Middle-aged and older Black adults' experiences completing a traditional paper-and-pencil cognitive battery and two contemporary computerized cognitive batteries.

Traditional neuropsychological batteries may account for disparities in education and may produce testing anxiety, particularly for older Black adults. Computerized batteries may be more amenable to use. The current study used mixed-methods content analysis to explore the perceptions of middle-aged and older Black adults (N = 92) about the CogState Brief Battery (CSBB) and Joggle® computerized battery and a traditional paper-and-pencil neuropsychological battery. The data was analyzed using Atlas.ti. Themes were developed and qualitative responses were converted to quantitative counts to make comparisons to thematic differences based on demographics. Results: The majority of participants liked all three batteries. There were no differences based on demographics. Two prevalent themes across all three measures for what participants liked were 1) mental stimulation and memory, and 2) challenging. A disliked theme specific to the computerized batteries was personal competence. In summary, an array of accessible cognitive batteries is necessary to address individual preferences.

Auditory Processing of Older Adults With Probable Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Purpose: Studies suggest that deficits in auditory processing predict cognitive decline and dementia, but those studies included limited measures of auditory processing. The purpose of this study was to compare older adults with and without probable mild cognitive impairment (MCI) across two domains of auditory processing (auditory performance in competing acoustic signals and temporal aspects of audition). Method: The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (Nasreddine et al., 2005) was used to classify participants as with or without probable MCI. In this cross-sectional study, participants (n = 79) completed 4 measures of auditory processing: Synthetic Sentence Identification with Ipsilateral Competing Message (Gates, Beiser, Rees, D'Agostino, & Wolf, 2002), Dichotic Sentence Identification (Fifer, Jerger, Berlin, Tobey, & Campbell, 1983), Adaptive Tests of Temporal Resolution (ATTR; Lister & Roberts, 2006; across-channel and within-channel subtests), and time-compressed speech (Wilson, 1993; Wilson, Preece, Salamon, Sperry, & Bornstein, 1994). Audiometry was also conducted. Results: Those with probable MCI had significantly poorer performance than those without MCI on Synthetic Sentence Identification with Ipsilateral Competing Message, Dichotic Sentence Identification, and the ATTR within-channel subtest. No group differences were found for time-compressed speech, ATTR across-channel, or audiometric measures. Conclusions: Older adults with cognitive impairment not only have difficulty with competing acoustic signals but may also show poor temporal processing. The profile of auditory processing deficits among older adults with cognitive impairment may include multiple domains.

Evaluation of muscle strength and manual dexterity in patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

STUDY DESIGN: Matched pair study. INTRODUCTION: Differences in hand-muscle strength/dexterity between dominant (DH) and non-dominant (NDH) hand in Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) are not well understood. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: To compare muscle strength/dexterity between DH and NDH and to correlate manual dexterity, strength and sensory function. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty CMT patients were studied using functional muscle testing (FMT) and strength (dynamometry), dexterity (the Nine Hole Peg Test [NHPT]), and Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function [JTT]), and sensory function (the Nottingham Sensory Assessment [NSA]). RESULTS: Scores were worse for DH than NDH on FMT (p = 0.043) and NHPT (p = 0.014) but not on JTT (p = 0.098), handgrip strength (p = 0.710) or tripod pinch (p = 0.645). NSA did not correlate significantly with any tests (p's0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In CMT disease, DH appears more impaired than NDH in terms of function and dexterity. Greater muscle weakness in DH may also emerge as CMT progresses. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3b.