Advertise on podcast: Meet the Authors: A Neuropsychology Podcast

In this episode, host Dr. Scott Sperling and student leader Steven Harris meet with authors Nishaat Mukadam and Dr. Alice Cronin-Golomb to discuss their recent paper, Subjective Cognitive Concerns and Global Metacognitive Bias in Prodromal Parkinson's and Parkinson's Disease without Cognitive Impairment. The authors share insights from their study examining the relationship between subjective cognitive concerns and objective cognitive performance in individuals with Parkinson's disease, prodromal Parkinson's disease, and healthy controls. The conversation highlights changes in metacognitive bias over time, the influence of depression and anxiety on perceptions of cognitive functioning, and the potential implications of these findings for understanding subjective cognitive concerns and supporting early intervention in Parkinson's disease.

In this episode, host Dr. Scott Sperling and student leader Jared Jacoboson Cherry meet with author Dr. Michael Culbertson to discuss his recent paper, Obtaining Comparable Measurement of Midlife Cognitive Functioning from Disparate Cognitive Tasks. Dr. Culbertson shares insights from his study addressing a common challenge in cognitive aging research: how to obtain comparable measures of cognitive functioning when participants complete different cognitive tasks or assessment methods. Drawing on data from the High School and Beyond Study, the conversation highlights psychometric approaches for linking cognitive performance across phone- and web-based assessments, as well as the benefits and limitations of incorporating explanatory variables into cognitive measurement. The conversation also goes over how these methods may be applied across diverse samples and longitudinal studies to improve the measurement of cognitive functioning in aging research.

In this episode, student leader Steven Harris meets with authors Dr. Alexandra Clark and Abbey Hamlin to discuss their recent paper, Locus of Control Moderates the Effects of Residential Segregation on Everyday Functioning in Black Older Adults From the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly Study. The authors share insights from their study examining how locus of control influences the relationship between residential segregation and everyday functioning over a 10-year period among Black older adults. The conversation explores the complex interplay between neighborhood environments, psychosocial factors, and healthy cognitive aging, highlighting the importance of addressing both individual- and structural-level factors to reduce disparities and promote independence in later life.

In this episode, our host, Dr. Scott Sperling, and student leader, Jared Jacoboson Cherry, meet with authors Dr. Kristina Gicas and Michelle Blumberg to discuss their recent paper, Examination of Objective and Subjective Cognition and Their Association With Functional Outcomes: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Canadian Sample of Homeless and Precariously Housed Adults. The authors share insights from their cross-sectional study of 88 community-dwelling adults experiencing homelessness or precarious housing, which examined the associations between facets of cognition and domains of quality of life and perceived everyday functioning. The conversation explores the importance of involving this population in clinical research and how subjective cognitive measures could be included alongside objective measures to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the needs of homeless populations.

In this episode, our host, Dr. Scott Sperling, and student leader, Steven Harris, meet with authors Dr. Roee Holtzer and Andrew Fox to discuss their recent paper, Mediating Effect of Cognitive Reserve on Associations Between Processing Speed and Memory in Older Adults with and without Multiple Sclerosis. The authors share insights from their study of 104 older adults with MS and 105 healthy controls who underwent neuropsychological testing and brain magnetic resonance imaging. Using regression modeling to derive cognitive reserve, they found that cognitive reserve fully mediated the association between processing speed and immediate verbal recall, and partially mediated the association for delayed recall. The conversation explores how these findings highlight the protective role of cognitive reserve against memory decline in older adults, regardless of the presence of Multiple Sclerosis.

In this episode, our host, Dr. Scott Sperling, and student leader, Jared Jacoboson Cherry, meet with authors Sophie van der Landen and Dr. Sietske Sikkes to discuss their recent paper, "The relationship between cognitive domains and everyday functioning in Alzheimer's disease." The authors share insights from their study of over 600 participants with biomarker-confirmed Alzheimer's disease, ranging from subjective cognitive decline to dementia. Using advanced statistical modeling, they found that difficulties in memory, visual attention, mental flexibility, and visuoconstruction were closely linked to challenges in daily activities, while other cognitive domains like working memory, shifting, fluency, and inhibition, and naming were not. The conversation explores how these findings could shape more personalized care strategies and improve outcomes in clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease.

In this episode of Meet the Authors, Dr. Scott Sperling is joined by first author Dr. Brandon Gavett to discuss his paper, Domain-Specific Changes in Everyday Cognition: Associations with Diagnosis Change and Gray Matter Volume Change. Drawing on longitudinal data from 891 older adults, the study examines how cognitive abilities change over time and how these changes relate to diagnostic transitions and brain atrophy. Findings highlight the sensitivity of the Everyday Cognition (ECog) scale to clinical disease severity and underlying gray matter atrophy when used longitudinally.

In this episode, Dr. Scott Sperling discusses the article Inhibitory Control Underpins the Relationship Between Cognitive and Psychological Inflexibility After a Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury with authors Drs. Diane Whiting and Josh Faulkner. This study examined how deficits in cognitive flexibility relate to psychological inflexibility and distress among individuals with a traumatic brain injury (N = 66). Results showed that poorer performance on the Stroop color-word task, a measure of inhibitory control, was significantly associated with greater psychological inflexibility and distress. Overall, findings support the idea that cognitive flexibility—particularly inhibitory control—is a key component of psychological inflexibility.

In this episode, Dr. Scott Sperling discusses the article Joint Effects of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Cannabis on Neurocognition with first author Ashley Adams, MS and senior author Dr. Raul Gonzalez. This study explored the effects of cannabis use and HIV on neurocognition in a demographically diverse sample (N = 269). Results showed that participants who endorsed cannabis use (CB+) and had an HIV diagnosis (HIV+) were more likely to be labeled with a memory impairment compared to controls (CB-/HIV-). Addiitionally, the CB+/HIV- was twice as likely to be labeled with an executive functioning impairment compared to controls. Overall, results suggest that cannabis use confers risk for neurocognitive decline in HIV; however, risk must be weighted against potential effect on symptoms.

In this episode, Dr. Scott Sperling and student leader, Grace Goodwin, discuss the article The Association of Multilingualism with Diverse Language Families and Cognition Among Adults with and without Education in India with the senior author, Dr. Miguel Arce Rentería. This study leveraged the rich linguistic diversity across all socioeconomic gradients in India to understand how multilinguilism impacts cognition later in life in individuals with and without formal education. Participants were from The Longitudinal Aging Study in India-Diagnostic Assessment of Dementia which included 4,088 individuals, 54% of whom did not have formal education. Analyses employed education-stratified regression models. Results showed that for individuals with formal education, multilingualism was associated with better cognitive functioning. For individuals without formal education, results differed based on the similarity of languages known by the individual such that those who knew multiple languages that were more similar linguistically (over those who knew multiple dissimilar languages) had better executive functioning than monolinguals. This study adds to our understanding related to the impact of multilingualism (including language similarity) and education on cognition in an aging population.

In this episode, Dr. Scott Sperling and Dr. Elaine Schultz discuss the article p-Tau/Aβ42 ratio associates with cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment, and cognitively unimpaired older adults with two the paper's authors, Dr. Ruchika Prakash and Michael McKenna. The goal of the study was to examine whether a CSF-based p-Tau/Aβ42 ratio predicted aspects of cognition (global cognitive functioning, episodic memory, and executive functioning) over a 2-year period (data collected at baseline, 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months). This study utilized data from 1,215 older adults through the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative including those who were cognitive unimpaired, those with mild cognitive impairment, and those with Alzheimer's Disease. Results showed that the p-Tau/Aβ42 ratio predicted global cognitive decline and episodic memory decline in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease and was able to predict decline in executive functioning across all group. This study highlights the potential impact of Alzheimer's-related pathology in the broader aging population on cognitive abilities, with particular impact on executive functioning.

In this episode, Dr. Scott Sperling and Dr. Kritika Nayar discuss the article Pediartic cognitive reserve moderates the effect of brain structure in Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Evidence for an optimized residual approach with the paper's first author Dr. Zubin Irani. This study examined the construct validity of a residual-based cognitive reserve index in a sample of pediatric patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Analyses included 115 children, 43 of which met diagnostic criteria for ADHD. Each participant underwent neuropsychological testing and neuroimaging at multiple time points. Statistical methods involved elastic-net regularized linear regression. Overall, cognitive reserve was shown to predict academic achievement (math computation at baseline, change in word reading over time). There was also evidence of cognitive reserve moderating the effect of total grey matter volume on baseline academic academic achievement as well as baseline ADHD symptoms. Taken together, results support this methodology for calculating cognitive reserve and its utility in a pediatric population.

In this episode, Dr. Scott Sperling and student leader, Dr. Lisa Cruz, discuss the article The association of sociodemographic factors with total and item-level semantic fluency metrics with the paper's first author, Magdalena Beran, and senior author Dr. Jet Vonk. In this study, explored the association between sociodemographic factors (e.g., age, sex, level of education) and semantic fluency metrics (e.g., number of words, average cluster size, number of cluster switches, lexical/Zipf frequency, age of acquisition, and lexical decision response time). Analyses utilized data from 3 cross-sectional cohorts, totaling 2,391 individuals. Overall, results indicated that semantic fluency metrics are associated with effects of age, education, and sex/gender which can help to inform the generalizability of semantic fluency data.

In this episode, Dr. Scott Sperling and student leader, Ms. Grace Goodwin, discuss the article The role of working memory and organizational skills in academic functioning for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder with the paper's first author, doctoral candidate, Ms. Alissa Cole. Using bias-corrected, bootstrapped latent path analyses, this study explored the unique and shared contributions of working memory and organizational skills on academic achievement and performance in a sample of 309 children with and without Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Results highlight the extent to which working memory and organizational skills both separately and together impact academic achievement and academic performance, explaining as much as 100% of the variance, as well as eclipsing the diagnosis of ADHD itself in certain models. Overall, findings have strong real-world implications for interventions related to learning for children with ADHD.

In this episode, Dr. Scott Sperling and student leader, Dr. Elaine Schultz, discuss the article Psychometric properties of two instruments assessing catastrophizing and fear-avoidance behavior in mild traumatic brain injury with two of the paper's authors, Skye King and Dr. Melloney Wijenberg. This study aimed to invesigate the factor structure, internal consistency, test-restest reliability, and concurrent and construct validity of the Postconcussion Symptom Catastrophizing Scale (PCS-CS) and the Fear of Mental Activity Scale (FMA) in a sample of participants with mild TBI compared to orthopedic injury and healthy adults. The sample was comprised of 185 mTBI participants, 180 with orthopedic injury, and 116 healthy adults. Findings supported a three-factor model (magnification, rumination, helplessness) with a higher order factor (catastrophizing) for the PCS-CS and a two-factor model (activity avoidance and somatic focus) for the FMA. Results supported strong internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent validity. Overall, this study provided evidence of psychometric strength for these measures and support their use in research and cllinical practice in mTBI to better understand prolonged recovery.