Reduced Attention in Former Smokers with and without COPD.

BACKGROUND: Attention difficulties are often reported by patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); however, limited research exists using objective tests designed specifically to measure attention in this population. This study aimed to (1) identify specific attention deficits in COPD and (2) determine which demographic/clinical characteristics are associated with reduced attention. METHODS: Eighty-four former smokers (53 COPD, 31 no COPD) completed questionnaires, pulmonary function testing, and the Conner's Continuous Performance Test II (CPT-II). Participants with and without COPD were compared on CPT-II measures of inattention, impulsivity, and vigilance. CPT-II measures that differed significantly between the two groups were further examined using hierarchical regression modeling. Demographic/clinical characteristics were entered into models with attention as the dependent variable. RESULTS: Participants with COPD performed worse than those without COPD on CPT measures of inattention and impulsivity (i.e., detectability [discrimination of target from non-target stimuli], perseverations [reaction time under 100 ms], omissions [target stimuli response failures], and commissions [responses to non-target stimuli]). More severe COPD (measured by greater airflow limitation) was associated with poorer ability to detect targets vs. foils and perseverative responding after adjusting for age and other covariates in the model. CONCLUSION: Former smokers with COPD experience problems with attention that go beyond slowed processing speed, including aspects of inattention and impulsivity. Clinicians should be aware that greater airflow limitation and older age are associated with attention difficulties, as this may impact functioning.

Integrating Neuropsychology into Interprofessional Geriatrics Clinics.

Interprofessional healthcare teams are increasingly viewed as a clinical approach to meet the complex medical, psychological, and psychosocial needs of older adult patients. Despite the fact that older adults are at risk for cognitive difficulties, neuropsychologists are not routinely included on Geriatrics consult teams. The primary aim of this paper is to highlight the utility of neuropsychology within an interprofessional Geriatrics consult clinic. To address this aim, we describe specific benefits to patient care that may be associated with the inclusion of neuropsychologists on Geriatrics consult teams, including differential diagnosis, enhanced patient care, and reduced barriers to care. We provide a description of the integration of neuropsychology within a Veterans Health Administration (VA) interprofessional Geriatrics consult clinic team in order to illustrate the implementation of this model.

Cognitive mechanisms of episodic simulation in psychiatric populations.

Episodic simulation is the construction of a mental representation of a specific autobiographical future event. Episodic simulation has increasingly been studied in psychiatric populations. Here we 1) review evidence indicating that episodic simulation is compromised in patients with depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and PTSD; and 2) consider several potential cognitive mechanisms of episodic simulation in psychiatric populations: episodic retrieval, scene construction, mental imagery, components of the CaRFAX model (i.e., capture and rumination, functional avoidance, and executive functioning), and narrative style. We evaluate evidence regarding these mechanisms across psychiatric populations, and identify areas of future research. Understanding the factors that contribute to episodic simulation impairment in psychiatric populations may lead to targeted and effective treatment approaches.

Daily Activities: The Impact of COPD and Cognitive Dysfunction.

OBJECTIVE: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by airflow limitation; however, pulmonary function does not fully account for patients' functional difficulties. The primary aim of the study was to determine the association between several domains of cognition and daily activity among those with COPD. METHOD: Eighty-nine former smokers completed a neuropsychological battery including measures across multiple domains of cognition, pulmonary function measures, and daily activity questionnaires. Using a cross-sectional design, we compared daily activity between former smokers with and without COPD using two measures (St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire [SGRQ] Activity Subscale and Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living [IADL] Scale) and examined the association between cognition and daily activity among those with COPD. RESULTS: As expected, former smokers with COPD reported more difficulty than those without COPD on both activity measures (SGRQ Activity Subscale p < .001; Lawton IADL Scale p = .040). Among former smokers with COPD, poorer delayed recall was associated with more difficulty with daily activities (SGRQ Activity Subscale) (p = .038) while adjusting for severity of airflow limitation, exercise tolerance, oxygen use, dyspnea, and symptoms of anxiety and depression. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that cognition is associated with daily activity in patients with COPD. Future research should examine whether cognitive interventions may help to maximize patients' engagement in daily activities.

Is Episodic Future Thinking Important for Instrumental Activities of Daily Living? A Study in Neurological Patients and Healthy Older Adults.

OBJECTIVE: Episodic future thinking is the ability to mentally project oneself into the future. This construct has been explored extensively in cognitive neuroscience and may be relevant for adaptive functioning. However, it has not been determined whether the measurement of episodic future thinking might be valuable in a clinical neuropsychological setting. The current study investigated (1) the relationship between episodic future thinking and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs); and (2) whether episodic future thinking is related to IADLs over and above standard measures of cognition. METHOD: Sixty-one older adults with heterogeneous neurological conditions and 41 healthy older adults completed a future thinking task (the adapted Autobiographical Interview), a performance-based measure of instrumental activities of daily living (the Independent Living Scales), and standard clinical measures of memory and executive functioning. RESULTS: Episodic future thinking significantly predicted IADLs after accounting for age, education, gender, and depression (increase in R2 = .050, p = .010). Episodic future thinking significantly predicted IADLs over and above executive functioning (increase in R2 = .025, p = .030), but was not predictive of IADLs over and above memory (p = .157). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that episodic future thinking is significantly associated with IADLs, beyond what can be accounted for by executive functioning. However, episodic future thinking did not predict IADLs over and above memory. Overall, there is limited evidence for the clinical utility of episodic future thinking. The findings suggest that an episodic future thinking task does not provide enough valuable information about IADLs to justify its inclusion in a clinical neuropsychological setting.

Subjective cognitive complaints and neuropsychological performance in former smokers with and without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the association of perceived cognitive difficulties with objective cognitive performance in former smokers. We hypothesized that greater perceived cognitive difficulties would be associated with poorer performance on objective executive and memory tasks. METHOD: Participants were 95 former smokers recruited from the COPDGene study. They completed questionnaires (including the Cognitive Difficulties Scale [CDS] and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [HADS]), neuropsychological assessment, and pulmonary function testing. Pearson correlations and t-tests were conducted to examine the bivariate association of the CDS (total score and subscales for attention/concentration, praxis, delayed recall, orientation for persons, temporal orientation, and prospective memory) with each domain of objective cognitive functioning (memory recall, executive functioning/processing speed, visuospatial processing, and language). Simultaneous multiple linear regression was used to further examine all statistically significant bivariate associations. The following covariates were included in all regression models: age, sex, pack-years, premorbid functioning (WRAT-IV Reading), HADS total score, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) status (yes/no based on GOLD criteria). RESULTS: In regression models, greater perceived cognitive difficulties overall (using CDS total score) were associated with poorer performance on executive functioning/processing speed tasks (b = -0.07, SE = 0.03, p = .037). Greater perceived cognitive difficulties on the CDS praxis subscale were associated with poorer performance on executive functioning/processing speed tasks (b = -3.65, SE = 1.25, p = .005), memory recall tasks (b = -4.60, SE = 1.75, p = .010), and language tasks (b = -3.89, SE = 1.39, p = .006). CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians should be aware that cognitive complaints may be indicative of problems with the executive functioning/processing speed and memory of former smokers with and without COPD.