Jin MN, et al. - In order to clarify if atrial fibrillation (AF) catheter ablation enhances or worsens cognitive function, researchers evaluated 1-year serial alterations in cognitive function with or without AF catheter ablation in this prospective case-control study. At baseline and at 3 and 12 months following enrollment, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment score was assessed in 308 patients in the ablation group (71.4% male, 60.6±9.1 years of age, 34.1% persistent AF) who underwent AF ablation, and in 50 patients the control group who were AF patients receiving medical therapy who met the same indication for AF ablation. Findings revealed no worsening of cognitive function in relation to catheter ablation of AF. Rather, improved performance on 1-year follow-up neurocognitive tests was evident, particularly in patients with a preablation cognitive impairment, in relation to catheter ablation of AF.