ABSTRACT. Screening instruments are ideal for acute clinical settings because they are easy to apply, fast, inexpensive and sensitive for specific samples. However, there is a need to verify the psychometric properties of screening in stroke patients. Objective: This study investigated the psychometric properties (methodological procedures) of cognitive screening for patients with cerebrovascular diseases. Methods: A systematic review of papers published on PsycINFO, Web of Knowledge, PubMed and Science Direct (2005 to 2016) was performed. Results: A total of 55 articles remained after applying exclusion criteria. The samples ranged from 20 to 657 patients. Most articles evaluated elderly individuals with four to 13 years of education who had experienced ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke. There was a tendency to find evidence of validity for criteria and to analyze the sensitivity/specificity of the instruments. Although the studies frequently used the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) to seek evidence of validity and reliability, the use of these instruments among stroke patients has been criticized due to their psychometric properties and the neuropsychological functions evaluated. Conclusion: Although there is no gold standard screen for assessing adults post-stroke, instruments devised specifically for this population have shown promise. This review helps both researchers and clinicians to select the most appropriate screen for identifying cognitive impairment in adults post-stroke.

A matéria publicada neste periódico é licenciada sob forma de uma Licença Creative Commons-Atribuição 4.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental condition characterized by various cognitive and behavioral symptoms that may be associated, among other factors, with executive dysfunction. However, the relationship between these aspects still needs to be understood in more detail. The present study investigated associations and dissociations in the performance of 11 children/adolescents who were diagnosed with ASD without mental retardation, aged 10–15 years, in tasks that assessed executive function and working memory. Formal and functional assessment instruments and a questionnaire on developmental history and health-related aspects were used. Performance in tasks that were used for the objective assessment of executive function ranged from preserved to impaired, making the identification of specific performance profiles difficult. In contrast, functional assessment indicated the presence of important executive dysfunctions in 9 of the 11 cases. The present study stresses the importance of neuropsychological assessment using formal and functional (environmental) tools and mixed-model approaches (cases and groups) to provide a further understanding of executive dysfunction in ASD.

Objective: Vasomotor symptoms affect 60-80% of women during the menopausal transition. Anxiety, depression, and anxiety sensitivity can have an important role in the distressful experience of vasomotor symptoms. Our aim was to evaluate the prevalence and association of vasomotor and negative affect symptoms. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 89 perimenopausal women aged 45-55 years. Broad psychiatric and clinical evaluations were carried out. The primary outcome was the vasomotor symptom problem rating and the main study factor was anxiety sensitivity. Linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the associations between the study factors and the primary outcome, and a multiple regression model was created to assess which variables were independently associated with vasomotor symptom problem rating. Results: The prevalence of anxiety, depression, and vasomotor symptoms were 58, 62, and 73%, respectively. Negative affect symptoms were positively associated with vasomotor symptom problem rating. The association of anxiety sensitivity and vasomotor symptom problem rating remained significant after controlling for perimenopausal stage, thyrotropin, follicle-stimulating hormone levels, and psychotropic medication use (b = 0.314, p = 0.002). Conclusion: A better understanding of the experience of vasomotor symptoms is needed, especially the role of negative affect symptoms and anxiety sensitivity. New strategies focusing on related thoughts and behaviors could improve the quality of life of perimenopausal women.

O objetivo deste artigo é apresentar o instrumento AFLeT (Avaliação de Fluência de Leitura Textual) e um dos estudos de validade do instrumento (baseado na correlação com outros testes que avaliam construtos teoricamente relacionados). A sua principal característica é a abrangência na avaliação da leitura, que considera tanto a fluência de leitura em todas as suas dimensões, desde o processamento da decodificação, prosódia e velocidade, quanto a compreensão de leitura. A amostra normativa foi composta de 200 crianças brasileiras, com idades entre 7 e 10 anos, estudantes do 2º ao 4º ano escolar do Ensino Fundamental de escolas públicas e privadas do Rio Grande do Sul. Os resultados de um dos estudos psicométricos mostraram que os escores no AFLeT estão significativamente correlacionados com o desempenho em tarefas que medem conceitos teoricamente relacionados à fluência de leitura (leitura de palavras/pseudopalavras isoladas e nomeação seriada rápida).

Resumo: Este estudo comparou o conhecimento e a autoeficácia de memória (metamemória) medidos por meio do Questionário de Metamemória em Adultos (MIA), em adultos entre 28 e 59 anos de idade, divididos em dois grupos de escolaridade: até o Ensino Médio (n = 20) e com Ensino Superior (n = 20) completos. Também foi investigada a associação entre metamemória e nível socioeconômico (NSE) e entre frequên-cia de hábitos de leitura (HL) e escrita (HE) na amostra total. Os resultados mostraram que adultos com Ensino Superior completo relataram maior percepção de Controle, maiores Conhecimento e uso de Estratégias de memória em comparação ao outro grupo. Adultos com mais altos NSE, HL e HE relataram conhecer mais estratégias de memória e controlar melhor suas habilidades mnemônicas. Esses indicadores socioeducacionais podem estar associados a um funcionamento metacognitivo mais adaptado. O estudo discute o papel do perfil educacional e das atividades intelectuais de adultos saudáveis economicamente ativos.Palavras-chave: metacognição; memória; fatores socioculturais; escolaridade; neuropsicologia. MEMORY KNOWLEDGE AND MEMORY SELF-EFFICACY IN ADULTS: RELATIONS WITH SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INDICATORSAbstract: This study compared Memory Knowledge and Memory Self-Efficacy (Metamemory), assessed by the Metamemory in Adulthood Questionnaire (MIA), in adults aged from 28 to 59 years, allocated in two educational level groups: up to complete Secondary Education (n = 20) and complete Undergraduates (n = 20). Moreover, we have examined the association between Metamemory and socioeconomic status (SES), and frequency of reading (RH) and writing (WH) habits in the total sample. Results showed that Undergraduate adults perceived themselves with more control over memory and more memory knowledge and usage of strategies compared to the other group. In general, adults with higher SES, RH and WH reported more memory Strategies and more Control over mnemonic abilities. These educational and socioeconomic indicators may be associated with a refined cognitive functioning. We discuss the role of educational profile and intellectual activities in healthy and economically active adults.

RESUMO: Este artigo teve como objetivo principal examinar as funções cognitivas associadas às dificuldades em aritmética, focando com foco em: a) analisar a relação entre o desempenho neuropsicológico e o desempenho em aritmética da amostra total de cada ano escolar; e b) investigar o desempenho dos alunos nas funções neuropsicológicas, divididos de acordo com o desempenho em aritmética, para cada ano escolar. Participaram do estudo 167 alunos do 4.º e do 6.º anos do Ensino Fundamental, com idades entre 9 e 12 anos. As principais análises realizadas envolveram os escores do Subteste de Aritmética do Teste de Desempenho Escolar (TDE) e da bateria de avaliação neuropsicológica NEUPSILIN-Inf. Foram feitas correlações de Pearson entre a amostra total de cada ano escolar e o Teste t para averiguar diferenças entre os grupos, de cada ano escolar, formados com base no desempenho do TDE. Os resultados sugerem que, quanto melhor o desempenho aritmético no TDE, mais altos os escores em memória, cálculos e fluência verbal no NEUPSILIN-Inf. Os alunos do grupo com dificuldades aritméticas apresentaram escores inferiores nos testes que avaliaram, especialmente, funções executivas e memória. Sugere-se um investimento em práticas educacionais que estimulem o desenvolvimento de tais funções cognitivas com o intuito de prevenir as dificuldades aritméticas.

This article aimed at examining the cognitive functions associated with difficulties in arithmetic, with a special focus on a) analyzing the relationship between neuropsychological performance and arithmetic performance in the total sample of each school year; and b) investigating students’ performance in neuropsychological functions, divided according to their performance in arithmetic, for each school year. The participants of this study were 167 students from the 4th and 6th grades of elementary school between the ages of 9 and 12. For the analysis, the main tools used were the scores of the Arithmetic Subtest of the School Performance Test (TDE) and the neuropsychological assessment battery NEUPSILIN-Inf. Pearson correlations were made between the total sample of each school year and the t-test, in order to find differences between the groups of each school year, formed according to the performance of the TDE. The results suggest that the better the arithmetic performance in the TDE, the higher the scores in memory, calculations, and verbal fluency on NEUPSILIN-Inf. Students in the group with arithmetic difficulties had lower scores on the tests, which especially evaluated executive functions and memory. Investments should be made in the future for educational practices that encourage the development of such cognitive functions, in order to prevent arithmetic difficulties.