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Background Wealth mobility, as both relative (positional) and absolute (material) wealth acquisition, may counteract negative consequences of early life adversities on adult health. Methods We use longitudinal data (1967–2018) from the INCAP birth cohort, Guatemala (n = 1386). Using wealth as a measure of socio-economic position, we assess the association of life course relative mobility using latent class analysis and absolute material gains using conditional wealth measures. We estimate associations of wealth mobility with indicators of human capital, specifically height, weight status (BMI in kg/m2), psychological distress (WHO SRQ-20 score) and fluid intelligence (Ravens Progressive Matrices score; RPM) in middle adulthood. Results We identified four latent classes of relative mobility – Stable Low (n = 498), Stable High (n = 223), Downwardly Mobile (n = 201) and Upwardly Mobile (n = 464). Attained schooling (years) was positively associated with membership in Upwardly Mobile (odds ratio; 1.50, 95%CI: 1.31, 1.71) vs Stable Low, and inversely with membership in Downwardly Mobile (0.65, 95%CI: 0.54, 0.79) vs Stable High. Being Upwardly Mobile (vs Stable Low) was positively associated with height (1.88 cm, 95%CI: 1.04, 2.72), relative weight (1.32 kg/m2, 95%CI: 0.57, 2.07), lower psychological distress (−0.82 units, 95%CI: 1.34, −0.29) and fluid intelligence (0.94 units, 95%CI: 0.28, 1.59). Being Downwardly Mobile (vs Stable High) was associated with lower fluid intelligence (−2.69 units, 95%CI: 3.69, −1.68), and higher psychological distress (1.15 units, 95%CI: 0.34, 1.95). Absolute wealth gains (z-scores) from early to middle adulthood were positively associated with relative weight (0.62 kg/m2, 95%CI: 0.28, 0.96), lower psychological distress (−0.37 units, 95%CI: 0.60, −0.14) and fluid intelligence (0.50 units, 95%CI: 0.21, 0.79). Conclusions Higher attained schooling provided a pathway for upward relative mobility and higher absolute wealth gains as well as protection against downward relative mobility. Upward mobility was associated with lower psychological distress and higher fluid intelligence but also higher weight status., Highlights • Early life wealth and educational attainment are associated with upward wealth mobility, both in relative and absolute terms. • Upward relative mobility is associated with lower psychological distress, and higher fluid intelligence and BMI. • Downward relative mobility is associated with lower fluid intelligence, lower height, and higher psychological distress. • Wealth gains from early to middle adulthood were associated with higher BMI and intelligence and lower psychological distress.

Physical fitness is thought to promote cognitive function. Evidence about this is however lacking in the Ghanaian context. This study aimed to investigate the association between physical fitness and cognitive function among basic school children aged 8–13 years. A cross-sectional study involving 591 school children, recruited from 12 randomly selected public and private basic schools was conducted. Physical fitness tests were done using a five-test battery (Fifty metre run, handgrip strength, sit-up, flexibility and standing board jump) following standardized procedures. Cognitive function test using the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (RCPM) were carried out. More girls (55%), children from 8-13 years old (49.1%) and public school children (66.1%) participated in the study. For fitness, boys performed better than girls in sit ups 3.4 ± 2.2 (mean ± SD), p = 0.012, handgrip 4.3 ± 2.0, p = 0.001 and overall fitness 4.3 ± 2.0, p = 0.007. Children in public schools performed significantly better in forward jump (p < 0.001) while those in private schools did better in 50m run (p < 0.001). For cognition, 46.1% of participants had less than 50% of the total score. Cognitive test score varied for forward jump and handgrip alone and not for sit ups, 50m run and overall score. Mean forward jump score was lowest in poor cognition group (4.9 ± 2.3), followed by good (5.3 ± 2.2) and highest among excellent (5.5 ± 2.3, p = 0.044) cognition group. Similar observation was made for handgrip. Cognition score and hand grip strength were positively but weakly correlated. (r = 0.132, p = 0.026). Although handgrip strength (measuring muscular strength) was significantly associated with cognitive function, this study found no significant association between overall physical fitness and cognitive function. These results indicate that only some components of physical fitness may be associated with cognitive function. This study is however correlational and one cannot infer causality., Physical fitness; Cognition; Academic performance; School-aged children; Ghana.

The article presents the results of an empirical study of specific characteristics of the success of boys and girls of primary school age in solving convergent problems under the condition of varying motivational attitudes. The study was conducted in the elementary school of the State Budgetary Educational Institution of Moscow “School No. 1561” educational complex in 2016-2018. The study sample includes 239 second-grade students the average age of whom was 8.2 years old. 137 of the study participants were boys and 102 were girls which constitutes 57% and 43% of the sample, respectively. Motivation is assessed via the authors’ modification of N.V. Elfimova’s method “A ladder of motives”, a version of M. Seligman’s Children’s Attributional Style Questionnaire (CASQ) modified by N.A. Baturina and D.A. Tsiring, and the authors’ modification of C. Dweck’s Implicit Theory Scale. The study of the cognitive sphere of the primary school students involves J. Raven’s progressive matrices test, P. Torrance’s test of creative thinking, and E.E. Tunik’s adaptation of J. Johnson’s creativity scale. Within the framework of the experiment, two blocks of convergent tasks are formed: one including non-verbal transitivity tasks (the logical block) and the other containing volumetric and spatial thinking tasks (the spatial block). It is established that the success of primary school students of both sexes in solving convergent tasks is associated not only with the extrinsic motivational attitude constructed through verbal instruction but also with the specific psychological characteristics of the development of the cognitive and motivational spheres in children. The relationship between the success in solving convergent tasks and the psychological characteristics of cognitive development and the motivational sphere differs for boys and girls of primary school age which manifests most intensely in the level of development of the non-verbal component, the leading motivation, and the specifics of the development of the attributional style of explaining success and failure, as well as its particular components.

BackgroundThe measures taken to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, such as the lockdown in Italy, do impact psychological health; yet, less is known about their effect on cognitive functioning. The transactional theory of stress predicts reciprocal influences between perceived stress and cognitive performance. However, the effects of a period of stress due to social isolation on spatial cognition and exploration have been little examined. The aim of the present study was to investigate the possible effects and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on spatial cognition tasks, particularly those concerning spatial exploration, and the physiological leftward bias known as pseudoneglect. A right-hemisphere asymmetry for spatial attention processes crucially contributes to pseudoneglect. Other evidence indicates a predominantly right-hemisphere activity in stressful situations. We also analyzed the effects of lockdown on coping strategies, which typically show an opposite pattern of hemispheric asymmetry, favoring the left hemisphere. If so, then pseudoneglect should increase during the lockdown and be negatively correlated with the efficacy of coping strategies.MethodsOne week before the start of the lockdown due to COVID-19 in Italy (T1), we had collected data from a battery of behavioral tests including tasks of peri-personal spatial cognition. During the quarantine period, from late April to early May 2020 (T2), we repeated the testing sessions with a subgroup of the same participants (47 right-handed students, mean age = 20, SD = 1.33). At both testing sessions, participants performed digitized neuropsychological tests, including a Cancellation task, Radial Arm Maze task, and Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices. Participants also completed a newly developed COVID-19 Student Stress Scale, based on transactional models of stress, and the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced—New Italian Version (COPE-NIV) to assess coping orientation.ResultsThe tendency to start cancelation from a left-sided item, to explore first a left-sided arm of the maze, and to choose erroneous response items on the left side of the page on Raven’s matrices increased from T1 to T2. The degree of pseudoneglect increment positively correlated with perceived stress and negatively correlated with Positive Attitude and Problem-Solving COPE-NIV subscales.ConclusionLockdown-related stress may have contributed to increase leftward bias during quarantine through a greater activation of the right hemisphere. On the other hand, pseudoneglect was decreased for better coping participants, perhaps as a consequence of a more balanced hemispheric activity in these individuals.

Objective Previous research has shown that cognitive tests can lead to misclassification when applying non-representative norms to measure cognitive performance. The objective of this study was to investigate whether this misclassification also occurs with a non-verbal so-called “culture-free” intelligence test administered to different age groups. Method The intelligence of a sample of healthy Moroccan children (N = 147) ages 7, 9, and 11 was assessed using the Coloured Raven’s Progressive Matrices (CPM). Raw scores were used to study age differences, as well as misclassifications when applying the norms of three countries culturally different from Morocco (United Kingdom, Spain, and Oman). Results Intelligence performance was not within the normal range when non-representative norms were applied to the Moroccan raw scores. Misclassifications accounted for a large percentage of the participants that supposedly displayed intelligence deficits, especially when applying the British norms. Up to 15.68% of the healthy children fell within the “intellectually impaired” range, and up to 62.5% fell “below average,” with these percentages especially higher at older ages. Conclusions Our findings confirm that “culture-free” tests should be adapted to each culture and applied together with their culture’s specific norms to prevent misclassification and allow for a better, unbiased neuropsychological assessment.

We investigated mental rotation in children by systematically varying the adult cube aggregate's set size, rotation angle, and picture/depth plane rotations in a new test. Eighty 4- to 11-year-old mainly middle-class children (British Indian and British African majority and white minority; 40 girls and 40 boys) were assessed using the new matching-to-sample Colored Mental Rotation Test (CMRT) and, for comparison, the Raven Colored Progressive Matrices Test (RCPM). A high Cronbach's alpha of .94 and the Rasch model demonstrated item homogeneity of the CMRT. As expected, there were main effects of age showing increases in accuracy and of sex as boys outperformed girls. A main effect of set size showed that from age four until age 10 as four-cube aggregates proved to be the most economical three-dimensional (3D) object for mental rotation. Several higher-order interactions all involved four-cube aggregates, for example, 3D cube element protrusions had the largest effect in the four-cube-aggregate. We thus suggest that the magical number four (Cowan, 2001) as an attentional limit may also be valid in mental rotation and linked to the 'Good Gestalt' design of the four-cube aggregate. The cross-validation of CMRT with the RCPM showed high correlations increasing from .69 in 4- to 5-year-olds to .77 in 10- to 11-year-olds. Interestingly, 4- to 5-year-olds girls scored higher in the Raven test of nonverbal reasoning than in the CRMT scores with 3D cube aggregates demonstrating the particular complexity of 3D pictorial space. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Background Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a chronic, neuromuscular disease characterized by degeneration of spinal cord motor neurons, resulting in progressive muscular atrophy and weakness. SMA1 is the most severe form characterized by significant bulbar, respiratory, and motor dysfunction. SMA1 prevents children from speaking a clearly understandable and fluent language, with their communication being mainly characterized by eye movements, guttural sounds, and anarthria (type 1a); severe dysarthria (type 1b); and nasal voice and dyslalia (type 1c). The aim of this study was to analyze for the first time cognitive functions, language comprehension, and speech in natural history SMA1 children according to age and subtypes, to develop cognitive and language benchmarks that provide outcomes for the clinical medication trials that are changing SMA1 course/trajectory. Methods This is a retrospective study including 22 children with SMA1 (10 affected by subtype 1a-1b: AB and 12 by 1c: C) aged 3–11 years in clinical stable condition with a coded way to communicate “yes” and “no”. Data from the following assessments have been retrieved from patient charts: one-dimensional Raven test (RCPM), to evaluate cognitive development (IQ); ALS Severity Score (ALSSS) to evaluate speech disturbances; Brown Bellugy modified for Italian standards (TCGB) to evaluate language comprehension; and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Infant Test of Neuromuscular Disorders (CHOP-INTEND) to assess motor functioning. Results SMA 1AB and 1C children were similar in age, with the former characterized by lower CHOP-INTEND scores compared to the latter. All 22 children had collaborated to RCPM and their median IQ was 120 with no difference (p = 0.945) between AB and C. Global median score of the speech domain of the ALSSS was 5; however, it was 2 in AB children, being significantly lower than C (6.5, p < 0.001). TCGB test had been completed by 13 children, with morphosyntactic comprehension being in the normal range (50). Although ALSSS did not correlate with both IQ and TCGB, it had a strong (p < 0.001) correlation with CHOP-INTEND described by an exponential rise to maximum. Conclusions Although speech and motor function were severely compromised, children with SMA1 showed general intelligence and language comprehension in the normal range. Speech impairment was strictly related to global motor impairment.

There has been an increase in cognitive assessment via the Internet, especially since the coronavirus disease 2019 surged the need for remote psychological assessment. This is the first study to investigate the appropriability of conducting cognitive assessments online with children with a neurodevelopmental condition and intellectual disability, namely, Williams syndrome. This study compared Raven’s Colored Progressive Matrices (RCPM) and British Picture Vocabulary Scale (BPVS) scores from two different groups of children with WS age 10–11 years who were assessed online (n = 14) or face-to-face (RCPM n = 12; BPVS n = 24). Bayesian t-tests showed that children’s RCPM scores were similar across testing conditions, but suggested BPVS scores were higher for participants assessed online. The differences between task protocols are discussed in line with these findings, as well as the implications for neurodevelopmental research.

The ability to reason and problem-solve in novel situations, as measured by the Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices (RAPM), is highly predictive of both cognitive task performance and real-world outcomes. Here we provide evidence that RAPM performance depends on the ability to reallocate attention in response to self-generated feedback about progress. We propose that such an ability is underpinned by the basal ganglia nuclei, which are critically tied to both reward processing and cognitive control. This hypothesis was implemented in a neurocomputational model of the RAPM task, which was used to derive novel predictions at the behavioral and neural levels. These predictions were then verified in one neuroimaging and two behavioral experiments. Furthermore, an effective connectivity analysis of the neuroimaging data confirmed a role for the basal ganglia in modulating attention. Taken together, these results suggest that individual differences in a neural circuit related to reward processing underpin human fluid reasoning abilities.

BACKGROUND Exposure to surgery and anesthesia in early childhood has been found to be associated with an increased risk of behavioral deficits. While the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned against prenatal exposure to anesthetic drugs, little clinical evidence exists to support this recommendation. This study evaluates the association between prenatal exposure to general anesthesia due to maternal procedures during pregnancy and neuropsychological and behavioral outcome scores at age 10. METHODS This is an observational cohort study of children born in Perth, Western Australia, with 2 generations of participants contributing data to the Raine Study. In the Raine Study, the first generation (Gen1) are mothers enrolled during pregnancy, and the second generation (Gen2) are the children born to these mothers from 1989 to 1992 with neuropsychological and behavioral tests at age 10 (n=2024). In the primary analysis, 6 neuropsychological and behavioral tests were evaluated at age 10: Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices (CPM), McCarron Assessment of Neuromuscular Development (MAND), Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), Symbol Digit Modality Test (SDMT) with written and oral scores, Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF) with Expressive, Receptive, and Total language scores, and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) with Internalizing, Externalizing, and Total behavior scores. Outcome scores of children prenatally exposed to general anesthesia were compared to children without prenatal exposure using multivariable linear regression models adjusting for demographic and clinical covariates (sex, race, income, and maternal education, alcohol or tobacco use, and clinical diagnoses: diabetes, epilepsy, hypertension, psychiatric disorders, or thyroid dysfunction). Bonferroni adjustment was used for the 6 independent tests in the primary analysis, so a corrected P value

We provide experimental evidence of behavior consistent with the sunk cost effect. Subjects who earned a lottery via a real-effort task were given an opportunity to switch to a dominant lottery; 23% chose to stick with their dominated lottery. The endowment effect accounts for roughly only one third of the effect. Subjects' capacity for cognitive reflection is a significant determinant of sunk cost behavior. We also find stocks of knowledge or experience (crystallized intelligence) predict sunk cost behavior, rather than algorithmic thinking (fluid intelligence) or the personality trait of openness. We construct and validate a scale, the "SCE-8", which encompasses many resources individuals can spend, and offers researchers an efficient way to measure susceptibility to the sunk cost effect.

Working memory (WM) is a predictor of school learning. This study aimed to investigate the predictive power of verbal and non-verbal working memory (WM) on students’ performance in arithmetic. 126 children between 6 and 11 years old participated in the research. The instruments were: School Performance Test, Raven’s Colored Progressive Matrices, Corsi Block-tapping Test, and Digits Subtest. The results showed strong and positive correlations of school performance with fluid intelligence r = 0.64, with verbal WM and non-verbal WM, both with r = 0.51 (p < 0.001). After multiple linear regression, it was found that the performance in visuospatial WM was a strong predictor for arithmetic, an effect not found for reading. The regression showed that WM explains 38% of the variance for arithmetic. It is concluded that WM has an expressive contribution to school performance, being more specific the contributions of visuospatial WM for arithmetic. Resumo A memória de trabalho (MT) é um preditor da aprendizagem escolar. Este estudo teve por objetivo investigar o poder preditivo da memória de trabalho (MT) verbal e não verbal sobre o desempenho da aritmética. Participaram 126 crianças entre 6 e 11 anos. Os instrumentos foram: Teste de Desempenho Escolar, Matrizes Progressivas Colorida de Raven, Cubos de Corsi e Subteste Dígitos. Os resultados demonstraram correlações fortes e positivas do desempenho escolar com inteligência fluida r = 0,64 com MT verbal e com a MT não verbal, ambas com r = 0,51 (p < 0,001). Após regressão linear múltipla, verificou-se que o desempenho na MT visuoespacial foi um forte preditor para a aritmética, efeito não encontrado para a leitura. A regressão demonstrou que a MT explica 38% da variância para a aritmética. Conclui-se que a MT tem uma contribuição expressiva para o desempenho escolar, sendo mais específicas as contribuições do esboço visuoespacial para a aritmética. Resumen La memoria de trabajo (MT) es un predictor del aprendizaje escolar. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo investigar el potencial predictivo de la MT verbal y no verbal en el rendimiento aritmético. Participaron 126 niños de entre 6 y 11 años. Los instrumentos fueron: Prueba de Rendimiento Escolar, Matrices Progresivas de Raven, Cubes de Corsi y Subprueba Dígitos. Los resultados mostraron correlaciones fuertes y positivas en el rendimiento escolar con inteligencia fluida r = 0,64 con MT verbal y MT no verbal, ambas con r = 0,51 (p < 0,001). Después de la regresión lineal, se observó que el rendimiento en la MT visuoespacial era fuerte predictor aritmético, efecto no encontrado en lectura. La regresión demostró que MT explica el 38% de la varianza en la aritmética. Se concluye que la MT tiene una contribución expresiva al rendimiento escolar, siendo las contribuciones visuoespaciales a la aritmética más específicas.

A modern athlete who plays badminton at a high level must be very well prepared physically, have a good command of various technical skills, have a wide arsenal of tactical solutions and demonstrate a high level of stress resistance. Experts point out that the assessment of athletes by psychophysiological qualities is more predictable than determining the level of physical capacity development, because psychophysiological qualities are genetically more conservative and less dynamic in ontogenesis than physical ones. Cognitive abilities are considered as individual stable features that determine the uniqueness of the strategy of information perception and processing, problem solving, learning and other types of cognitive activity. It is important that the effectiveness of highly qualified badminton players depends on the ability to perceive, analyze and process information. The study of psychophysiological functions to control the athlete functional state and to correct the training process is very important. Objective. Determine the level of cognitive functions in qualified badminton players. Methods. The research was conducted using the hardware-software computer complex «Multipsychometer-05». Сучасний спортсмен, який грає у бадмінтон на високому спортивному рівні, повинен бути дуже добре підготовлений фізично, досконало володіти різними технічними прийомами, мати широкий арсенал тактичних рішень та демонструвати високий рівень стресостійкості. Фахівці вказують, що оцінювання спортсменів за психофізіологічними якостями більш прогнозоване, ніж визначення рівня розвитку фізичних якостей, тому що психофізіологічні якості генетично більш консервативні і менш динамічні в онтогенезі, ніж фізичні. Когнітивні здібності розглядаються як індивідуальні стійкі особливості, що визначають своєрідність стратегії сприйняття і переробки інформації, вирішення завдань, навчання і інших видів пізнавальної діяльності. Актуальним є те, що ефективність бадмінтоністів високої кваліфікації залежить від здатності до сприйняття, аналізу і переробки інформації. Вивчення психофізіологічних функцій з метою контролю над функціональним станом спортсмена і корекцією тренувального процесу є дуже важливим. Мета. Визначити рівень когнітивних функцій у кваліфікованих бадмінтоністів. Методи. Дослідження проводи- лися з використанням апаратно-програмного комп’ютерного комплексу «Мультипсихо- метр-05». Для вивчення когнітивних функцій кваліфікованих бадмінтоністів були обрані просунуті прогресивні матриці Равена. У дослідженнях було застосовано першу частину тесту, що являє собою експрес-варіант, складається з 12 завдань та охоплює весь діапазон здібностей, діагностованих повним тестом. Результати. За основним інформативним показником (продуктивністю), швидкістю та точністю бадмінтоністи високої кваліфікації мають середній рівень, за показником ефективності – нижчий за середній. Аналіз тесту «Прогресивні матриці Равена» показав, що жінки мають достовірно кращі значення за основним інформативним показником продуктивності, якості (точності) та ефективності виконання тестування когнітивних здібностей.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor (resting tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia, postural instability, and gait disturbances) and nonmotor symptoms (cognitive, neuropsychiatric, and autonomic problems). In recent years, several studies demonstrated that neurorehabilitation therapy is an effective treatment in addition to pharmacological personalized interventions in persons with PD (PwPD). The main aim of this study was to explore the short-term changes in functional, cognitive, and geriatric domains after a multidimensional rehabilitation program in PwPD (as primary condition) in mild–moderate (M-Ms) to severe (Ss) stages. Our second aim was to compare the effects of multidimensional rehabilitation in M-Ms versus Ss of PD. Twenty-four PwPD in M-Ms to Ss [age (mean ± SD) = 76.25 ± 9.42 years; male/female = 10/14; Hoehn and Yahr (median; IQR) = 4.00; 1.75] were included in a retrospective, observational study. Motor, cognitive, functional, and neuropsychiatric aspects were collected in admission (T0) and in discharge (T1). PwPD were involved in a person-tailored (to individual's needs), inpatient, intensive (5–7 days per week), multidisciplinary (combining cognitive, physical, occupational, and speech therapies), comprehensive, and rehabilitative program. According to Movement Disorders Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale III cutoff, PwPD were classified in M-Ms or Ss (M-Ms ≤59; Ss >59); 87.50% of our sample reported significant reduction of functional disability at Barthel Index (p < 0.001). A significant improvement in Token test (p = 0.021), semantic fluency (p = 0.036), Rey's Figure-Copy (p < 0.001), and Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices (p = 0.004) was observed. The pain intensity perception (p < 0.001) and the risk of developing pressure ulcers (p < 0.001) as assessed, respectively, by the Numeric Rating Scale and by the Norton Scale were improved. With regard to the second aim, in M-Ms group, we found a positive correlation between the number of neuromotor sessions and the change in functional disability and language comprehension; in the Ss group, on the other hand, despite a higher number of hospitalization days, the total number of completed sessions was positively associated with the change in visuoconstructional abilities. Our findings suggest that an intensive, inpatient, and multidisciplinary rehabilitation program may improve functional abilities, some strategic cognitive functions, and geriatric aspects in PwPD with mild–moderate motor impairment.

Objectives: We performed a survey of medical records to reveal the cognitive deficits behind dangerous driving in patients with higher brain dysfunction. Methods: Thirty-four patients with higher brain dysfunction were included in this study. Patients’ basic characteristics, neuropsychological test results, scores on two types of driving aptitude tests, and accident/near miss data from a driving simulator were extracted from medical records. We conducted χ2 tests for independence between comprehensive driving aptitude scores and “traffic accidents” / “being prohibited from driving as defined by the number of traffic accidents and near misses.” Backward logistic regression analysis was carried out to assess correlations of “traffic accidents” and “being prohibited from driving as defined by the number of traffic accidents and near misses” with neuropsychological test scores. Results: No significant correlation was observed between the comprehensive driving aptitude score and “traffic accidents” / “being prohibited from driving as defined by the number of traffic accidents and near misses.” The score on the Raven’s Colored Progressive Matrices test was the only factor identified as a significant predictor of “being prohibited from driving as defined by the number of traffic accidents and near misses.” Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that it is important to focus on the decline in problem-solving ability as a predictor of “being prohibited from driving as defined by the number of traffic accidents and near misses.”

Few studies have investigated the neuropsychological profile of Hearing Loss (HL) subjects and the effects of hearing-aid on cognitive decline. We investigated the neuropsychological profile of HL patients at baseline and compared the neuropsychological profiles of patients with and without hearing-aid at 6 month. Fifty-six HL patients and 40 healthy subjects (HC) underwent neuropsychological and behavioral examination and were compared at baseline. Changes at follow-up were compared between HL patients with (N = 25) and without (N = 31) hearing-aids. At baseline, significant differences between HL and HC were found in MOCA test, Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (CPM) and SF-36. Among mild-HL patients, patients with hearing-aid significantly improved on the Clock Drawing Test (CDT) as compared to patients without hearing-aid. Our findings indicate that hearing loss is associated with both a reduced efficiency of the global cognitive state and a worse quality of life as compared to HC, supporting the association between HL and cognitive impairment. Moreover, only patients with mild-HL shows some cognitive improvement after using hearing-aid, suggesting that rehabilitative strategies may be more effective to delay cognitive decline in such patients. However, we cannot exclude that hearing-aids may affect cognitive decline in more severe-HL, but a longer follow-up is needed.

Aim: Malnutrition is a major public health issue that has been associated with high susceptibility for impaired brain development and mental functioning. However, to date studies on this topic have not been collated and appraised. This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the association between malnutrition and cognitive development. Methods: We searched the MEDLINE, Scopus, CINAHL, Embase PsycINFO and Cochrane Library databases in English up to 8 December 2020. All studies reporting an association between nutritional status and cognitive development were included. p values of less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant and the results are reported as standardised mean differences (SMD), 95% confidence intervals (95%) and I2 statistics. Results: We included 12 studies comprising 7,607 participants aged 1 to 12years. Children with malnutrition had worse scores than controls for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale (SMD −0.40; 95% CI −0.60 to −0.20; p&nbsp

Well-developed combinatorial abilities are an essential component of the professionalism of a modern primary school teacher. The goal of the present study is to search for methodological techniques for lessons on the methods of teaching mathematics in primary school that would activate the interconnection of logical thinking and several non-cognitive abilities of teachers in training. Said interconnection is viewed as a means allowing diagnosing and developing the combinatorial abilities of future primary school teachers. The study implements testing methods with consecutive mathematical processing. Assessment of the non-cognitive factors (the level of general cultural development, general humanitarian training, characteristics of the microenvironment, the level of general psychosocial development, etc.) involved the methods assessing academic success and psychosocial development level, as well as expert assessment of the level of general cultural development. These data were compared with the level of development of pedagogical university students’ logical thinking determined through Raven’s Progressive Matrices. The forming stage of the study involved original methodological techniques used to stimulate university students’ interest in creating compositions of textual mathematical problems for primary school students. The proposed methodological solutions to the problems of the diagnostics and development of combinatorial thinking in future teachers understood as a combination of logical thinking and several non-cognitive factors have shown themselves to be effective. The development of compositions of textual mathematical problems for primary school students is an effective means of developing future teachers’ combinatorial abilities.

Participants rated Intuition, Suddenness, Pleasure, and Certainty accompanying their solutions to items of a popular fluid intelligence test – Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices (RAPM) – that varied from easy (around 80% correct) to difficult (around 20% correct). The same ratings were collected from four insight problems interleaved with RAPM. Suddenness and Certainty substantially decreased from easy to difficult matrices (Pleasure strongly overlapped with Certainty). In easy matrices, subjective experience matched that observed during insight problems, suggesting the highly fluent processing resulting in vivid and univocal solutions. By contrast, processing difficult matrices seemed to involve effortful incremental combination of complex information that yielded uncertain outcomes, resembling full-blown analytic problems. Only Intuition, generally rated low, was unaffected by RAPM difficulty. These results suggest that RAPM constitutes a heterogeneous test, with easy vs. difficult items involving relatively distinct types of processing. This novel knowledge can help in understanding the processes underlying solving Raven’s matrices. The study also contributes to the understanding of the validity of subjective ratings as measures of metacognition.

open access article Metacognition, the cognition about cognition, is closely linked to intelligence and therefore understanding the metacognitive processes underlying intelligence test performance, specifically on Raven’s Progressive Matrices, could help advance the knowledge about intelligence. The measurement of metacognition, is often done using domain-general offline questionnaires or domain-specific online think-aloud protocols. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between metacognitive awareness and intelligence via the design and use of a novel Meta-Cognitive Awareness Scale – Domain Specific (MCAS-DS) that encourages reflection of task strategy processes. This domain-specific scale was first constructed to measure participants’ awareness of their own metacognition linked to Raven’s Progressive Matrices (SPM). Following discriminatory index, Exploratory Factor Analysis, a 15-item scale was devised. Exploratory Factor Analysis showed five factors: Awareness of Engagement in Self-Monitoring, Awareness of Own Ability, Awareness of Responding Speed/Time, Awareness of Alternative Solutions and Awareness of Requisite Problem-Solving Resources. The intelligence level of ninety-eight adults was then estimated using Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices. Participants also completed the MCAS-DS, and further items that examined their test-taking behaviour and Confidence level. Metacognitive awareness was positively correlated to standardized IQ scores derived from the SPM whilst Over-Confidence derived using the Confidence level measure was negatively correlated to SPM. Despite some limitations, this study shows promise for elucidating the relationship between metacognitive awareness and intelligence using the task-specific scale.

The understanding of the relations between executive functions (specifically cognitive flexibility) and language development (narrative production) in 5–6 years old children remains limited and contradictory. In this study we asked 269 monolingual children who were developing typically to perform Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) method, Raven’s Colored Progressive matrices test and to create four narratives (retelling, creating a story based on one picture and on a series of pictures). The aim of the study was to examine significant predictors of the language development level in preschoolers. In children’s narratives one can distinguish macrostructure and microstructure. The macrostructure comprises the length of a story, its completeness, adequacy, narrative structure and narrative type, i.e. structure parameters form a narrative as a cohesive and coherent utterance. Phonetics, vocabulary, morphology, syntax compose narrative’s microstructure. The results show that there is a strong correlation between cognitive flexibility and macrostructure indicators of narrative production whereas there are much fewer microstructure indicators that have correlations with cognitive flexibility. The children who were able to perform the most difficult task of DCCS method (with borders), were much better in narrative production. Raven’s results showed that both indicators (non-verbal intelligence and cognitive flexibility) were predictors of the narrative structure. The results obtained in this study can contribute to better cognitive development of children and their readiness for school.

The ability to solve problems is increasingly important in today’s world, not only for good school performance but also to be successful in today’s world, being one of the most desired skills for the XXI century. However, the existence of tasks with an inadequate cognitive load may discourage the individuals involved in it. Thus, we believe that the effective monitoring of this capacity must be well monitored. To this end, we started an experiment made up of 2 different samples to assess the ability to solve logical problems through the testing of Raven’s Progressive Matrices. The research project developed and presented in this paper sought to assess differences in the ability to solve logical problems considering brain activity when solving them. Therefore, EEG was used to infer the cognitive workload of individuals. Our main interest was to identify specific ERP waveforms, namely the feedback-related negativity (FRN) component about the correctness of the students answers to each question.

In this modern world, the ascertainment and resultant effect of major personality traits are given considerable interest and study by various psychological departments and research institutes and everyone from the world is contributing towards raising mental health awareness. Intelligence and narcissism are such qualities and traits that completely depend upon an individual and the study focuses on high intelligence and narcissist personality among college students. Narcissism reflects the self-love of an individual and high intelligence it sounds negative, exceptions are a prosocial narcissist. Thus, it aims to analyze whether there is a correlation between these two variables. The sample size consisted of 50 students, who belong to a science background and fall under 18-21 age group from Maharaja Sayajirao University, Vadodara, Gujarat. The study was conducted using two standardized tests, Raven Matrices (Burke, Raven's Progressive Matrices (1938): More on norms, reliability, and validity) and Narcissism Personality Inventory (Raskin & Terry, 1988). The results indicate an insignificant correlation between intelligence and narcissism.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical usefulness of the Cube Copying Test (CCT) for quantitative assessment of visuo-spatial function in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Methods: The CCT, Raven’s Colored Progressive Matrices (RCPM), and other neuropsychological tests were administered to 152 AD outpatients. For the quantitative assessment of CCT, we scored the points of connection (POC) and the number of plane-drawing errors (PDE) and categorized the pattern classification (PAC). We also measured Functional Assessment Staging (FAST) to assess the severity of AD. The relationships among CCT, RCPM, and FAST were then analyzed. Results: The mean POC and PDE scores were 2.7 and 3.6, respectively, and the median PAC score was 6.0. PDE and PAC showed a linear relationship, but POC and PDE, and POC and PAC did not. Each component of CCT showed a significant correlation with RCPM scores. PDE and PAC had closer correlations with RCPM scores than POC did. The PDE and PAC results were significantly different among most of the FAST stages. Conclusions: Quantitative assessment using CCT may be effective for the quick determination of the visuo-spatial function in AD patients.

Observations abound about the power of visual imagery in human intelligence, from how Nobel prize-winning physicists make their discoveries to how children understand bedtime stories. These observations raise an important question for cognitive science, which is, what are the computations taking place in someone’s mind when they use visual imagery? Answering this question is not easy and will require much continued research across the multiple disciplines of cognitive science. Here, we focus on a related and more circumscribed question from the perspective of artificial intelligence (AI): If you have an intelligent agent that uses visual imagery-based knowledge representations and reasoning operations, then what kinds of problem solving might be possible, and how would such problem solving work? We highlight recent progress in AI toward answering these questions in the domain of visuospatial reasoning, looking at a case study of how imagery-based artificial agents can solve visuospatial intelligence tests. In particular, we first examine several variations of imagery-based knowledge representations and problem-solving strategies that are sufficient for solving problems from the Raven’s Progressive Matrices intelligence test. We then look at how artificial agents, instead of being designed manually by AI researchers, might learn portions of their own knowledge and reasoning procedures from experience, including learning visuospatial domain knowledge, learning and generalizing problem-solving strategies, and learning the actual definition of the task in the first place.

The article features an empirical study results of solving convergent tasks success by younger schoolchildren in the context of various external motivational attitudes. The study was conducted at Moscow primary school “School No. 1561” in 2016-2018. The final sample of the study included 239 second-graders, aged 8 and 9 (102 girls and 137 boys). To assess overall level of children's cognitive abilities, Raven's Progressive Matrices (RPM) were used as well as other tools: “Ladder of promptings” (modified method of N.V. Elfimova) – to assess motivational characteristics; a questionnaire by M. Seligman for children's attributive style (modification by N. A. Baturin and D. A. Tsirin); questionnaire of implicit theories by C. Dweck (modified). As part of the experiment, two blocks of convergent tasks were formed. The first block is focused on logical reasoning, the second – on spatial reasoning. It was revealed that primary schoolchildren show the highest level of success in solving convergent tasks if the attitude is to avoid failures. At the same time, younger schoolchildren, solving logical type tasks, demonstrate the greatest success exclusively if the attitude aims at avoiding failure. While solving spatial type tasks, their results increase in conditions of both an attitude to achieve success and to avoid failures. The differences found substantiate the conclusion that primary school girls are more sensitive to changes in the external motivational attitudes than boys of the same age.

It is perhaps popular belief—at least among non-psychometricians—that there is a unique or standard way to investigate the psychometric qualities of tests [...]

Children with intellectual disabilities experience deficits in all the areas of adaptive function and some other aspects, unfortunately little is known about the independent functioning among gender and age related to these impairments in this type of neurogenetic disorders as intellectual disabilities. Adaptive behavior is essential for an optimal functioning in these categories. 53 participants aged between 5 and 11 in school years have been administered the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Montreal Cognitive Assessment scale (MoCA) and Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices (IQ). Motor abilities are the area that is more affected in children with intellectual disabilities with a significant impairment appeared at an early age, which remain low even in the following years. These differences are potentially oriented by the etiologies related to the disorder. Adaptive behavior is an important area of challenge for children with intellectual disabilities throughout their development. Daily living skills and competencies are also a significant strength in relation to other areas of adaptive functioning.

Background and objectives: The impact of cesarean and vaginal delivery on cognitive development was analyzed in 5 year old children. Materials and Methods: Two cohorts of 5 year old children born in the years 2013 and 2014 in Karvina (Northern Moravia) and Ceske Budejovice (Southern Bohemia) were studied for their cognitive development related to vaginal (n = 117) and cesarean types of delivery (n = 51). The Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test (BG test) and the Raven Colored Progressive Matrices (RCPM test) were used as psychological tests. Results: In the comparison of vaginal delivery vs. cesarean section, the children delivered by cesarean section scored lower and, therefore, achieved poorer performance in cognitive tests compared to those born by vaginal delivery, as shown in the RCPM (p &lt, 0.001) and in the BG test (p &lt, 0.001). When mothers&rsquo, education level was considered, the children whose mothers achieved a university degree scored higher in both the RCPM test (p &lt, 0.001) and the BG test (p &lt, 0.01) compared to the children of mothers with lower secondary education. When comparing mothers with a university degree to those with higher secondary education, there was a significant correlation between level of education and score achieved in the RCPM test (p &lt, 0.001), but not in the BG test. Conclusions: According to our findings, the mode of delivery seems to have a significant influence on performance in psychological cognitive tests in 5 year old children in favor of those who were born by vaginal delivery. Since cesarean-born children scored notably below vaginally born children, it appears possible that cesarean delivery may have a convincingly adverse effect on children&rsquo, s further cognitive development.

The relationship between cognitive abilities and academic achievement across schooling from the first to the eleventh grade was analyzed. Information processing speed, visuospatial working memory, number sense, and fluid intelligence were considered predictors of general academic achievement, which was derived from grades in mathematics, language, and biology. This cross-sectional study involved 1560 pupils who were in grades 1&ndash, 11 at general education schools and were aged from 6.8 to 19.1 years (50.4% were boys). Information processing speed, visuospatial working memory, and number sense were measured using the Choice Reaction Time, Corsi Block-Tapping, and Number Sense computerized tests, respectively. Fluid intelligence was measured using the paper-and-pencil version of the Standard Progressive Matrices test. Correlation analysis and structural equation modeling were carried out. It was shown that it is possible to describe the structure of the relationship between cognitive abilities and academic achievement for all levels of schooling with a single model. In this model, information processing speed is the key predictor of fluid intelligence, working memory, and number sense, which in turn contribute to individual differences in academic success. Additionally, the specificity of the relationship between individual indicators of cognitive abilities and academic achievement at each level of schooling was revealed.