Shared cognitive processes underlying performance on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and the Stroop Test in patients with schizophrenia: A measurement artifact?

Executive functions are involved in a series of human neurological and psychiatric disorders. For this reason, appropriate assessment tools with age and education adjusted norms for symptom diagnosis are necessary. OBJECTIVE: To present normative data for adults (19-75 year-olds; with five years of education or more) on the Modified Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (MWCST), Stroop color and word test and Digit Span test. Age and education effects were investigated. METHODS: Three samples were formed after inclusion criteria and data analysis: MWCST (n=124); Digit Span (n=123), and Stroop test (n=158). Groups were divided into young (19-39), middle-aged (40-59) and older (60-75) participants with five to eight years of education and nine years of education or more. Two-way ANOVA and ANCOVA analyses were used. RESULTS: Education effects were found in most variables of the three tasks. An age effect was only found on color naming and color-word naming speed from the Stroop test. No interactions were detected. CONCLUSION: In countries with heterogeneous educational backgrounds, the use of stratified norms by education to assess at least some components of executive functions is essential for an ethical and accurate cognitive diagnosis.

Download Full-text

Forest, Trees, Dynamics: Results from a Novel Wisconsin Card Sorting Test Variant Protocol for Studying Global-Local Attention and Complex Cognitive Processes

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00238 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Benjamin Cowley ◽

Kristian Lukander

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Processes ◽

Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽

Forest Trees ◽

Card Sorting ◽

Wisconsin Card Sorting ◽

Sorting Test

Download Full-text

Social cognition and executive function in borderline personality disorder: evidence of altered cognitive processes

Salud Mental ◽

10.17711/sm.0185-3325.2019.005 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 42 (1) ◽

pp. 33-42 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jonathan Adrián Zegarra-Valdivia ◽

Brenda Nadia Chino Vilca

Keyword(s):

Executive Function ◽

Social Cognition ◽

Cognitive Processes ◽

Verbal Fluency ◽

Iowa Gambling Task ◽

Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽

Borderline Personality ◽

Card Sorting ◽

Wisconsin Card Sorting ◽

Sorting Test

Introduction. Social cognition (SC) and executive function (EF) research in borderline personality disorder (BPD) has proven to be controversial and lack of sufficient information about deficit patterns. Objective. Assess the contribution of SC and EF in the socio-emotional and cognitive patterns in BPD, as well as investigate the possible relationships between SC, EF, and clinic features in BPD. Method. The study evaluated 20 females with BPD in ambulatory hospitalization and 20 healthy women in social cognition (“Reading the mind through the eyes” and the IOWA gambling task) and executive function (with the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, verbal fluency tasks; digit spam test and numbers-and-letters of the WAIS-III, Trail Making Test Form A and B). Results. The results show statistically-significant differences for the tasks evaluated in social cognition, the theory of mind (u: 181, p < .001**), and the IOWA gambling task, score IOWA 4 (p < .004*), and IOWA 5 p < .003*); and executive functioning, for example in the Wisconsin card sorting test, WCST1 were found (p < .003*), WCST2 (p < .004*), WCST3 (p < .018*) or WCST4 (p < .003*). Digit span test and verbal fluency had significant differences compared to controls. Discussion and conclusion. The subdomains evaluated would be good endophenotypes as well as specific cognitive processes for research and rehabilitation.

Download Full-text

The Role of Shifting, Inhibition and Working Memory in Older Adults' Performance in the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e512682013-588 ◽

2007 ◽

Author(s):

Nadia Gamboz ◽

Erika Borella ◽

Maria Antonella Brandimonte

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Working Memory ◽

Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽

Card Sorting ◽

Wisconsin Card Sorting ◽

Sorting Test

Download Full-text

Dopaminergic Genes Polymorphisms and Prefrontal Cortex Efficiency Among Obese People - Whether Gender is a Differentiating Factor?

Current Molecular Medicine ◽

10.2174/1566524019666190424143653 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (6) ◽

pp. 405-418

Author(s):

Maciej Bieliński ◽

Natalia Lesiewska ◽

Roman Junik ◽

Anna Kamińska ◽

Andrzej Tretyn ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Executive Functions ◽

Tandem Repeats ◽

Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽

Variable Number ◽

Card Sorting ◽

Obese People ◽

Perseverative Errors ◽

Wisconsin Card Sorting ◽

Sorting Test

Background:Obesity is a chronic condition associated with poorer cognitive functioning. Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) is a useful tool for evaluating executive functions. In this study, we assessed the association between dopaminergic gene polymorphisms: DAT1 (SLC6A3), COMTVal158Met, DRD4 (48-bp variable number of tandem repeats - VNTR) and WCST parameters to investigate the functions of the frontal lobes in obese individuals.Objective:To find the significant correlations between polymorphisms of DAT1, COMTVal158Met, DRD4 and executive functions in obese subjects.Methods:The analysis of the frequency of individual alleles was performed in 248 obese patients (179 women, 69 men). Evaluation of the prefrontal cortex function (operating memory and executive functions) was measured with the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). Separate analyzes were performed in age subgroups to determine different activities and regulation of genes in younger and older participants.Results:Scores of WCST parameters were different in the subgroups of women and men and in the age subgroups. Regarding the COMT gene, patients with A/A and G/A polymorphisms showed significantly better WCST results in WCST_P, WCST_CC and WCST_1st. Regarding DAT1 men with L/L and L/S made less non-perseverative errors, which was statistically significant. In DRD4, significantly better WCST_1st results were found only in older women with S allele.Conclusion:Obtained results indicate the involvement of dopaminergic transmission in the regulation of prefrontal cortex function. Data analysis indicates that prefrontal cortex function may ensue, from different elements such as genetic factors, metabolic aspects of obesity, and hormonal activity (estrogen).

Download Full-text