A b s t r a c t Objective: The Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test is a widely recognized test in neuropsychological literature to evaluate learning and memory. This paper presents the performance of six age groups of Brazilian elderly on the Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test. Method: A version of the test was developed with a list of high-frequency one-syllable and two-syllable concrete Portuguese substantives. Two hundred and twenty-three subjects of both genders were allocated to 6 age groups (60-64, 65-69; 70-74; 75-79; 80-84 and 85-89 years old) and tested with the Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test. Results: Educational level and age had a positive and a negative correlation, respectively, with performance on the Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test. Women performed significantly better than men. Our results were similar to those found for the Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test English version, across similar age ranges. Conclusion: Our results suggest that the Brazilian Portuguese Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test adaptation was adequate and applicable for evaluating the memory capacity of Brazilian subjects, across similar age and educational levels.Descriptors: Memory; Aging; Auditory perception; Learning; Neuropsychological tests Resumo Objetivo: O teste de aprendizagem auditivo-verbal de Rey é um teste mundialmente reconhecido na literatura neuropsicológica que avalia aprendizagem e memória. Este trabalho apresenta a performance de seis grupos de idosos brasileiros (agrupados em faixas etárias distintas) no teste de aprendizagem auditivo-verbal de Rey. Método: A versão utilizada do teste foi desenvolvida com uma lista de substantivos concretos com uma ou duas sílabas muito freqüentes na língua portuguesa falada no Brasil. Duzentos e vinte e três sujeitos de ambos os sexos foram alocados em seis grupos de acordo com a idade (60-64, 65-69; 70-74; 75-79; 80-84 e 85-89 anos) e submetidos ao teste de aprendizagem auditivo-verbal de Rey. Resultados: O nível educacional e a idade tiveram correlação positiva e negativa, respectivamente, com a performance no teste de aprendizagem auditivo-verbal de Rey. Mulheres desempenharam o teste significativamente melhor que os homens. Nossos resultados são semelhantes aos encontrados na versão inglesa do teste de aprendizagem auditivo-verbal de Rey para sujeitos com idade semelhante. Conclusão: Nossos resultados sugerem que a adaptação brasileira do teste de aprendizagem auditivo-verbal de Rey é adequada e aplicável para avaliação da memória em sujeitos brasileiros de mesma idade e nível educacional.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by inattention and/or hyperactivity/impulsivity. Impulsivity persists in adults with ADHD and might be the basis of much of the impairment observed in the daily lives of such individuals. The objective of this study was to address the presence, and more importantly, the three dimensions of impulsivity: attentional, non-planning and motor, in how they may relate to neuropsychological mechanisms of impulse control. We studied a sample of 50 adults with ADHD and 51 healthy comparison controls using the Barratt Impulsivity Scale Version 11 (BIS), and neuropsychological tasks, namely the Continuous Performance Task (CPT-II) and the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). The ADHD group showed more signs of impulsivity on the three dimensions of BIS, committed more errors of omission and commission on the CPT-II, and made more disadvantageous choices on the IGT. These results support the existence of deficits related to three components of impulsivity: motor, cognitive, and attentional among adults with ADHD. Most importantly, this study also highlights the complementary nature of self-report questionnaires and neuropsychological tasks in the assessment of impulsivity in ADHD adults.

Our results provide additional evidence that depressive symptoms determine an additive risk effect to the progression to dementia in subjects with MCI. The comorbidity between depression and cognitive impairment can be an intervention target for prevention of dementia in MCI subjects. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Verbal fluency is the ability to produce a satisfying sequence of spoken words during a given time interval. The core of verbal fluency lies in the capacity to manage the executive aspects of language. The standard scores of the semantic verbal fluency test are broadly used in the neuropsychological assessment of the elderly, and different analytical methods are likely to extract even more information from the data generated in this test. Graph theory, a mathematical approach to analyze relations between items, represents a promising tool to understand a variety of neuropsychological states. This study reports a graph analysis of data generated by the semantic verbal fluency test by cognitively healthy elderly (NC), patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment—subtypes amnestic (aMCI) and amnestic multiple domain (a+mdMCI)—and patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Sequences of words were represented as a speech graph in which every word corresponded to a node and temporal links between words were represented by directed edges. To characterize the structure of the data we calculated 13 speech graph attributes (SGA). The individuals were compared when divided in three (NC—MCI—AD) and four (NC—aMCI—a+mdMCI—AD) groups. When the three groups were compared, significant differences were found in the standard measure of correct words produced, and three SGA: diameter, average shortest path, and network density. SGA sorted the elderly groups with good specificity and sensitivity. When the four groups were compared, the groups differed significantly in network density, except between the two MCI subtypes and NC and aMCI. The diameter of the network and the average shortest path were significantly different between the NC and AD, and between aMCI and AD. SGA sorted the elderly in their groups with good specificity and sensitivity, performing better than the standard score of the task. These findings provide support for a new methodological frame to assess the strength of semantic memory through the verbal fluency task, with potential to amplify the predictive power of this test. Graph analysis is likely to become clinically relevant in neurology and psychiatry, and may be particularly useful for the differential diagnosis of the elderly.

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reSumo objetivos: Os objetivos deste estudo foram traduzir, adaptar culturalmente e verificar a equivalência literal, semântica e idiomática da Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11), que avalia a presença de manifestações da impulsividade tendo como base o modelo teórico proposto por Ernst Barratt. métodos: Inicialmente, a versão original em inglês da BIS-11 foi traduzida para o português por seis pesquisadores bilíngues. Em seguida, foi realizada uma tradução reversa para o inglês por uma tradutora de origem norte-americana. As versões original, traduzida e retraduzida foram avaliadas por um comitê de juízes especialistas, os quais emitiram pareceres com as observações pertinentes, o que culminou em uma versão final traduzida da BIS-11. As versões original e traduzida foram aplicadas em duas amostras da população geral com proficiência na língua inglesa, a fim de investigar a equivalência literal, semântica e idiomática da versão traduzida por meio de análises de correlação. conclusão: Os resultados das análises quantitativas indicaram que a versão final do instrumento é satisfatória. (original, translated and back-translated) abStract Objectives: The objective of this study was to translate, make transcultural adaptation and assess the semantic, idiomatic and literal equivalence of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11). Methods: This scale assesses the presence of impulsive manifestations from the theoretical model proposed by Ernst Barratt. Firstly, the BIS-11 original version in English was translated to Portuguese by six bilingual researches. After this, was made the back-translation to English by a translator that was born in United States. Then, the three versions