Nafisa Cassimjee

Temperament and Character Correlates of Neuropsychological Performance

We investigate the association between temperament and character dimensions, on the one hand, and computerised neuropsychological test performance, on the other hand. Temperament and character dimensions were operationalised as scores on the subscales of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), a 240-item measure that is based on the psychobiological theory of personality. Neuropsychological outcomes were measured on six computerised tests of executive functioning and abstract reasoning from the University of Pennsylvania Computerised Neuropsychological Test Battery (PennCNP). The executive and abstract reasoning tasks included a test of Motor Praxis (MPRAXIS), the Penn Abstraction, Inhibition and Working Memory Task (AIM), the Letter-N-Back (LNB2), the Penn Conditional Exclusion Task (PCET), the Penn Short Logical Reasoning Task (SPVRT) and the Short Ravens Progressive Matrices (SRAVEN). Results from this exploratory study yielded significant associations between neuropsychological performance and temperament and character traits. The temperament traits of Harm Avoidance and Reward Dependence were positively correlated with reaction time on the AIM and the SPVRT. The character dimension of Self-Transcendence was significantly associated with performance accuracy on the AIM and the temperament dimension of Novelty Seeking was inversely related to performance accuracy on the LNB2. These results confirm the importance of addressing the temperament and character correlates of neuropsychological performance in both clinical and non-clinical studies.

Personality of South African Police Trainees

There have been efforts to identify a “police personality” based on dispositional and socialization models. Personality traits of successful police applicants at the Police College in Pretoria, South Africa (N = 1,145 police trainees), with regard to sex, ethnic group, and English language reading skills, were described in terms of scores on the Temperament and Character Inventory. South African police trainees generally evaluated themselves as substantially lower in Novelty Seeking and Harm Avoidance combined with lower Cooperativeness, but they scored much higher on Self-Directedness, Persistence, and Self-Transcendence compared to South African university students from the same area. These are characteristics expected from future police officers, which supports the dispositional model.

Psychosis in Alzheimer's Disease: Prevalence, Clinical Characteristics, Symptom Co-Morbidity, and Aetiology

Alzheimers disease was identified almost a century ago. Cognitive morbidity (deterioration in memory, attention, language, and executive functioning) was regarded as a sufficient index for the description and diagnosis of Alzheimers disease. Within the cognitive discourse, the importance of neuropsychiatric and neurobehavioural referents was often eschewed. Recent research studies attest to the profound impact of the non-cognitive symptoms on the quality of life of both patient and caregiver. The purpose of this article is to review studies on psychosis in Alzheimers disease, examine its prevalence, and discuss its manifestation with reference to the association between neuropathology and psychotic disturbances. The importance of clarifying the validity of the construct ‘psychosis in Alzheimers disease’, the specificity of symptoms, and the phenomenology of subtypes with their distinct clinical and biological associations is addressed.

Non-Cognitive Disturbances and Patient Characteristics: Prevalence and Relationship in Alzheimer's Disease

The primary aim of this exploratory study was to determine the spectrum of non-cognitive symptom manifestation in a cohort with Alzheimers disease. The secondary aim was to explore the relationship between non-cognitive indices and patient characteristics. Information was elicited from 63 primary caregivers using a biographical questionnaire, the Behaviour Rating Scale for Dementia and the Blessed Dementia Scale. Symptoms clustered under the neuropsychiatrie nomenclature included mood-related behaviours, which occurred in over 50% of the sample. Agitation, irritability and apathy were the most common neuro-behavioural dysregulatory behaviours reported by caregivers. The correlation between non-cognitive symptoms and patient characteristics revealed that lower cognitive functioning is significantly associated with aggressive actions and higher levels of cognitive functioning with the manifestation of depressive symptoms. These findings have implications for caregiver distress and caregiver management of non-institutionalised Alzheimers patients.

Personality and mental health: an investigation of South African police trainees.

The relationship between personality and mental health was investigated in one cohort of police trainees at a South African police academy (1,145 police recruits; 648 men, 497 women). Male trainees reported less somatisation, depression, anxiety, and phobic anxiety symptoms and lower harm avoidance as well as higher persistence than female trainees. A cluster analysis based on the personality scores was used to identify three clusters with personality profiles characterized as Vulnerable, Healthy, and Intermediate profiles. Sociodemographic variables and temperament and character domain scores contributed separately and differentially to the explanation of variance in mental health symptom scores. Selection tools should be developed to identify vulnerable individuals in terms of personality characteristics during selection and prior to training, to prevent later problems with stress reactions. Additional training modules focusing on coping skills could possibly reduce vulnerability to stress in some trainees.

Influence of Socio-Demographic Factors on SRAVEN Performance

This exploratory study aimed to investigate the influence of specific socio-demographic variables on a computerized test of non-verbal neuropsychological performance. Six hundred and thirty South African first year students were assessed using the University of Pennsylvania Computerized Neuropsychological Test Battery (PennCNP). Fluid intelligence was measured by a computerized version of the Ravens Progressive Matrices (SRAVENS). Analysis of variance indicated that gender, home language, quality of schooling, language of schooling and paternal education influenced performance on the SRAVEN. Stepwise multiple regression evidenced the importance of language, paternal education and high school language on SRAVENS responses. The assumption of non-verbal test scores as being independent of socio-demographic factors needs to be revisited as such independence cannot be maintained in light of such evidence.

A SYSTEMIC STUDY OF SOUTH AFRICAN EMIGRANTS' EXPERIENCE OF THE CANADIAN ENVIRONMENT

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to investigate the coupling between the immigrant and the new environment by focusing on South African emigrants in Canadas experience of the environment. Thus far, acculturation and adaptation research has excluded the physical environment as a study unit. This study focused on the immigrants ‘adaptation as a whole by including the physical environment as a component of the acculturation and adaptation processes. Systems theory constituted a framework for studying the interactions between people, culture and the physical environment. Twenty-four interviews were conducted via the Internet. The first order analysis identified 36 categories of experience. The second order analysis identified nine pattern categories that constitute a shared experience. The third order analysis placed the immigrants’ experience as a whole in the context of interacting systems. In conclusion recommendations are made for interdisciplinary co-operation, further research and the practical implementation of migration research.

The relationship between neuropsychological performance and depression in patients with traumatic brain injury

Traumatic brain injury is a multi-faceted condition that affects individuals on physical, cognitive, and emotional levels. The study investigated the relationship between depression and neuropsychological performance in a group with traumatic brain injury. A retrospective review was conducted on 75 participants who completed neuropsychological assessments. Information on clinical characteristics, sociodemographic information, neuropsychological outcomes, and Beck Depression Inventory scores were included in the analysis. Results indicated that 36% of the participants reported experiencing severe symptoms of depression, 28% moderate symptoms of depression, and 36% mild/minimal symptoms of depression. Performance on the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test indicated inverse relationships with depression scores suggesting that traumatic brain injury patients with lower depression scores perform better on verbal memory tasks. Similarly, findings for the written and oral versions of the Symbol Digit Modalities Test reflected inverse correlations with depression scores, indicating that lower depression scores are correlated with increased processing speed and capacity. A significant positive association between the time taken to complete the Trail Making Test Trail A and Trail B and depression scores was found, suggesting that higher depression scores in this sample were related to slower performance speed and lower executive performance. When specific clinical and sociodemographic variables were included as covariates in a partial correlational analysis, neuropsychological performance indicators and depression scores remained significant for Symbol Digit Modalities Test (oral and written), the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test Retrieval and Recognition trials, and Trail Making Test (Trail B). This study indicates that in a traumatic brain injury cohort, depression levels are significantly associated with specific neuropsychological performance measures. The findings of this study have implications for psychosocial treatment planning after a traumatic brain injury and contribute to our understandings of the inter-relationship between cognition and emotion.

Neuropsychological profiles of adults and older adults with HIV

The wider availability of highly active antiretroviral therapy has resulted in a concomitant increase in adults aging with HIV and the persistence of milder forms of neuropsychological impairment in this cohort. This study investigated the differences in neuropsychological functioning between a group of HIV+ adults and older adults and an HIV− matched control group. Participants from a semi-urban community clinic volunteered to participate in the study. The performance of 50 participants (33 HIV+ and 17 HIV−) who met the inclusion criteria were compared on the following measures: Dementia Rating Scale-2, the Stroop Color and Word Test, the Symbol Digits Modalities Test, and the Delis–Kaplan Executive Function System Trail Making Test. The results indicated that the HIV+ in comparison with the HIV− negative group had poorer performance profiles in global cognitive functioning, memory, executive functioning, visuoconstruction ability, psychomotor functioning, and processing speed. The findings suggest that further research in South Africa will contribute to a better understanding of the neuropsychological profiles of adults aging with HIV and inform intervention strategies specific to addressing the mental healthcare needs of this subgroup.

A Review of Mood and Anxiety Disturbances in Alzheimer's Disease: Implications for Treatment Outcomes

Alzheimers disease was identified almost 100 years ago and cognitive morbidity (deterioration in memory, attention, language, and executive functioning) was regarded as a sufficient index for the description and diagnosis of this disease. Within the cognitive discourse, the importance of neuropsychiatric and neurobehavioural referents were often eschewed. Recent research shows the profound impact of the non-cognitive symptoms on patient and caregiver. This article reviews the studies on disturbances in Alzheimers disease, its prevalence, and its manifestation with reference to neuropathology. The article elucidates the potential for pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches to management of symptoms. Some reflections on Alzheimers disease and the cultural expression of symptoms in an African setting is included.