This research paper aimed to investigate the effect of a novel environment on memory consolidation in healthy participants. Using virtual reality, the study exposed participants to two distinct...Show moreThis research paper aimed to investigate the effect of a novel environment on memory consolidation in healthy participants. Using virtual reality, the study exposed participants to two distinct environments and assessed their performance on a subsequent word-learning tasks. The goal was to determine if exploring a novel environment would lead to better memory outcomes compared to a familiar environment. The results of the study failed to support two of the three hypotheses and found no statistically significant differences in memory performance between the prior exposure to novel and familiar environment in the free recall, recognition, or delayed memory tasks. These results suggest that the environment in which information is learned does not have a significant impact on memory consolidation. The literature on the relationship between novelty and memory consolidation is mixed, some studies have found that a novel environment improves memory consolidation, while others have found no significant effect. The results of the study may be influenced by the type of novelty manipulated, the memory tasks used, the duration of the that further research is needed to fully understand the relationship between these variables. Additional studies can help to clarify the mechanism of how novelty affects memory and provide a more comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon.Show less
Background: Quality of life (QoL) is an important aspect of disease management in patients with dementia. Yet, little is known about this from a patient’s perspective. The aim of this study is to...Show moreBackground: Quality of life (QoL) is an important aspect of disease management in patients with dementia. Yet, little is known about this from a patient’s perspective. The aim of this study is to gain insight in the QoL and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) in patients with (early onset) dementia and to examine the possible relationships with openness to discuss concerns (ODC), perceived social support (PSS) and problem-focused coping. The main hypothesis tested if more ODC, PSS and a problem-focused coping strategy were related to higher QoL and IADL. Methods: We studied patients visiting the Amsterdam Alzheimer center for a screening-day, who consented to research in the ADC cohort. Of 206 patients visiting the clinic, 162 patients (35-82 years, M = 63.59, 63,6% male) completed an 88-item self-reported questionnaire. Patients were categorized by their cognitive diagnosis (SCD = 42 , AD = 48, other dementia = 33, psychiatric disorder = 20 or other neurological disorder = 19). Correlations and multiple linear regressions were performed to assess the relationships between QoL, IADL, and the social factors. In addition, we performed a linear regression to track down group differences. Tests with a p < .05 after correction for multiple testing using a False Discovery Rate (FDR), were considered significant. Results: The distribution of the QoL scores was widespread (range 0-96) with a low median (50). Correlations showed that both PSS (r = .41, p = 5.5×10-6), ODC (r = .17, p = .02) and problem-focused coping (r = .19, p =.02) correlated with higher QoL scores. For IADL (median = 15.3) this was, only true for the ODC (r = .22, p = .01). There were no differences found between patient groups. Conclusion: This study indicates that PSS, ODC and problem focused coping are related to higher QoL in patients with (early onset) dementia. There were no group differences, but the average QoL score was lower than expected. Improving patients’ psychosocial factors has the potential to optimize QoL in patients visiting a tertiary memory clinic.Show less
Background: Auto-immune encephalitis (AIE) is a neurological condition with significant cognitive implications that impact the individuals overall well-being. The cognitive status of the...Show moreBackground: Auto-immune encephalitis (AIE) is a neurological condition with significant cognitive implications that impact the individuals overall well-being. The cognitive status of the individuals with AIE remains unsatisfactorily understood. Anti-LGI1 and anti-CASPR2 encephalitis are two forms of AIE, both occurring in mostly males of late-middle age. This study aims to provide more insight regarding the cognitive impairment and the relationship to psychological well-being. Methods: The study is a cross-sectional observational cohort study in a cohort of 91 patients with AIE (72 anti-LGI1; 19 anti-CASPR2). All patients performed a neuropsychological assessment (NPA; covering memory, executive functions (EF), visual-spatial functions, language) and a questionnaire: the World Health Organization-5-Well-being Index (WHO-5-WBI). The data of the NPA was compared to the norm population from Advanced Neuropsychological Diagnostics Infrastructure Norms (ANDI-Norms) with a T-Test. Multivariate regression analyses were performed to test for type of antibody and improvement at different points of time after diagnosis. A Pearson correlation coefficient was used to test the correlation between NPA and the WHO-5-WBI score. Results: For anti-LGI1, all cognitive domains were significantly lower than the norm population. For anti-CASPR2, memory and total NPA were significantly lower than the norm population. Antibody was significantly predictive for EF (F(1,89) = 4.125, p = .045). Type of antibody, time in months between diagnosis and NPA and an interaction of these were not significantly predictive for EF (F(3,87) = 1.865, p = .141). Psychological well-being was negatively correlated with memory impairment for anti-LGI1 (r = .260, n = 68, p = .032). Discussion: This study determined the underlying cognition and psychological well-being mechanisms in patients diagnoses with anti-LGI1 and anti-CASPR2 encephalitis. Cognitive impairment, especially memory impairment, is evident in anti-LGI1 and anti-CASPR2 encephalitis. The attention span and verbal accuracy, as a part of EF, are significantly lower for anti-LGI1 compared to anti-CASPR2. Cognition improves in the first months after diagnosis, but thereafter stabilizes. Memory impairments, like forgetting information, have a negative influence on psychological well-being for anti-LGI1 patients. The sample size of the present study is larger than previous studies on cognition and psychological well-being of anti-LGI1 and anti-CASPR2 patients.Show less
Objective: There is growing evidence that freedom of movement inside and outside the nursing home has a positive effect on the Quality of Life (QoL) of people with dementia. The participants in...Show moreObjective: There is growing evidence that freedom of movement inside and outside the nursing home has a positive effect on the Quality of Life (QoL) of people with dementia. The participants in this study were living in nursing homes with either ‘freedom of movement’ or ‘restricted movement’. The level of physical activity, QoL, and how these differed in the two nursing home situations was examined. Furthermore, it was tested whether there was a correlation between physical activity level and QoL for both nursing home situations. Method: A questionnaire with nine subscales was used to measure QoL for people with dementia (QUALIDEM). The Maastricht Electronic Daily Life Observation (MEDLO) tool was used to measure physical activity levels during social activities. Results: For this study 81 nursing home patients with dementia were included (mean age ‘restricted movement’, 84 years; 33 females [69%]; mean age ‘freedom of movement’, 83 years; 20 females [83%]). Both QoL and activity level data was available for six participants from the ‘restricted movement’ situation and thirteen participants from the ‘freedom of movement’ situation. No significant differences between the two situations for QoL and activity level were found. Also, no significant correlation was found between activity level and QoL for the two situations. As a consequence of this non-significant correlation, it was decided that the moderation by situation would not be tested. Conclusion: Participants did not show a difference in activity level or QoL between the two nursing home situations (‘freedom of movement’, ‘restricted movement’). A relation between activity level and QoL could not be confirmed for either nursing home situation. Additional research is needed with a sample size providing sufficient statistical power. Furthermore, mediation needs to be included in the hypothesized model with depression and activities of daily life (ADL) as mediators for QoL.Show less
The life expectancy of individuals with intellectual disabilities is increasing. Clinicians of organizations that provide personalized care to individuals with intellectual disabilities experience...Show moreThe life expectancy of individuals with intellectual disabilities is increasing. Clinicians of organizations that provide personalized care to individuals with intellectual disabilities experience complicating factors in the diagnostic process of dementia classification. Identifying domains of (cognitive) functioning underlying the ‘Dementia Scale for individuals with Intellectual Disabilities’ (DSVH) could aid these organizations in the development of personalized care guidelines for individuals with intellectual disabilities and dementia. The aim of this pilot study was to identify potential domains of (cognitive) functioning underlying the DSVH. It was hypothesized that domains regarding mood, aggression, appetite, loss of interest, functional decline (reduced self-care skills), cognitive decline, personality, speech, maladaptive behaviours, disorientation, confusion, environmental awareness, and motor skills would be found. A Multiple Correspondence Analysis was employed to visualize the relationship between different active variables in a sample consisting of 50 participants (n = 50). Domains regarding the presence of forgetfulness, an increase in negative mood, decline in motor skills, decline in orientation in time, decline in responses to stimuli, and a decline in characteristic behaviour were found. The results found in this study suggest that those domains of (cognitive) functioning might be underlying the DSVH, that could be uncovered when the analysis is performed on a sufficiently large and diverse sample in future studies.Show less
Research has already shown that listening to music or having had musical training in your life has an effect on some of the executive functions of the brain, like working memory. The potential role...Show moreResearch has already shown that listening to music or having had musical training in your life has an effect on some of the executive functions of the brain, like working memory. The potential role of the degree of importance of music in a person’s life, however, has not been investigated. This study aimed to investigate the influence of the degree of importance of music in a person’s life on different types of working memory. Hypothesized was, that a larger degree to which music is importance in a person’s life will result in a better working memory, for both the overall working memory as the specific types of working memory. To investigate this, participants filled out an online test battery of approximately 45 minutes. To investigate the overall working memory capacity of the participants, they completed the Digit Span Backwards. The two other types of working memory – the rhythmic- and melodic working memory – were assessed with subtests of the Swedish Musical Discrimination Task (SMDT). The study was completed by 186 participants. Result showed that there is a significant influence of the degree of the importance music plays in a person’s life on their working memory. However, this is only seen on the overall working memory and not on the specific types of working memory – rhythmic and melodic memory. The implications of these findings will be discussed.Show less
Background: Risk-perception emerges when the brain interprets and memorizes certain stimuli as dangerous for one’s body and life. Even in objectively safe situations people perceive risks and...Show moreBackground: Risk-perception emerges when the brain interprets and memorizes certain stimuli as dangerous for one’s body and life. Even in objectively safe situations people perceive risks and dangers. When it comes to medicine, risk-perception can withhold people from staying true to their medical treatment which is why it is important to pay attention to this phenomenon. The current studies about the perceived risks of medicine are mainly focused on male subjects which is why this study examined whether the perceived risk of medication differs among sexes. Methods: Literature research gave reason to hypothesize that females perceive higher risk of medication compared to males. To investigate this, this study made use of an online survey containing two standardized risk-perception scales. The survey was built around a fictional medication named Aratrine of which the side-effects were described, after which seven questions/statements were presented to the respondents aiming to measure their perceived risk of Aratrine. The generated convenience sample eventually included 221 respondents (178 females 43 males). The data collected by the survey was integrated in a sum score which represented the overall perceived risk of Aratrine. The means of the female- and male sum scores were analyzed and compared with use of an independent sample t-test. Results & Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the overall sum risk-perception score did not differ among different sexes (t (2,219) = -.597, p = 0.551). This seems to imply that there is no difference in perceived risk of medication side-effect between males and females, which does not correspond with the expectation that raised from the literature review. This can be explained due to the validity and sample problems that occurred in this study. The post hoc analysis of the individual scale-items did show a significant difference among sexes for two items regarding the estimated risk of Aratrine (p<0.01) and the severity of potential bad consequences (p<0.01).Show less
The aim of this research was to find out whether a history of musical education could predict verbal fluency, when corrected for musical skills. Because the performance on verbal fluency tasks...Show moreThe aim of this research was to find out whether a history of musical education could predict verbal fluency, when corrected for musical skills. Because the performance on verbal fluency tasks seems to correlate with musical training (Silvia et al., 2016; Fennell et al., 2020; Zuk et al., 2014), this researched focused on proving the hypothesis that people who have had musical education perform better on verbal fluency tasks. Verbal fluency was measured by the performance on a phonetic verbal fluency task that was delivered digitally. Musical skills were measured by the performance on the Swedish Musical Discrimination Task (SMDT) (Ullén et al., 2014). Participants who indicated on the Musical Coping and Responsivity Scale (Ridell Di Lorenzo & Schaeffer, 2021) that they had at least 6 years of continuous musical education and were currently practicing an instrument were considered having a history of musical education. 127 participants (N = 127) completed the research. Of these, 98 participants did not have a history of musical education and 29 did. Verbal fluency was found to correlate significantly with the scores on the SMDT and with the years of musical education. Furthermore, musical skills were a predictor of verbal fluency, but having a history of musical education was not. When corrected for musical skills, a history of musical education could not predict verbal fluency.Show less
