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Disentangling the relationship between cognitive estimation abilities and executive functions: a study on patients with Parkinson’s disease

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Abstract

The cognitive estimation test (CET) measures cognitive estimation abilities: it assesses the ability to apply reasoning strategies to answer questions that usually cannot lead to a clear and exact reply. Since it requires the activation of an intricate ensemble of cognitive functions, there is an ongoing debate in the literature regarding whether the CET represents a measurement of global cognitive abilities or a pure measure of executive functions. In the present study, CET together with a neuropsychological assessment focused on executive functions was administered in thirty patients with Parkinson’s disease without signs of dementia. The CET correlated with measures of verbal working memory and semantic knowledge, but not with other dimensions of executive domains, such as verbal phonemic fluency, ability to manage real-world interferences, or visuospatial reasoning. According to our results, cognitive estimation abilities appeared to trigger a defined cognitive path that includes executive functions, namely, working memory and semantic knowledge.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology Research Laboratory, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Ospedale San Giuseppe, Via Cadorna, 90 28824, Piancavallo (VCO), Italy

    Guido Edoardo D’Aniello & Gianluca Castelnuovo

  2. Division of Neurology and Neuro-Rehabilitation, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Ospedale San Giuseppe, Piancavallo (VCO), Italy

    Federica Scarpina, Giovanni Albani & Alessandro Mauro

  3. Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy

    Gianluca Castelnuovo

  4. “Rita Levi Montalcini” Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Turin, Italy

    Federica Scarpina & Alessandro Mauro

Authors
  1. Guido Edoardo D’Aniello
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  2. Federica Scarpina
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  3. Giovanni Albani
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  4. Gianluca Castelnuovo
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  5. Alessandro Mauro
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Correspondence to Guido Edoardo D’Aniello.

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D’Aniello, G.E., Scarpina, F., Albani, G. et al. Disentangling the relationship between cognitive estimation abilities and executive functions: a study on patients with Parkinson’s disease. Neurol Sci 36, 1425–1429 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-015-2158-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-015-2158-5

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