Effects of Apolipoprotein E Genotype on Spatial Attention, Working Memory, and Their Interaction in Healthy, Middle-Aged Adults: Results From the National Institute of Mental Health's BIOCARD Study.

The cognitive consequences of the apolipoprotein E-ε4 (APOE-ε4) allele were examined in middle age, before likely onset of symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. The authors identified 3 cognitive processes--visuospatial attention, spatial working memory, and the effect of visuospatial attention on working memory--and devised "behavioral assays" of the integrity of components of these processes. Redirecting visuospatial attention, retention of memory for location, and attentional modulation of memory of target location were affected by APOE genotype. Visuospatial attention showed additive effects of ε4 gene dose; each additional ε4 allele inherited further slowed disengagement from invalidly cued space. In contrast, working memory performance was affected only in ε4 homozygotes. Effect sizes for the APOE gene were moderate to large, ranging from 14% to 24%. Effects of APOE genotype on component processes of cognition in healthy, middle-aged adults is consistent with the emergence in adulthood of an APOE-ε4 cognitive phenotype. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

No protective effects of education during normal cognitive aging: Results from the 6-year follow-up of the Maastricht Aging Study.

Recent large-scale longitudinal aging studies question earlier claims that higher education protects against cognitive decline in older age. In the present study, the authors addressed this issue by determining whether educational level had an attenuating effect on the rate of cognitive change assessed with a broad range of neuropsychological tests in a community sample of 872 healthy individuals aged 49 to 81 years at baseline. The participants were followed for 6 years and were tested 3 times (at baseline and at 3 and 6 years after baseline). Results of linear mixed-model analyses showed that education had no significant effect on cognitive change over time. These results are discussed in terms of the age range of the sample, definition and range of education, cognitive measures used, length of the study and number of consecutive assessments, and confounding effect of health. The findings question the extent of the presumed protective effects of higher education on cognitive decline during normal aging. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's cognitive ability from 4 to 9 years old as a function of prenatal cocaine exposure, environmental risk, and maternal verbal intelligence.

This study examined the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure, environmental risk, and maternal verbal intelligence on children's cognitive ability. Gender and age were examined as moderators of potential cocaine exposure effects. The Stanford-Binet IV intelligence test was administered to 231 children (91 cocaine exposed, 140 unexposed) at ages 4, 6, and 9 years. Neonatal medical risk and other prenatal exposures (alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana) were also examined for their unique effects on child IQ. Mixed models analysis indicated that prenatal cocaine exposure interacted with gender, as cocaine-exposed boys had lower composite IQ scores. Age at assessment did not moderate this relation, indicating that cocaine-exposed boys had lower IQs across this age period. A stimulating home environment and high maternal verbal IQ also predicted higher composite IQ scores. Cocaine-exposed boys had lower scores on the Abstract/Visual Reasoning subscale, with trends for lower scores on the Short-Term Memory and Verbal Reasoning subscales, as exposure effects were observed across domains. The findings indicate that cocaine exposure continues to place children at risk for mild cognitive deficits into preadolescence. Possible mechanisms for the Exposure × Gender interaction are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Timing of dietary change in response to a telephone counseling intervention: Evidence from the WHEL study.

Objective: Little is known about temporal patterns of diet change within interventions, nor about predictors of early and sustained successful change. Social-cognitive theory asserts that early successes in achieving behavior change increase self-efficacy, leading to longer-term success. Design: The authors conducted exploratory cluster analyses using dietary data from the first month of the telephone counseling intervention of the Women's Healthy Eating and Living (WHEL) Study. Main Outcome Measure: Change in dietary pattern at three early intervention timepoints. Results: Three clusters were identified: Cluster 1 (25%) was close to meeting study goals at baseline, but still made major changes; Cluster 2 (49%) and Cluster 3 (26%) were not achieving study goals at baseline, but Cluster 2 made substantial immediate changes, while Cluster 3 changed their diet more gradually. Baseline demographic and behavioral variables were associated with cluster membership; however, the strongest predictors of cluster were self-efficacy, motivation, and approaches to study goals. Cluster membership predicted dietary pattern at 12 months. Conclusion: These data suggest that a one-on-one telephone counseling intervention that is intensive in the early weeks may maximize the level of change achieved in a study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)