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.

The aim of the present study was to review the tasks that have been used to assess the functioning of the episodic buffer in Baddeley's multicomponent model of working memory. A systematic review of studies published from January 2000 to February 2013 was conducted. The search term "episodic buffer" was used in the Web of Knowledge, PsycINFO, PubMed, Embase, and BVS-Psi databases. The selected articles consisted of empirical studies that used tasks to assess the episodic buffer. Theoretical and review papers and studies with animals were excluded. The final sample comprised 36 papers. The tasks were categorized as experimental tasks or standardized tests. The experimental tasks were grouped by modality (unimodal or crossmodal) and described according to four criteria: task to be performed, type of stimulus used, secondary task employed, if any, and retention interval. The standardized tests included classical measures of working memory. Some tasks were found not to meet experimental criteria that were needed to evaluate the episodic buffer. Moreover, some of the standardized tests did not provide theoretical arguments or empirical evidence that the episodic buffer is recruited to perform them. The results are discussed in the context of the multicomponent model of working memory.

Se comparó el número total de palabras producidas, el número de clusters y switches y la media del tamaño de clusters en fluencia verbal con criterio semántico y ortográfico, y el desempeño entre estas tareas en cada uno de los grupos. Se analizaron correlaciones entre estas variables y datos sociodemográficos. En la muestra hubo 43 adultos con lesión cerebrovascular (11 con lesión en el hemisferio cerebral derecho - lhd, 32 con lesión en el hemisferio cerebral izquierdo - lhe) y 40 adultos neurológicamente saludables. Los resultados principales indicaron un mayor número de palabras producidas, número de clusters y switches en ambas tareas de fluencia verbal en los adultos del grupo control en comparación con el grupo con lhe, pero un rendimiento similar en el grupo con lhd. En la tarea con criterio ortográfico, el grupo con lhd produjo mayor número de palabras, clusters y switches que el grupo con lhe. Los grupos presentaron mejor desempeño en fluencia verbal semántica en comparación con la ortográfica. Análisis cualitativos permitieron identificar procesos cognitivos distintos en fluencia verbal después de lesión cerebrovascular unilateral.Palabras clave: accidente cerebrovascular, fluencia verbal, funciones ejecutivas, evaluación neuropsicológica.

ResumoEstímulos em tarefas de avaliação neuropsicológica da leitura de palavras devem ser sensíveis aos efeitos psicolinguísticos e aos tipos de erros que indiquem processamentos falhos e preservados. O objetivo deste estudo foi apresentar o processo de construção de uma tarefa de leitura de palavras e pseudopalavras e avaliar o desempenho de leitores profi cientes. Foram utilizados estímulos selecionados de listas de palavras, considerando os critérios de frequência, extensão, lexicalidade e regularidade, que passaram por um processo de análise entre três juízes. Para a avaliação do desempenho, participaram 35 crianças (M = 10,80; DP = 0,83 anos) de escolas particulares de Porto Alegre e 54 adultos, divididos em dois grupos de escolaridade: até 10 anos de estudo (n = 25) e 11 ou mais anos de estudo (n = 29). Observaram-se os efeitos psicolinguísticos de lexicalidade, frequência, extensão e regularidade, indicando que os estímulos da tarefa eram apropriados. O desempenho na tarefa correlacionou-se signifi cativa e positivamente com escolaridade e hábitos de leitura e escrita. Na comparação entre grupos, observou--se que os adultos com menor escolaridade tiveram desempenho inferior ao dos adultos com maior escolaridade e das crianças. Além de ressaltar a infl uência da idade e da escolaridade dos participantes, os dados apresentados podem auxiliar clínicos que desejam utilizar essa tarefa em uma avaliação mais aprofundada da leitura de palavras e pseudopalavras.Palavras-chave: Leitura, avaliação neuropsicológica, adultos, crianças, modelo de dupla-rota.

This study aimed to develop a short version of an instrument to detect cognitive impairment in stroke patients, investigate which cognitive dimensions best discriminate between stroke patients and healthy adults and to graphically analyze the relationships among the neuropsychological variables and groups. This pilot study included 94 adults (49 post-stroke and 45 neurologically healthy) who answered the Brief Neuropsychological Assessment Battery NEUPSILIN for patients with expressive aphasia (NEUPSILIN-Af) to assess orientation, perception, memory, praxis, executive functions, oral language, and academic achievement (written language and arithmetic). The IRT Rasch model for dichotomous data indicated the exclusion of items that could not be used to discriminate performances. ROC curves indicated that only the orientation, oral language, academic achievement, and executive function dimensions could be used to differentiate between the clinical and healthy groups. Graphical analysis indicated that independently of the relation among variables, orientation and executive functions tasks are essentials in the neuropsychological assessments. This study contributes to the development of specific and sensitive neuropsychological instruments to assess stroke patients and to better understand the common deficits present in this clinical population.

ObjectiveThis paper reviews the methodological characteristics of studies on rehabilitation of expressive aphasia, describing the techniques of rehabilitation used.MethodsThe databases Medline, Science Direct and PubMed were searched for relevant articles (January 1999 to December 2011) using the keywords Expressive / Broca / Nonfluent Aphasia, combined with Language or Speech Rehabilitation / Therapy / Intervention.ResultsA total of 56 articles were retrieved describing rehabilitation techniques, including 22 with a focus on lexical processing, 18 on syntax stimulation, seven with the aim of developing speech and nine with multiple foci.ConclusionA variety of techniques and theoretical approaches are available, highlighting the heterogeneity of research in this area. This diversity can be justified by the uniqueness of patients' language deficits, making it difficult to generalize. In addition, there is a need to combine the formal measures of tests with measures of pragmatic and social skills of communication to determine the effect of rehabilitation on the patient's daily life.

ResumoNeste estudo, investigaram-se efeitos de idade e escolaridade e suas interações no desempenho de adultos no Instrumento de Avaliação Neuropsicológica Breve NEUPSILIN, que avalia orientação têmporo-espacial, atenção, percepção, memória, linguagem, calculias, praxias e funções executivas. Participaram 627 adultos saudáveis (19 a 90 anos), divididos em três grupos, conforme escolaridade (1 a 4, 5 a 8 e 9 anos ou mais de estudo) e em quatro grupos por idade (19 a 39, 40 a 59, 60 a 75 e 76 a 90 anos). Encontraram-se efeitos de idade e escolaridade em atenção, percepção, memória (de trabalho, verbal episódica, semântica, visual e prospectiva), linguagem oral e escrita, praxias e funções executivas. Interações entre idade e escolaridade foram encontradas em atenção, memória verbal, linguagem oral e escrita. Os resultados destacam que o envelhecimento e a escolaridade impactam de forma heterogênea nas funções cognitivas, assim como os testes neuropsicológicos brasileiros devem sempre considerar a influência dessas variáveis para produzir seus dados normativos. Palavras-chave: cognição, envelhecimento, educação, neuropsicologia Effect of age and schooling in the NEUPSILIN Brief Neuropsychological Assessment Instrument AbstractThis study investigated the effects of age and schooling and their interactions on the performance of adults in the NEUPSILIN Brief Neuropsychological Assessment Instrument, which evaluates time and space orientation, attention, perception, memory, language, calculation, motor functions, and executive functions. The sample was composed of 627 healthy adults (19 to 90 years), who were divided into three groups according to education range (1 to 4, 5 to 8 and 9 or more years of study) and into four groups by age range (19-39, 40-59, 60-75 and 76-90 years). We identified age and schooling effects in attention, perception, memory (working, verbal episodic, semantic, visual and prospective memory), oral and written language, motor functions, and executive functions. Interactions between age and schooling were observed in attention, verbal memory, and oral and written language tasks. The results highlighted that aging and schooling impact cognitive functions heterogeneously, and that Brazilian neuropsychological tests should always consider the influence of these variables to produce their normative data. Efecto de edad y escolaridad en Instrumento de Evaluación Neuropsicológica Breve NEUPSILIN ResumenEn este estudio se investigaron los efectos de edad y escolaridad, y las interacciones en el desempeño de adultos en el Instrumento de Evaluación Neuropsicológica Breve NEUPSILIN que evalúa la orientación espacio-temporal, atención, percepción, memoria, lenguaje, cálculos, prácticas y funciones ejecutivas. Participaron 627 adultos que gozaban de buena salud (19-90 años), divididos en tres grupos según el nivel educativo (1 a 4, 5 a 8 y 9 o más años de estudio) y cuatro grupos por edad (19 a 39, 40 a 59, 60 a 75 y 76 a 90 años). Se encontraron efectos de la edad y de educación en atención, percepción, me...

This study presents the construction process of the Cognitive Screening Instrument (TRIACOG) for evaluating poststroke adults. The TRIACOG has undergone a rigorous developmental process: (a) literature review; (b) analysis of the most sensitive items on a brief neuropsychological evaluation to differentiate between clinical and healthy cases; (c) addition of items; (d) content analysis by expert judges; (e) reformulation of the instrument; (f) pilot study; (g) reformulation of the instrument; (h) a second pilot study in a clinical sample; and (i) analysis of evidence of criterion validity. The TRIACOG evaluates 8 functions: orientation, verbal and visual episodic-semantic memory, praxis, attention/working memory, executive functions, language, and numerical processing. The TRIACOG provides evidence of content and criterion validity. This article may guide the construction of items of other neuropsychological instruments. It is hoped that the TRIACOG may contribute to studies and neuropsychological clinical trials that evaluate poststroke patients.