This study aims to present the adaptation, evidence of content validity and results of a pilot study of the Cognitive Screening Test - Online (TRIACOG-Online) in a clinical sample of patients after stroke. The process comprised four stages: 1) Adaptation of the instructions, stimulus and responses; 2) Seven experts analyzed the equivalence between the previous printed version and the online version; 3) A pilot study was carried out with seven adults who had experienced a stroke in order to check the comprehension and feasibility of the items; and 4) The development of the final version of TRIACOG-Online. Expert validity testing of the questionnaire yielded a content validity index (CVI) of 100% for correspondence and construct in 13 items, and a CVI of 87.71% in four items. In the pilot study, problems related to the internet led to the decision to use a single section form. No difficulties were observed in carrying out the tasks and understanding the instructions. Participants reported being able to adequately visualize the stimuli and remain motivated to complete the tasks presented. It was shown that TRIACOG-Online evaluated the same constructs as the pencil-and-paper version, can be used in remote neuropsychological assessments and face-to-face settings.

Background: Cognitive impairment is a relevant problem in psychiatry and can be well assessed with a cross-diagnostic test such as the Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry (SCIP). The aim of our pilot study is to assess cognitive impairment in acute psychiatric inpatients diagnosed with psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder and depression using the German version of the SCIP (SCIP-G). We also investigate whether cognitive dysfunction improves over the course of the inpatient treatment, where patients are offered a combination of pharmacological treatment and cognitive remediation. Methods: A total of 143 adult inpatients were included in the study. Cognitive testing was performed using two different forms of the SCIP-G. All patients received state-of-the-art pharmacotherapy and cognitive remediation using the COGPACK® software package version 6.06. Results: Based on the ICD-10 Criteria for Research, 54 patients were given an F2 diagnosis (schizophrenia and schizotypal and delusional disorders). Thirty-nine patients met the criteria for bipolar disorder (F30 and F31) and fifty for depression (F32 and F33). At baseline, a significant difference was observed between the SCIP total scores of the F2 and F32/33 patients (p < 0.001) and between the F2 and F30/31 groups (p = 0.022). At the second measurement time point, the SCIP total score showed significant improvement in all three groups (p < 0.001), and there was no statistically significant interaction between SCIP total score and diagnostic groups (p = 0.860). Conclusions: Cognitive dysfunction is present in psychiatric disorders and can be easily assessed during an inpatient hospital stay. In our sample, patients with a psychotic disorder were more cognitively impaired at baseline than patients with an affective disorder. Inpatient treatment, consisting of pharmacotherapy and cognitive remediation, improved cognitive deficits. Patients with psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder and depression showed similar improvements in cognitive performance.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive screening tools are widely used in clinical practice to screen for age-related cognitive impairment and dementia. These tools\' test scores are known to be influenced by age and education, leading to routine correction of raw scores for these factors. Despite these corrections being common practice, there is evidence suggesting that corrected scores may perform worse in terms of discrimination than raw scores.
OBJECTIVE: To address the ongoing debate in the field of dementia research, we assessed the impact of the corrections on discrimination, specificity, and sensitivity of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment test in Italy, both for the overall population and across age and education strata.
METHODS: We created a realistic model of the resident population in Italy in terms of age, education, cognitive impairment and test scores, and performed a simulation study.
RESULTS: We confirmed that the discrimination performance was higher for raw scores than for corrected scores in discriminating patients with cognitive impairment from individuals without (areas under the curve of 0.947 and 0.923 respectively). With thresholds determined on the overall population, raw scores showed higher sensitivities for higher-risk age-education groups and higher specificities for lower-risk groups. Conversely, corrected scores showed uniform sensitivity and specificity across demographic strata, and thus better performance for certain age-education groups.
CONCLUSIONS: Raw and corrected scores show different performances due to the underlying causal relationships between the variables. Each approach has advantages and disadvantages, the optimal choice between raw and corrected scores depends on the aims and preferences of practitioners and policymakers.

UNASSIGNED: The testing of visuocognitive development in preterm infants shows strong interactions between perinatal characteristics and cognition, learning and overall neurodevelopment evolution. The assessment of anticipatory gaze data of object-location bindings via eye-tracking can predict the neurodevelopment of preterm infants at the age of 3 years; little is known, however, about the early cognitive function and its assessment methods during the first year of life.
UNASSIGNED: The current study presents data from a novel assessment tool, a Delayed Match Retrieval (DMR) paradigm via eye-tracking was used to measure visual working memory (VWM) and attention skills. The eye-tracking task that was designed to measure infants\' ability to actively localize objects and to make online predictions of object-location bindings. 63 infants participated in the study, 39 preterm infants and 24 healthy full term infants - at a corrected age of 8-9 months for premature infants and similar chronological age for full term infants. Infants were also administered the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development.
UNASSIGNED: The analysis of the Bayley scores showed no significant difference between the two groups while the eye-tracking data showed a significant group effect on all measurements. Moreover, preterm infants\' VWM performance was significantly lower than full term\'s. Birth weight affected the gaze time on all Areas Of Interest (AOIs), overall VWM performance and the scores at the Cognitive Bayley subscale. Furthermore, preterm infants with fetal growth restriction (FGR) showed significant performance effects in the eye-tracking measurements but not on their Bayley scores verifying the high discriminatory value of the eye gaze data.
UNASSIGNED: Visual working memory and attention as measured via eye-tracking is a non-intrusive, painless, short duration procedure (approx. 4-min) was found to be a significant tool for identifying prematurity and FGR effects on the development of cognition during the first year of life. Bayley Scales alone may not pick up these deficits. Identifying tools for early neurodevelopmental assessments and cognitive function is important in order to enable earlier support and intervention in the vulnerable group of premature infants, given the associations between foundational executive functional skills and later cognitive and academic ability.

UNASSIGNED: Patients with heart failure (HF) often experience cognitive impairment, which negatively affects their quality of life. An effective screening tool is essential for nurses and healthcare professionals to assess cognitive function as part of HF management. Although many instruments exist, none are specifically designed for patients with HF.
UNASSIGNED: This study aimed to map the instruments for screening cognitive function in patients with HF.
UNASSIGNED: A scoping review.
UNASSIGNED: Articles published between 2019 and 2023 were searched in PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar, with the last search conducted on 27 January 2024.
UNASSIGNED: The review followed the scoping review framework by Arksey and O\'Malley and adhered to PRISMA guidelines for scoping reviews.
UNASSIGNED: Of the 21 articles meeting inclusion criteria, six cognitive function screening instruments were used across various cognitive domains, effectively identifying cognitive impairment in both inpatient and outpatient HF settings. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was the most frequently used tool, covering a broad range of cognitive domains. MoCA showed high efficacy with a kappa coefficient of 0.82, Cronbach\'s alpha reliability of 0.75, sensitivity of 90%, and specificity of 87%.
UNASSIGNED: Instruments like MoCA, Mini-Cog, and TICS-m show promise for assessing cognitive function in patients with HF, each with specific strengths and limitations. MoCA is notable for its comprehensive coverage despite being time-consuming and having language barriers. Further research is needed to revalidate and improve the existing instruments. It is crucial for nurses and healthcare professionals to integrate these tools into regular patient management, highlighting the need for continued research in their application.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed at preliminarily assessing, in a cohort of non-demented amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients, the ecological validity, and more specifically the veridicality, of the Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen (ECAS) and the ALS Cognitive Behavioral Screen (ALS-CBS™), by relating their scores to caregiver-report ratings of cognitive changes.
METHODS: N = 147 patient-caregiver dyads were recruited. Patients were administered the ECAS and ALS-CBS™, whilst caregiver the Caregiver Behavioral Questionnaire (CBQ) and Beaumont Behavioural Inventory (BBI). An Ecological Cognitive Functioning Index (ECFI) was derived from those items of the CBQ and BBI that tap on executive and language changes. Ecological validity was assessed via both correlational and predictive analyses net of caregiver-rated behavioural changes (as assessed by the ECAS-Carer Interview).
RESULTS: The ECFI was associated with the total scores on both the ECAS (p = .014) and ALS-CBS™ (p = .017). When looking at ECAS and ALS-CBS™ subscales, those assessing verbal fluency were selectively associated with the ECFI. The ECFI was higher in patients performing defectively on the ECAS (p = .004) and on the ALS-CBS™ (p = .027).
CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that both the ECAS and the ALS-CBS™ represent a valid estimate of non-demented ALS patients\' cognitive status in the real world, also highlighting the clinical relevance of cognitive changes reported by caregivers.

BACKGROUND: This systematic review aims to comprehensively assess the diagnostic accuracy of cognitive screening tools validated for older adults in Iran, providing evidence-based recommendations for clinicians and researchers.
METHODS: A comprehensive search in March 2023 across Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, SID, IranMedex, and IranDoc, enhanced by hand-searching references and Google Scholar, identified cross-sectional studies on cognitive screening in Iranian seniors. We assessed diagnostic accuracy, cognitive domains, and test strengths and weaknesses. A bivariate random-effects meta-analysis provided summary estimates and 95% confidence intervals, illustrated in forest plots.
RESULTS: Our review, derived from an initial screening of 38 articles, focused on 17 studies involving 14 cognitive screening tools and participant counts from 60 to 350, mostly from specialized clinics. The MMSE was the only tool examined in at least three studies, prompting a meta-analysis revealing its sensitivity at 0.89 and specificity at 0.77 for dementia detection, albeit amidst significant heterogeneity (I^2 > 80%). ACE-III demonstrated the highest diagnostic accuracy for MCI and dementia, while MoCA\'s performance was deemed adequate for MCI and excellent for dementia. High bias risk in studies limits interpretation.
CONCLUSIONS: This review identifies key cognitive tools for dementia and MCI in Iranian older adults, tailored to educational levels for use in primary and specialized care. It emphasizes the need for further validation to enhance diagnostic precision across diverse settings, within a concise framework prioritizing brevity and accuracy for clinical applicability.

The Brief Executive-function Assessment Tool (BEAT) was developed and validated for use in residential substance use disorder treatment settings, where participants are mostly abstinent. It is therefore unclear whether the BEAT is valid for use in outpatient settings, where participants may be actively using substances. The effects of acute intoxication and withdrawal have the potential to alter the results of the BEAT. The current study sought to establish construct and criterion validity of the BEAT in an outpatient substance use disorder sample and to detect its sensitivity to substance use over the previous 24 hours and also over the past month. A total of 74 clients of a New South Wales-based outpatient substance use disorder service participated in the current study. Construct validity was demonstrated by significant correlations between the BEAT and three performance-based tests of executive functioning. Criterion validity was established in that the BEAT discriminated between those deemed impaired or not on a criterion composite measure of executive functioning. Test operating characteristics (88% sensitivity, 69% specificity, 44% PPV, and 95% NPV) were also established relative to this composite measure as a reference standard. The BEAT was insensitive to use/abstinence over the previous 24 hours and the past month.

This research aimed to determine the sensitivity and clinical validity of the OCS-Plus, a stroke-specific tablet-based cognitive screening tool, in comparison with the MoCA, a routinely used screening tool, after stroke. Eighty-six patients were recruited from Oxfordshire stroke wards over a 22-month period and completed both screens. Overall, we found that the OCS-Plus has good convergent validity and excellent sensitivity when compared with the MoCA. The OCS-Plus is therefore of potential benefit to those seeking a sensitive screening tool.

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed at testing the longitudinal feasibility of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in an Italian cohort of non-demented amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients.
METHODS: N = 39 non-demented ALS patients were followed-up at a 5-to-10-month interval (M = 6.8; SD = 1.4) with the MoCA and the Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioral ALS Screen (ECAS). Practice effects, test-retest reliability, and predictive validity (against follow-up ECAS scores) were assessed. Reliable change indices (RCIs) were derived via a regression-based approach by accounting for retest interval and baseline confounders (i.e., demographics, disease duration, and severity and progression rate).
RESULTS: At retest, 100% and 69.2% of patients completed the ECAS and the MoCA, respectively. Patients who could not complete the MoCA showed a slightly more severe and fast-progressing disease. The MoCA was not subject to practice effects (t[32] = -0.80; p = 0.429) and was reliable at retest (intra-class correlation = 0.82). Moreover, baseline MoCA scores predicted the ECAS at retest. RCIs were successfully derived - with baseline MoCA scores being the only significant predictor of retest performances (ps < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: As long as motor disabilities do not undermine its applicability, the MoCA appears to be longitudinally feasible at a 5-to-10-month interval in non-demented ALS patients. However, ALS-specific screeners - such as the ECAS - should be preferred whenever possible.