Your search for: 'author:(" Carlesimo, Giovanni Augusto")' has returned 14 results. (0.017s) Save search

Authors: Caltagirone, Carlo | Carlesimo, Giovanni Augusto | Fadda, Lucia | Roncacci, Sabina

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: In order to evaluate cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis (MS) neuropsychological tests were administered to 25 patients with clinically definite disease. Four (16%) showed diffuse cognitive impairment, whereas the others, compared with controls showed a specific deficit on tests known to be sensitive to frontal lobe damage. These results are interpreted in the light of current hypotheses relating to subcortical contributions in cognition.

DOI: 10.3233/BEN-1991-4301

Citation: Behavioural Neurology, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 129-141, 1991

Authors: Perri, Roberta | Fadda, Lucia | Caltagirone, Carlo | Carlesimo, Giovanni Augusto

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Background: Different roles have been attributed to mesio-temporal areas and frontal lobes in declarative memory functioning, and qualitative differences have been observed in the amnesic symptoms due to pathological damage of these two portions of the central nervous system. Objective: The aim of the present study was to look for memory profiles related to pathological involvement in the temporal and frontal structures in patients with different dementia syndromes on word-list and prose memory tasks. Methods: 20 patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), 20 with frontal variant of FTD (fvFTD), 20 with subcortical ischemic vascular dementia (SIVD), and 20 with Lewy body …dementia (LBD) and 34 healthy subjects (NCs) were submitted to word-list and prose memory tasks. Results: All groups performed similarly on both the immediate and delayed recall of the word-list. Conversely, AD patients performed worse than all the other dementia groups on the immediate prose recall. On delayed prose recall, AD patients performed worse than fvFTD and SIVD patients but similar to LBD patients. Differential scores between word-list and prose tests were minimal in the AD group and very pronounced in fvFTD and SIVD groups. Conclusion: The combined use of the prose and word-list tasks evidenced a “mesio-temporal” memory profile in AD patients as opposed to a “frontal” one in fvFTD and SIVD patients and a mixed profile in the LBD patients. In particular, a differential score between the two tests can be useful in differentiating AD patients from patients with other forms of dementia. Show more

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia, Lewy body dementia, memory recall, subcortical ischemic vascular disease

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-130347

Citation: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 99-107, 2013

Authors: Barban, Francesco | Carlesimo, Giovanni Augusto | Macaluso, Emiliano | Caltagirone, Carlo | Costa, Alberto

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: In this study we tested the gateway hypothesis of Broadmann area 10 (BA10). With a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) protocol we manipulated the saliency – stimulus-oriented (SO) attending – and the memory load – stimulus-independent (SI) attending – during a prospective memory (PM) task. We found a significant main effect of the SO manipulation within the medial BA10 and a significant interaction between SI attending and PM task within the left lateral BA10. Our results give experimental support to the gateway hypothesis.

Keywords: Prospective memory, BA10, Gateway hypothesis

DOI: 10.3233/BEN-2012-129012

Citation: Behavioural Neurology, vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 207-209, 2013

Authors: Turriziani, Patrizia | Oliveri, Massimiliano | Salerno, Silvia | Costanzo, Floriana | Koch, Giacomo | Caltagirone, Carlo | Carlesimo, Giovanni Augusto

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Recognition memory can be supported by both the assessment of the familiarity of an item and by the recollection of the context in which an item was encountered. The neural substrates of these memory processes are controversial. To address these issues we applied repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the right and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) of healthy subjects performing a remember/know task. rTMS disrupted familiarity judgments when applied before encoding of stimuli over both right and left DLPFC. rTMS disrupted recollection when applied before encoding of stimuli over the right DLPFC. These findings suggest that the DLPFC plays …a critical role in recognition memory based on familiarity as well as recollection. Show more

Keywords: Recognition memory, recollection, familiarity, prefrontal cortex

Citation: Behavioural Neurology, vol. 19, no. 1-2, pp. 23-27, 2008

Authors: Costa, Alberto | Fadda, Lucia | Perri, Roberta | Brisindi, Marialuisa | Lombardi, Maria Giovanna | Caltagirone, Carlo | Carlesimo, Giovanni Augusto

Article Type: Short Communication

Abstract: This study was aimed at evaluating whether prospective memory (PM) assessment is able to assist the discrimination between amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and healthy subjects (HCs) and between aMCI with single versus multiple domains impairment. Individuals with aMCI and HCs were administered an extensive neuropsychological tests battery and a time-based PM task. PM scores significantly improved the accuracy of the regression model in discriminating between aMCI multiple domains, but not aMCI single domain, and HCs. Moreover, the prospective score significantly contributed to the discrimination between the two aMCI subgroups. These findings indicate the usefulness of including the PM procedure …in evaluations of aMCI. Show more

Keywords: Dementia, mild cognitive impairment, neuropsychological assessment, prospective memory

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-142070

Citation: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 63-67, 2015

Authors: Perri, Roberta | Monaco, Marco | Fadda, Lucia | Caltagirone, Carlo | Carlesimo, Giovanni Augusto

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the neuropsychological correlates of behavioral and psychological symptoms (BPSD) in patients affected by various forms of dementia, namely Alzheimer's disease (AD), frontal-variant frontotemporal dementia (fvFTD), Lewy body dementia (LBD), and subcortical ischemic vascular dementia (SIVD). 21 fvFTD, 21 LBD, 22 AD, and 22 SIVD patients matched for dementia severity received a battery of neuropsychological tests and the Neuropsychiatry Inventory (NPI). The possible association between performance on neuropsychological tests and severity of BPSD was assessed by correlational analysis and multivariate regression. BPSD were present in 99% of patients. Most behavioral symptoms were not …related to a particular dementia group or to a specific cognitive deficit. Euphoria and disinhibition were predicted by fvFTD diagnosis. Hallucinations correlated with the severity of visuospatial deficits in the whole sample of patients and were predicted by LBD diagnosis. Apathy, which was found in all dementia groups, correlated with executive functions and was predicted by both reduced set-shifting aptitude and fvFTD diagnosis. The results confirm the high prevalence of BPSD in the mild to moderate stages of dementia and show that most BPSD are equally distributed across dementia groups. Most of the cognitive and behavioral symptoms are independent dimensions of the dementia syndromes. Nevertheless, hallucinations in LBD and euphoria and disinhibition in fvFTD are related to the structural brain alterations that are responsible for cognitive decline in these dementia groups. Finally, apathy arises from damage in the frontal cortical areas that are also involved in executive functions. Show more

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, behavioral disorders, cognitive deficits, dementia with Lewy bodies, frontotemporal dementia, vascular dementia

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-131337

Citation: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 669-677, 2014

Authors: Costa, Alberto | Peppe, Antonella | Brusa, Livia | Caltagirone, Carlo | Gatto, Ilaria | Carlesimo, Giovanni Augusto

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Growing interest is present in literature on the study of prospective memory functioning in Parkinson's disease (PD). Current data indicate that prospective memory may be impaired in PD and a relationship with general executive dysfunctioning has been suggested. However, although the dopamine dependency of cognitive dysfunction in PD has been widely investigated, poor is known on the dopaminergic modulation of PM. In the present study we explored the effect of acute administration of levodopa on the performance of a PD sample (n=20) in a time-based prospective memory task. PD patients were evaluated in the morning after a 12-hour therapy wash-out …in two experimental conditions: i) after levodopa assumption ("on"); ii) without drug administration ("off"). The experimental task required to execute three uncorrelated actions after 10' for three consecutive trials. Distinct scores for the spontaneous recall of the intention to perform the actions (prospective component) and for the correct execution of the actions (retrospective component) have been computed. Results showed that in the "off" condition PD patients were selectively impaired on the prospective component of the task. However, L-dopa administration significantly improved PD patients' performance actually restoring the prospective memory deficit. These results support a critical role of dopaminergic modulation in prospective memory processes in PD patients, possibly through the replacement of dopamine levels in fronto-striatal pathways. Show more

Keywords: Prospective memory, Parkinson's disease, dopamine

Citation: Behavioural Neurology, vol. 19, no. 1-2, pp. 45-48, 2008

Authors: Turchetta, Chiara Stella | Perri, Roberta | Fadda, Lucia | Caruso, Giulia | De Simone, Maria Stefania | Caltagirone, Carlo | Carlesimo, Giovanni Augusto

Article Type: Correction

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-189013

Citation: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 67, no. 1, pp. 423-423, 2019

Authors: Caruso, Giulia | Perri, Roberta | Fadda, Lucia | Caltagirone, Carlo | Carlesimo, Giovanni Augusto

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Background: It has long been debated whether performance on recall and recognition tests depends on the same or different memory systems and whether performance on these two tasks is dissociated in clinical populations. According to Dual process theories of recall , performance on recall and recognition tests dissociates in the relative reliance on frontal lobe related activities; in fact, the recall test requires more strategic retrieval of memoranda than the recognition task. By contrast, Dual process theories of recognition posit that performance on these tests differs in the relative contribution of recollection and familiarity memory processes in the two tasks: …both recollection and familiarity contribute to recognition judgments, but only recollection supports recall performance. Objective: The aim of this study was to clarify the cognitive processes involved in recall and recognition in patients with dementia. Methods: We administered a 15-word recall task followed by a yes/no recognition paradigm to 28 patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), 22 patients with the behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), and 45 normal controls (NCs). Results: Results showed that on the delayed recall task, bvFTD patients performed much better than AD patients but the two groups did not differ on any index of recognition performance. Conclusion: The present data support the hypothesis that the performance of the two groups is expression of the different reliance on recollection (more impaired in the AD than in the bvFTD group) and familiarity (similarly impaired in the two groups) in performance on recall and recognition tasks. Show more

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, familiarity, frontotemporal dementia, recall, recognition, recollection

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-200126

Citation: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 77, no. 2, pp. 655-666, 2020

Authors: De Simone, Maria Stefania | Spalletta, Gianfranco | Vecchio, Daniela | Bassi, Andrea | Carlesimo, Giovanni Augusto | Piras, Fabrizio

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Background: Increasing evidence is demonstrating that degeneration of specific thalamic nuclei, in addition to the hippocampus, may occur in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) from the prodromal stage (mild cognitive impairment – MCI) and contribute to memory impairment. Objective: Here, we evaluated the presence of macro and micro structural alterations at the level of the anterior thalamic nuclei (ATN) and medio-dorsal thalamic nuclei (MDTN) in AD and amnestic MCI (aMCI) and the possible relationship between such changes and the severity of memory impairment. Methods: For this purpose, a sample of 50 patients with aMCI, 50 with AD, and 50 age- and education-matched …healthy controls (HC) were submitted to a 3-T MRI protocol with whole-brain T1-weighted and diffusion tensor imaging and a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment. Results: At macro-structural level, both the ATN and MDTN were found significantly smaller in patients with aMCI and AD when compared to HC subjects. At micro-structural level, instead, diffusion alterations that significantly differentiated aMCI and AD patients from HC subjects were found only in the ATN, but not in the MDTN. Moreover, diffusion values of the ATN were significantly associated with poor episodic memory in the overall patients’ group. Conclusions: These findings represent the first in vivo evidence of a relevant involvement of ATN in the AD-related neurodegeneration and memory profile and strengthen the importance to look beyond the hippocampus when considering neurological conditions characterized by memory decline. Show more

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, anterior thalamic nuclei, diffusion tensor imaging, episodic memory, volumetry

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-230606

Citation: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 97, no. 1, pp. 507-519, 2024