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Background/Objective: Cognitive frailty, the coexistence of physical frailty and cognitive impairment, is a potentially reversible and high-risk state for dementia. This study examined the association between Color Kanji Pick-out Test (CKPT) app performance and cognitive frailty independent of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores in community-dwelling older women. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the participants were 102 community-dwelling older women without dementia and with MMSE scores ≥ 27 (73.6 ± 6.0 years). Reversible cognitive frailty was defined as subjective cognitive decline (≥1 point in the cognitive domain of the Kihon Checklist) plus physical frailty or prefrailty, according to the Japanese Cardiovascular Health Study (J-CHS) criteria. Firth’s penalized logistic regression using three prespecified models, adjusted for age and education, was used to examine the independent associations between CKPT app performance and MMSE scores with reversible cognitive frailty. Results: Fourteen participants (13.7%) met the criteria for cognitive frailty. In separate models, higher CKPT app and MMSE scores were significantly associated with lower odds of cognitive frailty (CKPT: odds ratio [OR] 0.470, p = 0.019; MMSE: OR 0.548, p = 0.020). In a multivariable model including both measures, the CKPT app (OR 0.499, p = 0.031) and MMSE scores (OR 0.553, p = 0.031) remained independently associated with cognitive frailty, and this model had the lowest Akaike information criterion. Conclusions: The CKPT app performance was independently associated with cognitive frailty beyond global cognition. The CKPT app may detect subtle executive and attentional vulnerabilities not captured by the MMSE, supporting practical, objective, early screening and risk stratification of cognitive frailty.
OBJECTIVES:This study examined longitudinal changes in episodic memory performance in SuperAgers (SAs) and typical older adults (TOAs), focusing on whether SAs avoid age-related decline or show a slower rate of decline. METHODS:Data were drawn from the Yakumo Study. Participants who completed episodic memory assessments on at least two occasions between ages 60 and 85 were classified as SAs or TOAs based on Logical Memory Test performance. Age-related changes were analyzed using regression models including age, group, and their interaction. RESULTS:SAs performed significantly better than TOAs across the observed age range. A significant Age × Group interaction was found, indicating different rates of decline between groups (F(1, 678) = 7.26, p = .007). Although memory performance declined significantly in both groups, the decline was less pronounced in SAs (β = -0.164) than in TOAs (β = -0.316). Analyses of standardized scores further showed that SAs maintained their relative cognitive standing more effectively than TOAs. CONCLUSIONS:SAs are not immune to age-related decline but exhibit a significantly attenuated rate of decline. These findings suggest that super-aging reflects both superior baseline memory performance and greater preservation over time, consistent with Brain Maintenance and Cognitive Reserve frameworks.
The evaluation of similarity between concepts and their categorization are closely related yet distinct processes. For example, marine mammals, including dolphins, are taxonomically classified as mammals, yet they share more biological features with fish than terrestrial mammals. In this study, we used magnetoencephalography (MEG) and a priming paradigm to investigate the neural dynamics of similarity- and category-based processing. Pairs of animal names from four distinct categories were presented sequentially to view the effect of the first name (prime) on processing of the second name (target). Across all animal targets, mean neural activation between 200 ms to 750 ms post-target onset significantly correlated with the semantic distance between the paired animals (showing similarity or category) in the left anterior temporal lobe (ATL) and left inferior frontal cortex (IFC). Although these findings are consistent with previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) results that used identical stimuli, task, and paradigm, a divergence emerged for marine mammal targets. Specifically, the MEG priming effect was larger for fish prime than for terrestrial mammal prime, indicating similarity-based processing in the left IFC. This is in contrast with the category-based processing observed using fMRI. The discrepancy may be attributable to difference in temporal resolution between MEG and fMRI. Our results demonstrate that the category-based processing is not sustained throughout the semantic processing window; rather, they capture a transient, temporal aspect of semantic control that flexibly adapts to context.
