This article describes a standardized administration and scoring procedure for the widely used Corsi Block-Tapping Task, designed to assess the visual memory span. This method was applied in a group of healthy participants (n = 70) and a group of patients with cerebral lesions (n = 70), that were categorized on the basis of lesion location (left or right hemisphere, bilateral or subcortical). The percentile distribution as well as cutoff points on the basis of the control data are provided. It was found that 20% of the patients perform in the borderline range on this task, and over 8% have an impaired performance ("retarded"). In addition, right hemisphere patients performed worse than left hemisphere patients. These data show that the Corsi Block-Tapping Task can be effectively used to assess visuospatial short-term memory in patients with brain damage, and is selective for the side of the lesion.

OBJECTIVE—To investigate the exact nature and magnitude of cognitive impairments in patients with type 1 diabetes and the possible association with other disease variables, such as recurrent episodes of hypoglycemia and metabolic control. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—MedLine and PsycLit search engines were used to identify studies on cognitive performance in patients with type 1 diabetes. Effect sizes (Cohen’s d), which are the standardized differences between the experimental and the control group, were calculated. In the meta-analysis, a combined d value was calculated, expressing the magnitude of associations across studies. RESULTS—A total of 33 studies were identified that met the inclusion criteria. Compared with nondiabetic control subjects, the type 1 diabetic group demonstrated a significantly lowered performance on the following cognitive domains: intelligence (d = −0.7), speed of information processing (d = −0.3), psychomotor efficiency (d = −0.6), visual (d = −0.4) and sustained attention (d = −0.3), cognitive flexibility (d = −0.5), and visual perception (d = −0.4). Lowered cognitive performance in diabetic patients appeared to be associated with the presence of microvascular complications but not with the occurrence of severe hypoglycemic episodes or with poor metabolic control. CONCLUSIONS—In patients with type 1 diabetes, cognitive dysfunction is characterized by a slowing of mental speed and a diminished mental flexibility, whereas learning and memory are spared.The magnitude of the cognitive deficits is mild to moderate, but even mild forms of cognitive dysfunction might hamper everyday activities since they can be expected to present problems in more demanding situations.

The functions of the somatosensory system are multiple. We use tactile input to localize and experience the various qualities of touch, and proprioceptive information to determine the position of different parts of the body with respect to each other, which provides fundamental information for action. Further, tactile exploration of the characteristics of external objects can result in conscious perceptual experience and stimulus or object recognition. Neuroanatomical studies suggest parallel processing as well as serial processing within the cerebral somatosensory system that reflect these separate functions, with one processing stream terminating in the posterior parietal cortex (PPC), and the other terminating in the insula. We suggest that, analogously to the organisation of the visual system, somatosensory processing for the guidance of action can be dissociated from the processing that leads to perception and memory. In addition, we find a second division between tactile information processing about external targets in service of object recognition and tactile information processing related to the body itself. We suggest the posterior parietal cortex subserves both perception and action, whereas the insula principally subserves perceptual recognition and learning.

Background: Although cognitive impairment early after stroke is a powerful predictor of long-term functional dependence and dementia, little is known about the characteristics and determinants of cognitive dysfunction in acute stroke. Methods: We administered a neuropsychological examination covering 7 cognitive domains to 190 patients within 3 weeks after a first stroke. We also assembled lesion characteristics, clinical factors at admission, demographic characteristics and vascular risk factors. Multivariate logistic regression adjusted for age, gender and education was performed to examine determinants of acute cognitive impairment. Results:Overall, 74% of patients with a cortical stroke, 46% with a subcortical stroke and 43% with an infratentorial stroke demonstrated acute cognitive impairment.Disorders in executive functioning (39%) and visual perception/construction (38%) were the most common. The prevalence and severity of deficits in executive functioning, language, verbal memory and abstract reasoning was more pronounced following left compared to right cortical stroke (all p < 0.05). Intracerebral haemorrhage (OR = 5.6; 95% CI = 1.2–25.4) and cortical involvement of the stroke (OR = 3.6; 95%, CI = 1.3–9.9) were independent determinants of acute cognitive impairment, whereas premorbid moderate alcohol consumption exerted a protective effect (OR = 0.4; 95% CI = 0.1–1.1). Conclusions:Cognitive impairment is common in the first weeks after stroke, with executive and perceptual disorders being the most frequent. Intracerebral haemorrhage, cortical involvement of the lesion and premorbid moderate alcohol consumption are independently associated with acute cognitive impairment.

The sudden decline in estrogen levels after menopause coincides with acceleration of several aging processes.¹ On average, bone mineral density (BMD) decreases and cognitive function declines, whereas total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) increase. It has been suggested that postmenopausal estrogen therapy might counteract some of these changes. However, short-term estrogen use is associated with the recurrence of vaginal bleeding,² and long-term use has been associated with an increased risk of breast cancer,^3,4 stroke,⁵ and cardiovascular disease.⁴