A s the field of prospective memory (ProM) research has expanded, recognition of the need to make a clinical diagnosis of ProM difficulties has also increased. In addition, there is increasing interest in understanding in more detail the ways in which ProM deficits differ in populations with different underlying neurological dysfunctions. While questionnaires, naturalistic studies and laboratory studies have all been invaluable in furthering our understanding of ProM, until recently there has not been a standardised clinical measure. The Memory for Intentions Screening Test (MIST) was designed to be a relatively brief clinical measure of ProM in clinical populations. The MIST allows for comparisons of performance with event-based and time-based cues. The MIST also has some items with a short (2-minute) and some with a long (15-minute) delay period. Finally, the MIST contains items that require a verbal response as well as items that require an action response. The MIST has now been used in studies of normal ageing as well as a range of clinical populations, including individuals with traumatic brain injury, individuals with HIV infection and individuals with schizophrenia. The psychometric properties of the MIST have been found to be acceptable. Data from each of the clinical populations that have been administered the MIST demonstrate good specificity and sensitivity of the measure as well as the ability to begin to make comparisons about different patterns of performance between disease types.

Objective-The aim of the current study was to clarify the nature and extent of impairment in time-versus event-based prospective memory in Parkinson's disease (PD). Prospective memory is thought to involve cognitive processes that are mediated by prefrontal systems and are executive in nature. Given that individuals with PD frequently show executive dysfunction, it is important to determine whether these individuals may have deficits in prospective memory that could impact daily functions, such as taking medications. Although it has been reported that individuals with PD evidence impairment in prospective memory, it is still unclear whether they show a greater deficit for time-versus event-based cues.Method-Fifty-four individuals with PD and 34 demographically similar healthy adults were administered a standardized measure of prospective memory that allows for a direct comparison of time-based and event-based cues. In addition, participants were administered a series of standardized measures of retrospective memory and executive functions.Results-Individuals with PD demonstrated impaired prospective memory performance compared to the healthy adults, with a greater impairment demonstrated for the time-based tasks. Time-based prospective memory performance was moderately correlated with measures of executive functioning, but only the Stroop Neuropsychological Screening Test emerged as a unique predictor in a linear regression. McDaniel and Einstein's (2000) multi-process theory to suggest that individuals with PD experience particular difficulty executing a future intention when the cue to execute the prescribed intention requires higher levels of executive control. Conclusions-Findings are interpreted within the context ofReprint requests to: Sarah Raskin, Ph. D., Trinity College, 300 Summit Street, Life Sciences Center 201, Hartford, CT 06106; 870-297-2342 (ph); Electronic mail can be sent to Sarah.Raskin@trincoll.edu. Publisher's Disclaimer: The following manuscript is the final accepted manuscript. It has not been subjected to the final copyediting, fact-checking, and proofreading required for formal publication. It is not the definitive, publisher-authenticated version. The American Psychological Association and its Council of Editors disclaim any responsibility or liabilities for errors or omissions of this manuscript version, any version derived from this manuscript by NIH, or other third parties. The published version is available at www.apa.org/pubs/journals/neu NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptNeuropsychology. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2012 March 1. Deficits in episodic memory and executive functions are the most common neuropsychological sequelae of Parkinson's disease (PD). Mild-to-moderate impairment in verbal and visual episodic memory and executive functions may already be observed at (or very near) the time of diagnosis of PD (Foltynie et al., 2004;Muslimovic et al., 2005). Although there is considerable heterogeneity among individuals (Filoteo et al., 1997), the profile of epis...

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BackgroundAlcohol and marijuana are the two most abused substances in US colleges. However, research on the combined influence (cross sectional or longitudinal) of these substances on academic performance is currently scant.MethodsData were derived from the longitudinal 2-year Brain and Alcohol Research in College Students (BARCS) study including 1142 freshman students who completed monthly marijuana use and alcohol consumption surveys. Subjects were classified into data-driven groups based on their alcohol and marijuana consumption. A linear mixed-model (LMM) was employed using this grouping factor to predict grade point average (GPA), adjusted for a variety of socio-demographic and clinical factors.ResultsThree data-driven clusters emerged: 1) No/low users of both, 2) medium-high alcohol/no-low marijuana, and 3) medium-high users of both substances. Individual cluster derivations between consecutive semesters remained stable. No significant interaction between clusters and semester (time) was noted. Post-hoc analysis suggest that at the outset, compared to sober peers, students using moderate to high levels of alcohol and low marijuana demonstrate lower GPAs, but this difference becomes non-significant over time. In contrast, students consuming both substances at moderate-to-high levels score significantly lower at both the outset and across the 2-year investigation period. Our follow-up analysis also indicate that when students curtailed their substance use over time they had significantly higher academic GPA compared to those who remained stable in their substance use patterns over the two year period.ConclusionsOverall, our study validates and extends the current literature by providing important implications of concurrent alcohol and marijuana use on academic achievement in college.