Faculty Bibliography

Reviews the book, Marking the Mind: A History of Memory, by Kurt Danziger (see record 2008-14739-000). This book provides a very interesting, readable, and concise account of how our conceptions of memory have developed over the ages. In this book, the author places memory within a sociohistorical context, demonstrating how the metaphors used to describe this process have, over the ages, paralleled developments in communication technology. While reading this book, one readily discovers how the development of psychology as an empirical science has resulted in separating the study of memory from any relationship to context or meaning. The book is composed of nine well-organized chapters. Each of these is preceded by a useful chapter outline placed within a clearly readable table. Overall, the book does a nice job of reintroducing us to views of memory taken from the past while simultaneously challenging the dogma of many of our current approaches to this phenomenon.

Accurate pronunciation of phonetically irregular words (exception words) requires prior exposure to unique relationships between orthographic and phonemic features. Whether such word knowledge is accompanied by structural variation in areas associated with orthographic-to-phonemic transformations has not been investigated. We used high-resolution MRI to determine whether performance on a visual word-reading test composed of phonetically irregular words, the Wechsler Test of Adult Reading (WTAR), is associated with regional variations in cortical structure. A sample of 60 right-handed, neurologically intact individuals were administered the WTAR and underwent 3T volumetric MRI. Using quantitative, surface-based image analysis, cortical thickness was estimated at each vertex on the cortical mantle and correlated with WTAR scores while controlling for age. Higher scores on the WTAR were associated with thicker cortex in bilateral anterior superior temporal gyrus, bilateral angular gyrus/posterior superior temporal gyrus, and left hemisphere intraparietal sulcus. Higher scores were also associated with thinner cortex in left hemisphere posterior fusiform gyrus and central sulcus, bilateral inferior frontal gyrus, and right hemisphere lingual gyrus and supramarginal gyrus. These results suggest that the ability to correctly pronounce phonetically irregular words is associated with structural variations in cortical areas that are commonly activated in functional neuroimaging studies of word reading, including areas associated with grapheme-to-phonemic conversion

Using separate generalized mixed-effects models, we assessed seizure recall and prediction, as well as contributing diagnostic variables, in 83 adult patients with epilepsy undergoing video/EEG monitoring. The model revealed that when participants predicted a seizure, probability equaled 0.320 (95% CI: 0.149-0.558), a significant (P<0.05) increase over negative predictions (0.151, 95% CI: 0.71-0.228]). With no seizure, the rate of remembering was approximately 0.130 (95% CI: 0.73-0.219), increasing significantly to 0.628 (95% CI: 0.439 to 0.784) when a seizure occurred (P<0.001). Of the variables analyzed, only inpatient seizure rate influenced predictability (P<0.001) or recollection (P<0.001). These models reveal that patients were highly aware of their seizures, and in many cases, were able to make accurate predictions, for which seizure rate may be an important factor

Deja vu aura is a well-known phenomenon experienced by some patients with epilepsy. This study sought to explore the relationship between verbal memory and the experience of deja vu or other types of mnemestic auras in 42 individuals with intractable seizures and 42 age- and education-matched patient controls. Verbal memory was assessed with indices of learning, long delay recall, and recognition from the California Verbal Learning Test. Results indicated that auras of any type were not associated with memory performance on the California Verbal Learning Test. As expected, age and education were related to verbal memory performance. Mnemestic auras were associated with clinical indices of illness, suggesting that the presence of these auras may be regarded as a risk factor for greater chronicity and severity in epilepsy

Self-report post-concussion symptom scales have been a key method for monitoring recovery from sport-related concussion, to assist in medical management, and return-to-play decision-making. To date, however, item selection and scaling metrics for these instruments have been based solely upon clinical judgment, and no one scale has been identified as the "gold standard". We analyzed a large set of data from existing scales obtained from three separate case-control studies in order to derive a sensitive and efficient scale for this application by eliminating items that were found to be insensitive to concussion. Baseline data from symptom checklists including a total of 27 symptom variables were collected from a total of 16,350 high school and college athletes. Follow-up data were obtained from 641 athletes who subsequently incurred a concussion. Symptom checklists were administered at baseline (preseason), immediately post-concussion, post-game, and at 1, 3, and 5 days post-injury. Effect-size analyses resulted in the retention of only 12 of the 27 variables. Receiver-operating characteristic analyses were used to confirm that the reduction in items did not reduce sensitivity or specificity. The newly derived Concussion Symptom Inventory is presented and recommended as a research and clinical tool for monitoring recovery from sport-related concussion.

Boxing has held appeal for many athletes and audiences for centuries, and injuries have been part of boxing since its inception. Although permanent and irreversible neurologic dysfunction does not occur in the majority of participants, an association has been reported between the number of bouts fought and the development of neurologic, psychiatric, or histopathological signs and symptoms of encephalopathy in boxers. The purpose of this paper is to (i) provide clinical neuropsychologists, other health-care professionals, and the general public with information about the potential neuropsychological consequences of boxing, and (ii) provide recommendations to improve safety standards for those who participate in the sport

The current study examined the relationship between emotional recognition and depression using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Second Edition (MMPI-2), in a population with epilepsy. Participants were a mixture of surgical candidates in addition to those receiving neuropsychological testing as part of a comprehensive evaluation. Results suggested that patients with epilepsy reporting increased levels of depression (Scale D) performed better than those patients reporting low levels of depression on an index of simple facial recognition, and depression was associated with poor prosody discrimination. Further, it is notable that more than half of the present sample had significantly elevated Scale D scores. The potential effects of a mood-congruent bias and implications for social functioning in depressed patients with epilepsy are discussed

OBJECTIVE: This study is the first to investigate the influence of a symptom-free waiting period (SFWP) on clinical outcome and risk of repeat injury after sport-related concussion. METHODS: This was a prospective, nonrandomized study of 16 624 player seasons from 1999 to 2004, including a cohort of 635 concussed high school and college athletes grouped on the basis of an SFWP or no SFWP observed after their concussion. Clinical outcome in symptoms, cognitive functioning, and postural stability 45 and 90 days postinjury was compared with preinjury baseline. Data on SFWP and same-season repeat concussion were recorded. RESULTS: An SFWP was observed in 60.3% of cases. There were no significant differences between the SFWP and no SFWP groups in acute injury characteristics or clinical outcome with respect to symptom recovery or postinjury performance on formal neuropsychological and balance testing. Most repeat concussions (79.2%) occurred within 10 days of the initial injury. The rate of repeat concussion was actually higher in the SFWP group (6.49%) than the no SFWP group (0.90%) (P < 0.005), but the repeat concussion subgroup's SFWP was 2.82 days shorter (95% confidence interval, 0.61-5.03; P < 0.01) and these athletes resumed participation 3.55 days sooner (95% confidence interval, 0.06-7.04; P < 0.05) than those in the SFWP group in which there was no repeat concussion. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that an SFWP did not intrinsically influence clinical recovery or reduce risk of a repeat concussion. The overall risk of same-season repeat concussion seems to be relatively low, but there may be a period of vulnerability that increases risk of repeat concussion during the first 7 to 10 days postinjury. Further study is required to investigate this preliminary finding and help determine whether this risk can be reduced further with specific injury-management strategies