The Cognitive Estimation Test (CET) is widely used by clinicians and researchers to assess the ability to produce reasonable cognitive estimates. Although several studies have published normative data for versions of the CET, many of the items are now outdated and parallel forms of the test do not exist to allow cognitive estimation abilities to be assessed on more than one occasion. In the present study, we devised two new 9-item parallel forms of the CET. These versions were administered to 184 healthy male and female participants aged 18–79 years with 9–22 years of education. Increasing age and years of education were found to be associated with successful CET performance as well as gender, intellect, naming, arithmetic and semantic memory abilities. To validate that the parallel forms of the CET were sensitive to frontal lobe damage, both versions were administered to 24 patients with frontal lobe lesions and 48 age-, gender- and education-matched controls. The frontal patients’ error scores were significantly higher than the healthy controls on both versions of the task. This study provides normative data for parallel forms of the CET for adults which are also suitable for assessing frontal lobe dysfunction on more than one occasion without practice effects.

BackgroundThe number of people with disabilities in Brazil and worldwide has grown substantially in recent decades. Cross-cultural quality of life instruments can be helpful in the development of interventions designed to meet the needs of this population and contribute to rational allocation of resources. This study sought to provide evidence of validity and reliability the Brazilian Portuguese version of WHOQOL-Dis-D (a cross-cultural, multicentre instrument developed by the WHOQOL-Group for the assessment of quality of life in persons with physical disability – PD) and WHOQOL-Dis-ID (for persons with intellectual disability – ID).MethodsClassical psychometric methods were used to conduct independent analyses of the PD and ID samples. Criterion groups were established for analysis of construct validity. Concurrent validity was assessed in relation to SWLS and BDI-II scores; discriminant validity, in relation to WHODAS-II. Cronbach alpha was used to test the instrument scales and subscales for reliability. The ID subgroup was retested, and test-retest reliability assessed by means of intraclass correlation coefficients and paired Student’s t-test.ResultsA total of 162 (98 females) people with PD and 156 (55 females) people with ID participated in the study. Cronbach alpha was satisfactory across practically all domains and factors in the PD subsample. In IDs, most factors or domains had coefficients higher than 0.70, but four subscales exhibited less satisfactory performance. Evidence of construct and concurrent validity and reliability were obtained.ConclusionsThe analyses presented herein provide satisfactory evidence of the validity and reliability of the instrument and corroborated the factor structure revealed during cross-cultural research. Further studies with larger sample sizes are required to obtain additional evidence of validity and reliability.

The aim of the present study was to identify relevant variables associated with Quality of Life (QoL) in older adults. Older adults, up to 60 years old, were interviewed. Subjects were recruited through convenience sampling. 339 paticipants, who were stratified by gender, age, and subjective perception of health and illness, answered questions on sociodemographic issues, QoL (WHOQOL-100) and depressive symptomathology (Beck Depression Inventory-BDI). The multiple linear regression analysis showed associations of overall perception of QoL with

Resumo: A relação entre linguagem e funções executivas, também conhecidas como funções cognitivas complexas, já foi estabelecida no passado por Luria e Vygotsky. Este artigo tem por objetivo revisar o conceito de funções executivas sob as perspectivas neuropsicológica e cognitiva. Alguns dos reconhecidos modelos sobre processamento das funções executivas são apresentados, assim como estudos recentes sobre funções executivas em crianças. O desenvolvimento das funções executivas é discutido sob o ponto de vista biológico, neuropsicológico e cognitivo, destacando-se a importância da linguagem nesses processos, enquanto função reguladora da ação intencional. Essa discussão propõe que aspectos do desenvolvimento sejam incluídos nos modelos futuros sobre funções executivas.Palavras-chave: linguagem, intencionalidade, lobo frontal, desenvolvimento. Abstract:The relation between language and executive functions, also known as complex cognitive functions, has already been established in the past by Luria and Vygotsky. This article revises the concept of executive functions from a neuropsychological and cognitive perspective. Some of the executive function recognized models, as well as studies about executive functions in children, are presented. The development of executive functions is discussed from a biological, neuropsychological and cognitive perspective. The importance of language in these processes, as a regulative function of intentional action, is emphasized. This discussion proposes that developmental aspects should be included in models about executive functions.