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Working Memory Impairment in Transient Ischaemic Attack: N-back as a Sensitive Measure for Detection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 December 2021

Laura J. Smith Open the ORCID record for Laura J. Smith [Opens in a new window] ,
Polly Gregory ,
Philip Clatworthy Open the ORCID record for Philip Clatworthy [Opens in a new window] ,
Lucy Gallop  and
George Stothart Open the ORCID record for George Stothart [Opens in a new window]
Laura J. Smith
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK School of Psychology, University of Kent, Kent, UK
Polly Gregory
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
Philip Clatworthy
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, North Bristol NHS Trust, Bristol, UK
Lucy Gallop
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
George Stothart*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
*
*Corresponding author. Email: G.Stothart@bath.ac.uk
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Abstract

Background:

Transient ischaemic attack (TIA) can lead to lasting changes in brain structure and function resulting in cognitive impairment. Cognitive screening tools may lack sensitivity for detecting cognitive impairments, particularly executive function, which tends to be the earliest affected domain in vascular cognitive impairment.

Aim:

In this preliminary study, we examine a working memory (WMem) task as a sensitive measure of cognitive impairment in TIA.

Method:

Patients referred to a TIA clinic for transient neurological symptoms completed a general cognitive screening tool (Montreal Cognitive Assessment; MoCA), and a WMem task (2-N-back) in a cross-sectional design.

Results:

TIA patients (n = 12) showed significantly reduced WMem performance on the N-back compared to patients diagnosed with mimic clinical conditions with overlapping symptoms (n = 16). No group differences were observed on the MoCA.

Conclusions:

Assessing WMem may provide a sensitive measure of cognitive impairment after TIA, with implications for cognitive screening in TIA services to triage patients for further neuropsychological support, or for interventions to prevent vascular dementia.

Keywords

Working memorytransient ischaemic attacksensitivity (d′)N-back
Type
Brief Report
Information
Brain Impairment , Volume 24 , Issue 1 , March 2023 , pp. 124 - 131
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Australasian Society for the Study of Brain Impairment

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