Our findings indicate that PS is related to general psychopathology symptoms, expanding the existing literature relating PS to specific, distinct disorders by showing that PS is related to what is shared across psychopathology. As cognition and psychopathology both undergo significant development across childhood and adolescence, elucidating neurodevelopmental mechanisms that relate to risk for a broad range of symptoms may be critical to informing early intervention and prevention approaches. This research points to processing speed as an important transdiagnostic construct that warrants further attention and exploration across development.

The present study explored how individual differences and development of gray matter architecture in inferior frontal gyri (IFG), anterior cingulate (ACC), and inferior parietal lobe (IPL) relate to development of response inhibition as measured by both the Stop Signal Task (SST) and the Go/No-Go (GNG) task in a longitudinal sample of healthy adolescents and young adults. Reliability of behavioral and neural measures was also explored.

A total of 145 individuals contributed data from the second through fifth timepoints of an accelerated longitudinal study focused on adolescent brain and behavioral development at the University of Minnesota. At baseline, participants were 9 to 23 years of age and were typically-developing. Assessment waves were spaced approximately 2 years apart. Behavioral measures of response inhibition collected at each assessment included GNG Commission Errors (CE) and the SST Stop Signal Reaction Time (SSRT). Structural T1 MRI scans were collected on a Siemens 3 T Tim Trio and processed with the longitudinal Freesurfer 6.0 pipeline to yield cortical thickness (CT) and surface area values. Regions of interest based on the Desikan-Killiany-Tourville atlas included IFG regions (pars opercularis (PO) and pars triangularis (PT)), ACC and IPL. The cuneus and global brain measures were evaluated as control regions. Retest stability of all measures was calculated using the psych package in R. Mixed linear effects modeling using the lme4 R package identified whether age-based trajectories for SSRTs and GNG CEs best fit linear, quadratic, or inverse curve. Then, disaggregated between- and within-subjects effects of regional cortical architecture measures were added to longitudinal behavioral models to identify individual differences and developmental effects, respectively.

Both response inhibition metrics demonstrated fair reliability and were best fit by an inverse age trajectory. Neural measures demonstrated excellent retest stability (all ICCs > 0.834). Age-based analyses of regional CT identified heterogeneous patterns of development, including linear trajectories for ACC and inverse age trajectories for bilateral PT. Individuals with thinner left PO showed worse performance on both response inhibition tasks. SSRTs were related to individual differences in right PO thickness and surface area. A developmental pattern was observed for right PT cortical thickness, where thinning over time was related to better GNG performance. Lower surface area of the right PT was related to worse GNG performance. No individual differences or developmental patterns were observed for the ACC, IPL, cuneus, or global metrics.

This study examined the adolescent development of response inhibition and its association with cortical architecture in the IFG, ACC and IPL. Separate response inhibition tasks demonstrated similar developmental patterns with steepest improvements in early adolescence and relationships with left PO thickness, but each measure had unique relationships with other IFG regions. This study indicates that a region of the IFG, the par opercularis, relates to both individual difference and developmental change in response inhibition. These patterns suggest brain-behavior association that could be further explored in functional imaging studies and that may index, in vulnerable individuals, risk for psychopathology.

Explore the relationship between a motor programming and sequencing procedure and informant rating of patients' functional abilities, especially driving. The Fist-Edge-Palm (FEP; Luria, 1970; 1980) task has previously demonstrated merit distinguishing between healthy controls and those with neurodegenerative processes (Weiner et al., 2011). However, associations between FEP performance and informant-rated functional status, particularly driving ability, have been minimally reported. This exploratory review examined the relationship between FEP, informant-rated driving ability, overall functional impairment, and neurocognitive diagnostic severity.

41 Veterans seen in a South-Central VA Memory Clinic between 08/2020 and 07/2022 served as participants. Neuropsychological assessment included gathering demographic information, chairside neurobehavioral examination (including FEP), cognitive testing, and collateral informant completed Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ). Diagnostic severity [no diagnosis, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), dementia (MNCD)] was determined based on the patient's cognitive and functional deficits as measured by neuropsychological testing and informant-rated functional deficits. Correlational analyses were conducted to examine the strength of possible relationships between FEP performance, diagnostic severity, informant-rated functional status including driving impairment. Linear regression analyses determined the extent to which diagnostic severity and FEP performance predict informant-reported driving and ADL impairments

Participants were 97.5% male, 78% white, 22% black. Diagnostically, 3 patients received no diagnoses, 14 with MCI, and 24 with MNCD. Spearman rank correlations were computed; FEP performance was moderately negatively correlated with diagnostic severity [rho = -.35; p < .05] and driving impairment [rho = -.31; p < .05]. Diagnostic severity was moderately positively correlated with driving [rho= .44; p < .05] and total functional [rho = .65; p < .05] impairment. Total functional impairment positively correlated with reported driving impairment [rho = .58; p < .05]. Simple linear regressions tested if FEP performance and diagnostic severity independently predicted informant-reported driving and functional impairment. FEP performance predicted diagnostic severity (R2 = .12, p < .05) and reported driving impairment severity (R2 = .10, p <.05) but did not predict total functional impairment severity (R2 = .06, p = .14). Diagnostic severity predicted both informant-reported driving impairment severity (R2 = .16, p <.05) and functional severity (R2 = .30, p < .05). Multiple regression tested if diagnostic severity and FEP performance together was more predictive of driving and functional impairment than individually; the overall model was predictive of driving (R2 = .19, p < .05) and total functional (R2 = .30, p < .05) impairment, but only diagnostic severity significantly predicted reported driving (B = .63, p < .05) and functional (B = 6.25, p < .05) impairments.

FEP performance was associated with diagnosis and collateral informant concerns of patient driving ability but not statistically related to overall functional impairment or nondriving related ADLs. FEP demonstrates utility in identification of patients demonstrating concerning driving fitness per collateral informants and diagnostic severity due to rapidity of administration, ease of instructing providers, and implementation in a wide variety of clinical settings when a caregiver or informant may not be available. Future directions include explaining the relationship between FEP and driving ability and exploring associations between FEP and other neuropsychological instruments.

Self-regulation is typically operationalized in neuropsychological assessment through self-report scales and measures of attention and executive functioning. However, there have been mixed findings on the relationships between self-report measures and physiological and performance-based measures believed to represent self-regulation. Poorer self-regulation is related to an array of negative behavioral and health-related outcomes. Therefore, it is critical to understand the process of self-regulation and the relationships between measures neuropsychologists use to assess it. The current study aims to investigate the relationships between four purported measures of self-regulation: resting-state high-frequency heart rate variability (HRV; a stable individual difference variable that reflects parasympathetic capacity for adapting to changing environmental demands), behavioral performance on the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) and the Conners Continuous Performance Test - 3rd Edition (CPT-3), and trait self-control on the Brief Self-Control Scale (BSCS). It was hypothesized that physiological and behavioral self-regulation variables would predict the BSCS, such that higher resting HRV and better performance on the cognitive measures would predict higher self-reported self-control.

Thirty-five healthy adults (Age M = 29.80, SD =8.52, 45.7% female) recruited from the community completed the BSCS, CPT-3, and D-KEFS as part of a larger battery. Participants also completed a 10-minute eyes-open resting condition during electrocardiogram recording. High-frequency power (0.15 - 0.4 Hz) was extracted and used to operationalize resting HRV. Linear regression was used to test the predictive relationships between the BSCS total score, resting HRV, CPT-3 scores, and a residualized executive functioning score from the D-KEFS that controls for non-executive lower-order cognitive processes.

Regression analyses indicated that neither the D-KEFS composite, the CPT-3 indices, nor resting HRV were related to the BSCS. Resting HRV predicted the CPT-3 Hit Reaction Time (HRT; B = -2.97, p < .05) and HRT Standard Deviation (HRT SD; B = -4.55, p < .05). Resting HRV was unrelated to the D-KEFS executive composite score. CPT-3 performance variables and D-KEFS composite score were also unrelated to one another.

Results showed that the BSCS was unrelated to resting HRV, CPT-3, and D-KEFS performance. However, higher resting HRV was related to faster and more consistent responding on the CPT-3. These findings contradict previous research showing associations between the BSCS and performance on executive functioning measures. The relationship between resting HRV and reaction time on the CPT-3 is generally consistent with literature that suggests that higher resting HRV is associated with better cognitive performance. Although the association between resting HRV and executive functioning was not significant in this modest sample, it was comparable to that reported in a recent meta-analysis. Overall, despite limitations related to the small sample size, the results raise questions regarding the construct validity of common neuropsychological indices of self-regulation. Further research is needed to clarify the nature of the self-regulation construct and the relation of neuropsychological measures of behavioral self-regulation to physiological and self-report indices.

The Tower of London is commonly used to assess planning ability. Deficient outcomes may however have different causes: A participant may not have the ability to think a sufficient number of steps into the future, or may become, for example, impatient to evaluate different possible paths. Outcomes are thus not pure measures of the "planning" construct of primary interest, which may have contributed to findings of low reliability and low validity of these outcomes in the literature. The advent of computerized testing combined with computational modeling potentially allows to go beyond traditional outcomes such as "total number of moves" and "total time taken" and disentangle different processes that are of primary interest. The goal of the current study is to establish whether a model that consists of "planning ability" and "response inhibition" parameters can be used to describe Tower of London data.

We constructed an algorithm that produces Tower of London data, and a computational model that uses every single decision of a participant as input (e.g., whether a participant moves the red or the blue ball to the right peg in setting 15 when trying to get to setting 28). There are 210 unique decision situations that participants can encounter. Our algorithm and Bayesian hierarchical model uses two parameters for each participant as well as a guessing rule, that together determine the participant's decision at every step. The appropriateness of the model was evaluated in a simulation study, where the simulated distribution of data implied by this model is compared to the empirical distribution of total number of moves observed in real datasets. Data were simulated for 10 items with a sample size of 200 participants.

Our simulation study shows that with our model the empirical distribution of total number of moves is successfully replicated in the distribution of the simulated data.

Computational modeling provides a new window into Tower of London performance by identifying different processes. Modeling thus allows us to go beyond aspecific descriptions of planning ability. Furthermore, using the high-resolution data of computerized testing allows us to estimate these parameters reliably without requiring "big data", keeping participant burden low. This study will be followed up in three ways. First, predictions will be preregistered and tested for these new cognitive outcomes in several large oncological patient samples. Second, the model will be extended to include reaction times, to include an additional metric of cognitive computation. Third, the new cognitive process outcomes will be analyzed in conjunction with cognitive process outcomes on other tests to establish process communalities.

The behavioral assessment of executive functions has become increasingly common in clinical practice, with a self-report measure of executive functions becoming one of the most commonly administered assessment instruments of the construct in clinical practice. These subjective measurements serve as an alternative to objective tests of executive functions, which have been criticized for poor ecological validity. Many behavioral measures of executive functions are now available, but there are some issues with those currently in use, in that many are lengthy, proprietary, and/or do not measure executive functions that align with a theoretical framework of the multidimensional construct. This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of a new short questionnaire of executive functions designed to be concise, theoretically based, and ultimately freely available for use in research and clinical practice.

Participants included 575 college undergraduate students who completed an online questionnaire to earn credit in psychology courses. They were, on average, 18.9 years-old (SD=1.0, range: 18-22), 82.4% female, and 78.8% White. All participants completed 20 self-report items on a four-point ordinal scale measuring five theorized executive function constructs of Planning, Inhibition, Working Memory, Shifting, and Emotional Control. The 20 items were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and factor reliabilities were estimated using omega. As a validity analysis, correlations between the total score with measures of subjective cognition and ADHD symptoms were compared to correlations between the total score with measures of anxiety and depression, hypothesizing stronger correlations of executive functions with cognition and ADHD than negative affect.

The initial 20-item model did not fit well, x2=1560.10, df=160, p<.0001, CFI=0.822, TLI=0.788, RMSEA=0.130 (90% CI: 0.1240.136). The polychoric inter-item correlations were examined for high cross-factor correlations and low intra-factor correlations. This process resulted in the removal of one item from each factor, The modified model, inclusive of 15 items, presented with adequate fit to the data, X2=470.56, df=80, p<.0001, CFI=0.936, TLI=0.916, RMSEA=0.097 (90% CI: 0.0890.106). The total score has good reliability (Q=.82), whereas estimates for each factor ranged from .56 to .79. The total score showed a stronger correlation with ADHD symptoms (r=-.59) and subjective cognition (r=.59) than depression (r=.46, z=4.05, p<.001) and anxiety symptoms (r=.38, z=6.29, p<.001).

These preliminary findings provided modest psychometric support for this short 15-item self-report questionnaire of executive functions. The questionnaire had acceptable fit and evidence for validity, in that the total executive function score had a stronger correlation with subjective cognitive complaints and ADHD symptoms than negative affect. The reliability of some individual factors fell below conventional cutoffs for acceptable reliability, indicating a need for further refinement of this new questionnaire.

Attention concerns, particularly difficulties with focusing and regulating attention, are reported in diverse clinical contexts. The Ruff 2&7 Selective Attention Test (Ruff 2&7; Ruff & Allen, 1996) is a measure of sustained and selective attention that assesses automatic detection and effortful processing. The goal of this study was to create an internal consistency metric within this test and to determine cognitive predictors by evaluating associations with executive control of attention and other cognitive skills. It was hypothesized that those who are more consistent across Ruff 2&7 performance would have more robust executive functioning skills, particularly those related to regulating and directing attention and the planning and utilization of cognitive resources.

The current study examined a clinical sample of 98 United States veterans with a history of mild traumatic brain injury. After excluding invalid cases (n=24), the final sample consisted of 74 veterans (Age=38.5 (8.9) years old; 13.9 (2.2) years of education; 78% male; 82% white, 7% Black, 8% Hispanic, 2% Asian). A consistency score was defined as the absolute value of the intertrial change in target hits plus errors across each pair of trials of the same stimulus type (Automatic Detection, AD, and Controlled Search, CS). Hierarchical linear regression modeling was used to evaluate the relative contributions of memory and executive functions (Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System Tower Test, phonemic fluency, Trail Making Test B) and subjective symptom report (PTSD Checklist for DSM-5, Barkley Adult ADHD Rating Scale for DSM-IV).

The mean deviation scores for the two trial types were similar (AD mean=13.6, SD=5.9; CS mean=13.6, SD=5.3). In predicting consistency across AD trials, delayed recall contributed 11% unique variance (p=.013), while no other block was statistically significant. For CS trials, self-reported PTSD and inattention symptoms contributed a combined 20% of unique variance to the model (p=.007), while there were no statistically significant cognitive predictors in this model.

Contrary to expectation, executive function measures did not explain statistically significant variance in performance across either trial type. Less consistent performance on AD trials was associated with weaker verbal memory. Less consistent performance on CS trials, which theoretically require greater executive control, was not associated with any cognitive scores, but was associated with more severe self-reported psychological and inattention symptoms. These findings buttress the conceptual distinction between AD and CS trial types, and they point to both cognitive and non-cognitive underpinnings of performance consistency.

COVID-19 caused a worldwide restructuring of daily life, necessitating a sharp increase in social distancing, telecommunication, and adherence to rapidly changing public health recommendations. Coping, a response to stressors, is a protective mechanism to increase resiliency against uncertainty and decreased social connectedness. This disruption of daily life has prompted unanticipated and unique research opportunities and allowed researchers to consider whether individuals' primary coping style with the pandemic is associated with cognition. Previous research has found that problem coping, or action-oriented approaches to a stressor, is the most adaptive coping strategy. Emotion-based coping, like venting or humor, varies and depends on the stressor. Avoidant coping, like denial or ignoring the stressor, is generally considered maladaptive (Carver, 1977), which may lead to increased psychosocial disturbance. Executive functioning, responsible for planning, organizing, inhibition, and self-management are theorized to be most impacted by the social and psychological effects of COVID-19 (Pollizi et al., 2021). While some research has examined this question in working parent and older adult populations, we seek to understand this relationship in emerging adults, whose frontal lobes, responsible for executive functioning, are still developing. The present study seeks to examine the association between coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and executive functioning.

College students (N=440; M=19.30 years old, SD=1.42, 76% female) across seven US universities completed self-report questionnaires on SONA, which included Barkley's Deficits in Executive Functioning, Short Form (BDEFS-SF; Barkley, 2011) and the Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory adapted for coping with the COVID-19 pandemic (Brief COPE; Carver 1989). Items on the BDEFS-SF were summed to create a global executive functioning score. Items on the Brief COPE were combined to create three factors: emotional,, avoidant,, and problem-focused (Dias et al., 2011).

Stepwise linear regression was used to assess whether coping style predicted executive functioning. Results indicate that the use of emotional coping (ß =0.19, p< .001) and avoidant coping (ß =0.33, p< .001) predicted higher scores on the BDEFS (greater deficits in executive functioning). Additionally, the use of problem coping (ß =-0.27, p< .001) predicted lower BDEFS scores (better executive functioning), with this overall model explaining 16.37% of the variance.

Results from this study confirm that COVID-19 coping styles are associated with decreased executive functioning. Specifically, emotional coping and avoidant coping predicted decreased executive functioning, which has been supported in non-pandemic samples. The use of problem-focused coping predicted increased executive functioning, indicating that this may be a protective form of coping with the pandemic. Because tasks necessary for daily life, such as planning, organizing, and judgment, rely on executive functioning, maladaptive coping with COVID-19 may impede college students' daily functioning necessary for successful engagement in schoolwork, emotion regulation, and activities of daily living. This research begins to address the gap in knowledge regarding the relationship between coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and executive functioning. This knowledge can be used in future crises in order to promote the use of problem-focused coping and mitigate the self-observed deficits in executive functioning demonstrated in this population.

Engagement in sporting activities has shown improvement in executive function among youth (Contreras-Osorio et al., 2021). Additionally, participation in specific sports such as soccer has been shown to enhance executive function in youth athletes compared to same-aged non-athletes (Yongtawee et al., 2021). The present study aimed to examine the effects of competitive participation in the United States’ four most popular sports on executive function among youth athletes. The most popular sports, as defined by viewership, revenue, and youth participation in the U.S. are American football, basketball, baseball, and soccer (Injai, 2022; Aspen Institute, 2020).

Data from the following three executive functioning subtests were analyzed in a sample of youth athletes (n=76), aged 8-18 years (mean age=11.94): Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System Trail Making Letter-Number Sequencing (cognitive flexibility), Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Fourth Edition Working Memory Index, and Golden Stroop Color-Word Inhibition. Participants completed these measures as part of a larger neuropsychological baseline assessment. Multivariate General Linear Model (GLM) regression was used to examine the influence of total cumulative years playing in one or more of the four most popular sports on executive functioning. A multivariate GLM regression also investigated the unique contributions of total years playing soccer (n=40; mean age=12.40) and total years playing American football (n=32; mean age=12.03) on subtest performance. The unique contributions of basketball (n=14) and baseball (n=21) were not analyzed due to small sample size.

Total cumulative years playing > one of the four most popular sports significantly predicted cognitive flexibility (p=.007) and working memory (p=.002), but not inhibition (p=0.639). Total years playing soccer also significantly predicted cognitive flexibility (p=.029) and working memory (p=0.05), but not inhibition (p=.310). Total years playing American football did not significantly predict performance on tasks requiring cognitive flexibility (p=.186), working memory (p=0.150), or inhibition (p=0.277).

In congruence with previous research, sports participation predicted enhanced cognitive flexibility and working memory on certain executive tasks. Among youth athletes, prolonged competitive participation in one or more of the four most popular sports in the U.S. predicted better performance on measures of cognitive flexibility and working memory. Furthermore, protracted participation in soccer predicted enhanced performance on measures of cognitive flexibility and working memory, whereas extended participation in American football did not. Future research should examine this effect in larger samples within all four sports. Examining the cumulative length of competitive participation in these popular sports on executive function could present a favorable developmental outcome of youth participation if competitive participation is sustained. Additionally, the present data on executive function performance between lasting soccer participation and lasting American football participation suggests that executive function development and performance may be influenced by the sport played. The direction of this possible influence is unclear. More research is needed to establish this observed difference, and to better understand its existence and directionality.