Identifying the Cognitive Decrements Caused By HIV

Abstract

This study had two purposes. The first was to determine the disease stage at which cognitive decrements caused by HIV become detectable. The second was to compare the sensitivity of information processing tests to neuropsychological instruments for detecting cognitive deficits caused by HIV. The study design initially had five groups: an asymptomatic group (Walter Reed Stages 1, 2, and 3), a symptomatic group (Walter Reed Stages 4 and 5), a homosexual, HIV-negative control group, a heterosexual, HIV-negative control group, and a group receiving anti-retroviral medication. After the data had been collected, the method of administering the Merieux, one of the staging criteria, was found to be unreliable. Consequently, the subjects were reclassified and the analyses focused on two groups: the asymptomatic group, which was now defined as subjects in either Walter Reed Stage 1 or 2, and the homosexual control group. Few differences were found between the two groups. The primary differences appeared to involve verbal fluency and verbal episodic memory. HIV, Neuropsychological assessment, Cognitive deficits, Information processing.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 10, 1994
Accession Number
ADA280961

Entities

People

  • Alexandra M. Levine
  • Diane L. Damos
  • Elizabeth S. Parker
  • Richard S. John

Organizations

  • University of Southern California

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
  • Brain
  • Cognition
  • Demography
  • Drug Abuse
  • Health Services
  • Hiv Infections
  • Information Processing
  • Information Science
  • Medical Personnel
  • Psychology
  • Regression Analysis
  • Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Readers

  • Brain and Cognitive Science; Experimental Psychology; Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Clinical Trial Research.
  • Organizational Psychology.