Two more Go (general olfactory ability domain) research articles to file under Go in CHC taxonomy of human abilities

Longitudinal changes in odor identification performance and neuropsychological measures in aging individuals.

Wehling, Eike I.; Wollschlaeger, Daniel; Nordin, Steven; Lundervold, Astri J.

Neuropsychology, Vol 30(1), Jan 2016, 87-97. http://dx.doi.org.ezp1.lib.umn.edu/10.1037/neu0000212

Abstract

1. Objective: To examine changes in odor identification performance and cognitive measures in healthy aging individuals. While cross-sectional studies reveal associations between odor identification and measures of episodic memory, processing speed, and executive function, longitudinal studies so far have been ambiguous with regard to demonstrating that odor identification may be predictive of decline in cognitive function. Method: One hundred and 7 healthy aging individuals (average age 60.2 years, 71% women) were assessed with an odor identification test and nonolfactory cognitive measures of verbal episodic memory, mental processing speed, executive function, and language 3 times, covering a period of 6.5 years. Results: The cross-sectional results revealed odor identification performance to be associated with age, measures of verbal episodic memory, and processing speed. Using linear mixed models, the longitudinal analyses revealed age-associated decline in all measures. Controlling for retest effects, the analyses demonstrated that gender was a significant predictor for episodic memory and mental processing speed. Odor identification performance was further shown to be a significant predictor for episodic verbal memory. Conclusion: This study shows age-related decline in odor identification as well as nonolfactory cognitive measures. The finding showing that odor identification is a significant predictor for verbal episodic memory is of great clinical interest as odor identification has been suggested as a sensitive measure of incipient pathologic cognitive decline. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved)

Olfactory identification and its relationship to executive functions, memory, and disability one year after severe traumatic brain injury.

Sigurdardottir, Solrun; Andelic, Nada; Skandsen, Toril; Anke, Audny; Roe, Cecilie; Holthe, Oyvor Oistensen; Wehling, Eike

Neuropsychology, Vol 30(1), Jan 2016, 98-108. http://dx.doi.org.ezp1.lib.umn.edu/10.1037/neu0000206

Abstract

1. Objective: To explore the frequency of posttraumatic olfactory (dys)function 1 year after severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) and determine whether there is a relationship between olfactory identification and neuropsychological test performance, injury severity and TBI-related disability. Method: A population-based multicenter study including 129 individuals with severe TBI (99 males; 16 to 85 years of age) that could accomplish neuropsychological examinations. Olfactory (dys)function (anosmia, hyposmia, normosmia) was assessed by the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) or the Brief Smell Identification Test (B-SIT). Three tests of the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) were used to assess processing speed, verbal fluency, inhibition and set-shifting, and the California Verbal Learning Test-II was used to examine verbal memory. The Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended (GOSE) was used to measure disability level. Results: Employing 2 different smell tests in 2 equal-sized subsamples, the UPSIT sample (n = 65) classified 34% with anosmia and 52% with hyposmia, while the B-SIT sample (n = 64) classified 20% with anosmia and 9% with hyposmia. Individuals classified with anosmia by the B-SIT showed significantly lower scores for set-shifting, category switching fluency and delayed verbal memory compared to hyposmia and normosmia groups. Only the B-SIT scores were significantly correlated with neuropsychological performance and GOSE scores. Brain injury severity (Rotterdam CT score) and subarachnoid hemorrhage were related to anosmia. Individuals classified with anosmia demonstrated similar disability as those with hyposmia/normosmia. Conclusions: Different measures of olfaction may yield different estimates of anosmia. Nevertheless, around 1 third of individuals with severe TBI suffered from anosmia, which may also indicate poorer cognitive outcome. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved)

The nose knows: Recent evidence for possible Go (olfactory) working memory

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intelligence IQ tests IQ testing IQ scores CHC intelligence theory CHC theory Cattell-Horn-Carroll human cognitive abilities psychology school psychology individual differences cognitive psychology neuropsychology neuroscience psychology special education educational psychology psychometrics psychological assessment psychological measurement IQs Corner general intelligence intelligent IQ testing validity Gq Gsm Gv Gf working memory Go olfaction olfactory memory memory for smells

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Research byte: More on the "nose knows" - Go and cognition

I continue to be intrigued with the increasing research on the domain of Go.......I have posted a number of articles at my blog over the past five years (can be found by clicking on Go category label) that indicate that it is a separate cognitive domain and, more importantly, it has significant diagnostic potential for a wide array of cognitive disorders, esp. during the early stages of a disorder.

The nose knows :)

Cognitive factors in odor detection, odor discrimination, and odor identification tasks. Journal of Experimental and Clinical Neuropsycholgy, 32 (10), 1062–1067

Authors: Margareta Hednerab; Maria Larssonab; Nancy Arnoldc; Gesualdo M. Zuccod; Thomas Hummelc

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine cognitive correlates of olfactory performance across three different tasks. A total of 170 men and women (30-87 years of age) were assessed in olfactory sensitivity, discrimination, and identification. Also, participants were tested in a range of cognitive tests covering executive functioning, semantic memory, and episodic memory. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that proficiency in executive functioning and semantic memory contributed significantly to odor discrimination and identification performance, whereas all of the cognitive factors proved unrelated to performance in the odor threshold test. This pattern of outcome suggests that an individual's cognitive profile exerts a reliable influence on performance in higher order olfactory tasks.


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intelligence IQ tests IQ scores CHC theory Cattell-Horn-Carroll human cognitive abilities psychology school psychology individual differences cognitive psychology neuropsychology special education educational psychology psychometrics psychological assessment psychological measurement IQs Corner neuroscience neurocognitive cognitive abilities cognition olfactory abilities Go working memory executive functioning

Research bytes: The nose knows: More research on olfactory (Go) abilities

Nguyen, A. D., Shenton, M. E., & Levitt, J. J. (2010). Olfactory Dysfunction in Schizophrenia: A Review of Neuroanatomy and Psychophysiological Measurements. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 18(5), 279-292.

Olfactory processing is thought to be mediated via the frontal and temporolimbic brain regions, both of which, as well as olfactory dysfunction, are implicated in schizophrenia. Likewise, several empirical studies of olfactory dysfunction—in particular, olfactory deficits in identification, odor detection threshold sensitivity, and odor memory, along with associated brain structural changes—have been conducted to illuminate the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. These anomalies have been investigated, more recently, as possible biological markers of that disabling illness. This article summarizes recent research on neuroimaging changes associated with olfactory impairments in schizophrenia patients and on related functional changes in psychophysiological measurements (e.g., odor identification, odor discrimination, odor detection threshold, and odor memory). The possible role of these changes as biological markers of the disorder will be discussed, as will potentially productive directions for future research.



Clear, A. M., Konikel, K. E., Nomi, J. S., & McCabe, D. P. (2010). Odor recognition without identification. Memory & Cognition, 38(4), 452-460.

Odors are notoriously difficult to identify, yet an odor can often lead to a sense of recognition, despite an inability to identify it. In the present study, we examined this phenomenon using the recognition-without-identification paradigm. Participants studied either odor names alone or odor names that were accompanied by scratch-and-sniff stickers containing their corresponding scents. At test, the participants were presented with blank scratch-and-sniff stickers, half of which corresponded to items that were studied and half of which did not. The participants attempted to identify each test odor, as well as to rate the likelihood that it corresponded to a studied item. In addition, the participants indicated whether they were in a tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) state for a given odor's name. Odor recognition without identification was found, but only when the participants had actually smelled the test odor at study; it was not found when the participants only studied odor names and were then tested with odors, suggesting that this effect is an episode-specific, perceptually driven phenomenon. Despite this difference, an overall TOT-attribution effect, whereby recognition ratings were higher during TOT states than during non-TOT states, was shown across conditions.

CHC theory olfactory abilities olfaction schizophrenia research bytes Psychology neuropsychology intelligence

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Random tidbits from mind blogsphere 12-27-06

• Thanks to Boing Boing for the interesting post regarding "knitting and mathematics."
• The brain fitness movement (with regard to late adulthood) made a splash on the New York Times today.
• More on Go (olfactory) abilities over on the Gene Expression blog. Check out prior Go posts I've made.

Technorati Tags: psycholoyg, educational psychology, school psychology, neuropsychology, olfactory, olfaction, Go, CHC, CHC theory, mathematics, brain fitness, New York Times, intelligence, cognition, smell

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More on Go (olfactory abilities)

More info on Go (olfactory abilities) over at my sister blog (Tick Tock Talk: The IQ Brain Clock). Check out the "olfactometer."

The nose "knows" - Importance of olfactory (Go) abilities in mental disorders

In my book chapter, CHC Theory: Past, Present, and Future (this is on-line version of a chapter published in Flanagan and Genshaft's 2005 CIA book) I alerted folks to the fact that the CHC taxonomy of cognitive abilities needed to be expanded to include tactile (Gh), kinesthetic (Gk), and olfactory abilities (Go) (click here). Many of my educational/school psychology colleagues have often asked me what possible relevance Go abilities would have for psychological assessment. To make a long story short, I have reminded my educationally-based friends and associates that cognitive assessments are used in many non-educational settings (e.g., aging research and clinical work; occupational settings; industrial settings; personnel selection settings, etc.).

In my 2005 chapter, I stated: "although largely ignored in structural investigations of human cognitive abilities, olfactory abilities (Go) are important to study given the use of the olfactory sense by blind or partially sighted people, and experts such as “gourmets, wine connoisseurs, coffee experts, and the like” (Danthiir, Roberts, Pallier, G. & Stankov, 2001, p. 357). In addition, recent clinical research has suggested that declines in olfactory abilities may be associated with a variety of clinical disorders and diseases ranging from Azheimer’s, idiopathic Parkinson’s, alcoholism and drug abuse, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders, severe- stage anorexia nervosa, Down’s syndrome, head trauma, multiple sclerosis, restless leg syndrome, seasonal affective disorder, and others (see Doty, 2001, for a complete review)"

I have now run across two new empirical articles that continue to suggest that assessment and monitoring of Go abilities may be important for the possible early detection of eventual mental decline/disorders as well as helping us better understand the underlying neurological structural/functional mechanisms of certain mental/cognitive disorders. Both studies were published in the Journal of Experimental and Clinical Neuropsychology (2006, Vol 28). For those who want to be in the "nose", I've reproduced the references and abstracts below, along with links to the original articles. One articles deals with Go and schizophrenia while the other deals with Go and Huntingon's Disease

Larsson et al. (2006). Olfactory Functions in Asymptomatic Carriers of the Huntington Disease Mutation

• Huntington’s disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder initially affecting the basal ganglia and especially the head of the caudate nucleus. Neuropsychological research has indicated that olfactory dysfunction may appear early in HD, prior to the onset of significant motor or cognitive dysfunction. The aim of this study was to examine whether asymptomatic carriers of the Huntington disease mutation also exhibit olfactory dysfunction. To address this issue we presented an extensive olfactory test battery comprising tasks assessing olfactory sensitivity, intensity discrimination, quality discrimination, episodic odor memory, and odor identification, to a group of gene carriers and nonmutation carriers of the disease. The results showed that gene carriers were selectively impaired in discriminating odor quality, although performance did not differ from noncarriers across the other tasks. The role played by striatum and then in particular the caudate nucleus for olfactory processing in general, and for odor quality discrimination in particular, is discussed.

Moberg et al. (2006). Olfactory Functioning in Schizophrenia: Relationship to Clinical, Neuropsychological, and Volumetric MRI Measures

• Deficits in odor identification and detection threshold sensitivity have been observed in schizophrenia but their relationship to clinical, cognitive, and biologic measures have not been clearly established. Our objectives were to examine the relationship between measures of odor identification and detection threshold sensitivity and clinical, neuropsychological, and anatomic brain measures. Twenty-one patients with schizophrenia and 20 healthy controls were administered psychophysical tests of odor identification and detection threshold sensitivity to phenyl ethyl alcohol. In addition, clinical symptom ratings, neuropsychological measures of frontal and temporal lobe function and whole brain MRIs were concurrently obtained. Patients exhibited significant deficits in odor identification but normal detection threshold sensitivity. Poorer odor identification scores were associated with longer duration of illness, increased negative and disorganized symptoms, and the deficit syndrome, as well as impairments in verbal and nonverbal memory. Better odor detection thresholds were specifically associated with first-rank or productive symptoms. Larger left temporal lobe volumes with MRI were associated with better odor identification in controls but not in patients. Given the relevance of the neural substrate, and the evidence of performance deficits, psychophysical probes of the integrity of the olfactory system hold special promise for illuminating aspects of the neurobiology underlying schizophrenia.

Finally, I ran a quick search of the IAP reference database and located the following additional references...for those who want to read more.

• Elsner, R. J. F. (2001). Odor memory and aging. Aging Neuropsychology and Cognition, 8(4), 284-306.
• Larsson, M., Oberg, C., & Backman, L. (2005). Odor identification in old age: Demographic, sensory and cognitive correlates. Aging Neuropsychology and Cognition, 12(3 ), 231-244.
• Lowen, S. B., & Lukas, S. E. (2006). A low-cost, MR-compatible olfactometer. Behavior Research Methods, 38(2), 307-313.
• Danthiir, V., Roberts, R. D., Pallier, G., & Stankov, L. (2001). What the nose knows: Olfaction and cognitive abilities. Intelligence, 29, 337-361.
• Miles, C., & Hodder, K. (2005). Serial position effects in recognition memory for odors: A reexamination. Memory & Cognition, 33(7), 1303-1314.
• Doty, R. L., & Kerr, K. L. (2005). Episodic odor memory: Influences of handedness, sex, and side of nose. Neuropsychologia, 43(12), 1749-1753.

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, olfaction, olfactory, Go, CHC theory, CHC, intelligence, IQ, cognition, cognitive, tactile, kinesthetic, psychological assessment, psychological testing, schizophrenia, Huningtons disease, nose, smell, aging

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