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INTRODUCTION/AIMS: Language is frequently affected in patients with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (sALS), with reduced performance in naming, syntactic comprehension, grammatical expression, and orthographic processing. However, the language profile of patients with familial type 8 ALS (ALS8), linked to p.P56S VAPB mutation, remains unclear. We investigated language in patients with ALS8 by examining their auditory comprehension and verbal production. METHODS: We included three groups of participants: (1) patients with sALS (n = 20), (2) patients with familial ALS8 (n = 22), and (3) healthy controls (n = 21). The groups were matched for age, sex, and education level. All participants underwent a comprehensive language battery, including the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination, the reduced Token test, letter fluency, categorical fluency (animals), word definition from the Cambridge Semantic Memory Research Battery, and a narrative discourse analysis. Participants also were evaluated using Addenbrooke's Cognitive Exam-Revised Version, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised. RESULTS: Compared to controls, sALS and ALS8 patients had impaired performance on oral (syntactic and phonological processing) comprehension and inappropriate discourse cohesion. sALS and ALS8 did not differ in any language measure. There was no correlation between language scores and functional and psychiatric scales. DISCUSSION: ALS8 patients exhibit language deficits that are independent of motor features. These findings are consistent with the current evidence suggesting that ALS8 has prominent non-motor features.

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OBJECTIVE: There are scarce data comparing Parkinson's disease (PD) and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) in social cognition (SC). We aimed to compare patients with PSP and PD in SC. METHODS: We included three groups: PD (n = 18), PSP (n = 20) and controls (n = 23). Participants underwent neuropsychological exams, including the mini-version of the Social and Emotional Assessment, which is composed of the facial emotion recognition test (FERT) and the modified faux-pas (mFP) test, which assesses Theory of Mind (ToM). RESULTS: Patients with PD scored lower than controls in the FERT, but not in the mFP test. Patients with PSP performed worse than controls in both the mFP and FERT. PD and PSP groups did not differ in the FERT, but PSP performed worse than PD in the mFP test. The mFP test distinguished PSP from PD with 89% accuracy. CONCLUSION: The assessment of ToM may contribute to the differentiation between PD and PSP.

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Retrieval practice typically benefits learning in children, although little is known about the benefits of retrieval practice for learning spelling. We investigated this issue in three experiments with fifth-grade children from a low-income area of Brazil. In the experiments, children first read a list of words (study), and after a short interval wrote down the studied words after hearing and rereading them (copy) or after only hearing them (retrieval practice). After an interval of 4 days, spelling performance was greater for words from the retrieval practice condition than for words from the copy condition, but only when immediate corrective feedback was provided (Experiment 3). The current findings, therefore, suggest that retrieval practice followed by corrective feedback is an effective strategy to improve spelling performance of fifth-grade children.

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INTRODUCTION/AIMS: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) type 8 (ALS8) is caused by VAPB gene mutations. The differences between neuropsychological and behavioral profiles of patients with sporadic ALS (sALS) and those with ALS8 are unclear. We aimed to compare cognitive performance and behavioral aspects between sALS and ALS8 patients. METHODS: Our study included 29 symptomatic ALS8 patients (17 men; median age 49 years), 20 sALS patients (12 men; median age 55 years), and 30 healthy controls (16 men; median age 50 years), matched for sex, age, and education. Participants underwent neuropsychological assessments focused on executive functions, visual memory, and facial emotion recognition. Behavioral and psychiatric symptoms were evaluated using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Cambridge Behavioral Inventory. RESULTS: Clinical groups (sALS and ALS8) exhibited lower global cognitive efficiency and impaired cognitive flexibility, processing speed, and inhibitory control compared with controls. ALS8 and sALS showed similar performance in most executive tests, except for poorer verbal (lexical) fluency in those with sALS. Apathy, anxiety, and stereotypical behaviors were frequent in both clinical groups. DISCUSSION: sALS and ALS8 patients demonstrated similar deficits in most cognitive domains and had comparable behavioral profiles. These findings should be considered in the care of patients.

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BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of cognitive disorders in Parkinson disease (PD) can be very challenging. Aiming at establishing uniform and reliable diagnostic procedures, the International Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorder Society (MDS) commissioned task forces to delineate diagnostic criteria for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia in PD. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the applicability of the MDS recommendations for cognitive evaluation in a Brazilian sample of patients with PD with low levels of formal education. METHODS: A total of 41 patients with PD were subjected to a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation based on tests proposed by the MDS, which included the Mini-Mental State Examination, the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (MDRS), the Trail Making Test (TMT) parts A and B, in addition to language and memory skills assessment. Neuropsychiatric and daily functioning features were also evaluated. Spearman correlation analyses were used to evaluate the association between the scores obtained in the cognitive scales and demographic/clinical variables. RESULTS: Although none of the participants had a formal diagnosis of dementia, 50% presented some degree of cognitive impairment when considering the results of the MDRS. Of note, a noticeable number of patients was not able to complete the full neuropsychological assessment. The TMT part B was the most difficult task, being completed by only 22 participants (54%). As expected, the greater the educational level, the better the performance on the cognitive tests. Better motor function was also associated with better scores in cognition. CONCLUSIONS: Adopting strict inclusion/exclusion criteria and a comprehensive clinical evaluation, we found remarkable limitations for the MDS recommendations when individuals with low educational levels are considered. A revision of the current guidelines is necessary considering differences among populations, especially related to formal education.

ANTECEDENTES: O diagnóstico de distúrbios cognitivos na doença de Parkinson (DP) pode ser muito desafiador. Com o objetivo de estabelecer procedimentos diagnósticos uniformes e confiáveis, a Sociedade Internacional da Doença de Parkinson e Distúrbios do Movimento (MDS, na sigla em inglês) encomendou forças-tarefa para delinear critérios diagnósticos para comprometimento cognitivo leve (CCL) e demência na DP. OBJETIVOS: Investigar a aplicabilidade das recomendações da MDS para avaliação cognitiva em uma amostra brasileira de pacientes com DP de baixa escolaridade. MéTODOS: Um total de 41 pacientes com DP foram submetidos a uma avaliação neuropsicológica abrangente com base nos testes propostos pela MDS, que incluiu o Miniexame do Estado Mental, a Escala de Avaliação de Demência de Mattis (MDRS, na sigla em inglês), o teste de trilhas (TMT, na sigla em inglês) partes A e B, além da avaliação das habilidades de linguagem e memória. Características neuropsiquiátricas e de funcionamento diário também foram avaliadas. Análises de correlação de Spearman foram utilizadas para avaliar a associação entre os escores obtidos nas escalas cognitivas e variáveis demográficas/clínicas. RESULTADOS: Apesar de nenhum dos participantes ter diagnóstico formal de demência, 50% apresentaram algum grau de comprometimento cognitivo ao levar em consideração os resultados da MDRS. Vale ressaltar que um número notável de pacientes não conseguiu completar a avaliação neuropsicológica completa. A parte B do TMT foi a tarefa mais difícil, sendo realizada por apenas 22 participantes (54%). Como esperado, quanto maior o nível educacional, melhor o desempenho nos testes cognitivos. Melhor função motora também foi associada a melhores escores em cognição. CONCLUSõES: Adotando critérios rígidos de inclusão/exclusão e uma avaliação clínica abrangente, encontramos limitações marcantes para as recomendações da MDS quando considerados indivíduos com baixa escolaridade. É necessária uma revisão das diretrizes atuais considerando as diferenças entre as populações, principalmente relacionadas ao nível educacional.

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Abstract Background The diagnosis of cognitive disorders in Parkinson disease (PD) can be very challenging. Aiming at establishing uniform and reliable diagnostic procedures, the International Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorder Society (MDS) commissioned task forces to delineate diagnostic criteria for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia in PD. Objectives To investigate the applicability of the MDS recommendations for cognitive evaluation in a Brazilian sample of patients with PD with low levels of formal education. Methods A total of 41 patients with PD were subjected to a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation based on tests proposed by the MDS, which included the Mini-Mental State Examination, the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (MDRS), the Trail Making Test (TMT) parts A and B, in addition to language and memory skills assessment. Neuropsychiatric and daily functioning features were also evaluated. Spearman correlation analyses were used to evaluate the association between the scores obtained in the cognitive scales and demographic/clinical variables. Results Although none of the participants had a formal diagnosis of dementia, 50% presented some degree of cognitive impairment when considering the results of the MDRS. Of note, a noticeable number of patients was not able to complete the full neuropsychological assessment. The TMT part B was the most difficult task, being completed by only 22 participants (54%). As expected, the greater the educational level, the better the performance on the cognitive tests. Better motor function was also associated with better scores in cognition. Conclusions Adopting strict inclusion/exclusion criteria and a comprehensive clinical evaluation, we found remarkable limitations for the MDS recommendations when individuals with low educational levels are considered. A revision of the current guidelines is necessary considering differences among populations, especially related to formal education.

Resumo Antecedentes O diagnóstico de distúrbios cognitivos na doença de Parkinson (DP) pode ser muito desafiador. Com o objetivo de estabelecer procedimentos diagnósticos uniformes e confiáveis, a Sociedade Internacional da Doença de Parkinson e Distúrbios do Movimento (MDS, na sigla em inglês) encomendou forças-tarefa para delinear critérios diagnósticos para comprometimento cognitivo leve (CCL) e demência na DP. Objetivos Investigar a aplicabilidade das recomendações da MDS para avaliação cognitiva em uma amostra brasileira de pacientes com DP de baixa escolaridade. Métodos Um total de 41 pacientes com DP foram submetidos a uma avaliação neuropsicológica abrangente com base nos testes propostos pela MDS, que incluiu o Miniexame do Estado Mental, a Escala de Avaliação de Demência de Mattis (MDRS, na sigla em inglês), o teste de trilhas (TMT, na sigla em inglês) partes A e B, além da avaliação das habilidades de linguagem e memória. Características neuropsiquiátricas e de funcionamento diário também foram avaliadas. Análises de correlação de Spearman foram utilizadas para avaliar a associação entre os escores obtidos nas escalas cognitivas e variáveis demográficas/clínicas. Resultados Apesar de nenhum dos participantes ter diagnóstico formal de demência, 50% apresentaram algum grau de comprometimento cognitivo ao levar em consideração os resultados da MDRS. Vale ressaltar que um número notável de pacientes não conseguiu completar a avaliação neuropsicológica completa. A parte B do TMT foi a tarefa mais difícil, sendo realizada por apenas 22 participantes (54%). Como esperado, quanto maior o nível educacional, melhor o desempenho nos testes cognitivos. Melhor função motora também foi associada a melhores escores em cognição. Conclusões Adotando critérios rígidos de inclusão/exclusão e uma avaliação clínica abrangente, encontramos limitações marcantes para as recomendações da MDS quando considerados indivíduos com baixa escolaridade. É necessária uma revisão das diretrizes atuais considerando as diferenças entre as populações, principalmente relacionadas ao nível educacional.

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Memory judgments made by an individual may be affected by the memory judgments made by another individual, a phenomenon named memory conformity. It is unclear, however, whether memory conformity affects the well demonstrated positive relationship between accuracy and confidence, and more importantly, whether it affects the accuracy of high-confidence memory judgments. Here, we investigated these possibilities in three experiments wherein participants performed recognition followed by confidence judgments of studied and novel faces, after being exposed to the recognition responses of a fictional participant whose responses could be valid or invalid (74% and 26% of the responses, respectively). In all three experiments, accuracy for high confidence "old" and "new" responses was affected by the responses of the fictitious participant, with invalid responses producing consistent decreases in high confidence accuracy. In addition, confidence-accuracy characteristics (CAC) analysis revealed that invalid responses were particularly impactful on the assignment of confidence for faces judged as "new," a pattern that sheds light on prior findings regarding the effects of cueing on mean confidence. Thus, further than demonstrating that the exposition to the memory judgments of another person affects high confidence recognition, we show that such exposition produces distinct effects on the assignment of confidence for "new" versus "old" memory judgments.

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The memory reports of a given individual may be altered by preceding memory reports of another individual, a phenomenon termed memory conformity. To investigate this phenomenon, 58 undergraduate students were separated in two groups which watched one of two slightly different movies of a crime scene (one included an accomplice). Subsequently, pairs containing one participant from each group discussed the movie, and then participants responded individually whether there was an accomplice in the scene. The frequency of false reports and their confidence for the presence/absence of the accomplice were analyzed. Only false reports of seeing an accomplice were produced (by 31% of those who saw no accomplice), and confidence were as high for these responses as for correct "no-accomplice" responses. The data is consistent with prior findings, and show that confidence on false reports can be high when involving "insertion" of elements to witnessed events. (AU)

O relato sobre fatos vivenciados por um indivíduo pode ser alterado por relatos anteriores apresentados por outro indivíduo, fenômeno denominado conformidade de memória. Para investigar esse fenômeno, 58 estudantes de graduação foram separados em dois grupos, os quais assistiram cada um a um vídeo ligeiramente diferente de um mesmo crime (em um havia um cúmplice). Posteriormente, foram formados pares de discussão contendo participantes que assistiram às diferentes versões do vídeo, para, em seguida, responderem individualmente sobre se havia um cúmplice na cena testemunhada. A frequência de relatos incorretos e a confiança na presença/ausência do cúmplice foi analisada. Somente relatos falsos da presença do cúmplice foram verificados (por 31% daqueles que não viram o cúmplice no vídeo), e a confiança foi tão alta quanto as respostas corretas. Os resultados confirmam experimentos anteriores e mostram que a confiança em relatos falsos pode ser alta quando se trata de "inserção" de elementos em um evento testemunhado. (AU)

El informe de memoria sobre hechos vividos por un determinado individuo pueden ser modificados por informes de memoria de otro individuo, este fenómeno es denominado conformidad de memoria. Para investigar este fenómeno, 58 estudiantes universitarios fueron divididos en dos grupos, cada uno vio una película de una misma escena del crimen con sutiles diferencias (una de las versiones incluía un cómplice). Posteriormente, se conformaron parejas de discusión con un participante de cada grupo, y luego, de forma individual, cada persona contestó sí hubo un cómplice en la escena presenciada. Fue analizado la frecuencia de los informes falsos y su confianza en la presencia / ausencia del cómplice. Solo fueron analizados los informes falsos de la existencia del cómplice (por el 31% de los que no vieron el cómplice en el video), y la confianza fue tan alta para estas respuestas, como para las respuestas correctas de "no cómplices". Los resultados confirman los experimentos anteriores y muestran que la confianza en los informes falsos puede ser alta cuando se trata de "insertar" elementos en los eventos atestiguados. (AU)

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A conformidade de memória consiste em alterações dos relatos de memória de um indivíduo provocadas por relatos de memória de outro(s) indivíduo(s). Considerando a importância deste fenômeno no âmbito forense, especialmente na entrevista de testemunhas oculares, o objetivo do presente estudo é compreender melhor o fenômeno da conformidade de memória, e discutir suas implicações nas práticas de inquérito policial. Para isto, realizamos uma revisão narrativa de estudos de laboratório sobre conformidade de memória e de estudos sobre práticas de inquérito. A literatura indica que embora a investigação científica da conformidade de memória tenha apresentado grande avanço nas últimas duas décadas, a incorporação destes achados na prática forense brasileira ainda é lenta. No Brasil, a adoção de práticas de entrevista de testemunhas baseadas em evidência ainda depende de infraestrutura adequada, além de alterações legislativas e em procedimentos administrativos, policiais e jurídicos.

Memory conformity consists of changes in the memory reports of an individual caused by the memory reports of another individual. Considering the importance of this phenomenon to forensic practices, especially to eyewitness testimony interview, the goal of the present study was to discuss the current scientific knowledge about this phenomenon, and to consider its implications to public inquiry practices. For this purpose, the current narrative review included laboratory studies on memory conformity and studies on public inquiry practices. The literature suggests that although the scientific investigation on memory conformity has made great progress in the last two decades, the inclusion of the knowledge produced by this progress in Brazilian forensic practices remains scant. That is, the adoption of evidence-based eyewitness interview practices in Brazil still depends on infrastructure improvements, as well as changes on legislation and on several legal procedures.

La conformidad de memoria consiste en cambios en los informes de memoria de un individuo causados por los informes de memoria de otro individuo. Considerando la importancia de este fenómeno en la esfera forense, especialmente en la entrevista de testigos, el objetivo del presente estudio es mejor comprender el fenómeno de conformidad de memoria y discutir sus implicaciones en las prácticas de investigación policial. Para este propósito, llevamos a cabo una revisión narrativa en estudios de laboratorio sobre la conformidad de memoria y estudios sobre las prácticas de investigación. La literatura indica que, aunque la investigación científica de la conformidad de memoria ha avanzado mucho en las últimas dos décadas, la incorporación de estos hallazgos en la práctica forense brasileña aún es lenta. En Brasil, la adopción de prácticas de entrevista a testigos presentadas en este artículo todavía depende de una infraestructura adecuada, además de los cambios legislativos y los procedimientos administrativos, policiales y legales.

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Norms for visual stimuli are critical for designing reliable psychological and neuroscientific studies. However, such normative sets of stimuli are scarce for the Brazilian population. Here, we report norms for the Bank of Standardized Stimuli (BOSS) for Brazilian college students. Sixty-five Brazilian university students rated the initial normative set of BOSS images for familiarity and visual complexity, and produced a name for each object. Data analysis focused on comparing the present norms to prior BOSS norms (English-Canadian, French-Canadian, and Thai) across four normative dimensions: familiarity, visual complexity, modal name agreement, and H value, and considered these dimensions according to whether items pertained to living or non-living domains. Correlation analyses revealed that the present norms show strong similarities to prior BOSS norms, although objects were scored as more familiar in the Brazilian relative to all prior norms, especially relative to the Thai norms. In addition, familiarity was greater for living than for non-living items in the English- and French-Canadian norms, but such difference was absent in the Brazilian and Thai norms, suggesting that familiarity is more strongly affected by culture than by semantic domain. In sum, even when cultural differences are considered, the current study reveals that the images of the BOSS data set are in general well known for Brazilians, demonstrating that they can be useful for psychological and neuroscientific research in Brazil.

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