Neurological abnormalities and neurocognitive functions in healthy elder people: A structural equation modeling analysis
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RESEARCH
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Neurological abnormalities and neurocognitive functions in healthy elder people: A structural equation modeling analysis Raymond CK Chan1,2*, Ting Xu1,2,3, Hui-jie Li2, Qing Zhao1,2,3, Han-hui Liu4, Yi Wang1,2,3, Chao Yan1,2,3, Xiao-yan Cao1,2,3, Yu-na Wang1,2,3, Yan-fang Shi1,2 and Paola Dazzan5
Abstract Background/Aims: Neurological abnormalities have been reported in normal aging population. However, most of them were limited to extrapyramidal signs and soft signs such as motor coordination and sensory integration have received much less attention. Very little is known about the relationship between neurological soft signs and neurocognitive function in healthy elder people. The current study aimed to examine the underlying relationships between neurological soft signs and neurocognition in a group of healthy elderly. Methods: One hundred and eighty healthy elderly participated in the current study. Neurological soft signs were evaluated with the subscales of Cambridge Neurological Inventory. A set of neurocognitive tests was also administered to all the participants. Structural equation modeling was adopted to examine the underlying relationship between neurological soft signs and neurocognition. Results: No significant differences were found between the male and female elder people in neurocognitive function performances and neurological soft signs. The model fitted well in the elderly and indicated the moderate associations between neurological soft signs and neurocognition, specifically verbal memory, visual memory and working memory. Conclusions: The neurological soft signs are more or less statistically equivalent to capture the similar information done by conventional neurocognitive function tests in the elderly. The implication of these findings may serve as a potential neurological marker for the early detection of pathological aging diseases or related mental status such as mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. Keywords: neurological soft signs, neurocognitive impairments, elderly, Chinese
Background Neurological soft signs are minor neurological abnormalities in sensory and motor function commonly reported in disorders such as schizophrenia spectrum disorders [1,2], autism spectrum disorders [3], and obsessive-compulsive disorders [4]. Recent studies suggest that healthy people at different developmental stages in their lives also exhibit differential base-rates of neurological signs [5-7]. This is particularly true for elderly individuals, because neurological signs increase * Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
with advancing age [8]. Past research on neurological abnormalities in elderly individuals has primarily focused on evaluating extrapyramidal disturbances or focal signs, which are collectively known as “hard” signs [9-13]. These are impairments of basi
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