INECO Frontal Screening: an Instrument to assess Executive Dysfunction in Schizophrenia

AbstractAlthough several brief sensitive screening tools are available to detect executive dysfunction, few have been developed to quickly assess executive functioning. The INECO Frontal Screening (IFS) is a brief tool which has proved be useful for the assessment of the executive functions in patients with dementia. The aim of this study was to explore whether the IFS is as sensitive and specific as the BADS, a battery designed to assess the dysexecutive syndrome, in schizophrenia. Our sample comprised a group of 34 schizophrenic patients (Mean age = 39.59, DP = 10.697) and 31 healthy controls (Mean age = 35.52, DP = 10.211). To all groups were administered the BADS, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and IFS. The results suggest that schizophrenic patients performed significantly worse than the control group in all tests (p < .05). The IFS total score was 13.29 for the experimental group and 26.21 for the control group (p < .001). Considering a cut-off of 14 points, the IFS sensitivity was 100% and specificity 56% in detection of executive dysfunction in schizophrenia, compared with the BADS, that if we consider a cut-off of 11 points, was a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 50%. Thus, IFS is a brief, sensitive and specific tool for the detection of executive dysfunction in schizophrenia.

Download Full-text

Executive Dysfunction in Non-Psychotic Unipolar Depressed Patients: Assessement by the Wisconsin (Berg) Card Sorting Test

International Journal of Psychological Studies ◽

10.5539/ijps.v8n1p112 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 112 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Marco Moniz ◽

Saul Neves De Jesus ◽

João Viseu ◽

Eduardo Gonçalves ◽

Susana Moreira ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Executive Dysfunction ◽

Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Conceptual Level ◽

Card Sorting ◽

Depressed Patients ◽

Perseverative Errors ◽

Wisconsin Card Sorting ◽

Sorting Test ◽

Depressive Patients

Introduction: Alterations in executive functioning are frequent in depressed subjects, being the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) one of the most utilized instruments to assess it, even though, when individually compared, this test’s items did not show consistency.Method: This study aimed to compare the performance of a group comprising 36 non-psychotic unipolar depressed patients (23 women and 13 men, with a mean age of 44.28 years old [SD = 14.78]) with 36 healthy controls (22 women and 14 men, with a mean age of 42.22 years old [SD = 15.19]) in a computerized version of WCST.Results: We found significant differences between depressed patients and healthy controls regarding number of categories, perseverative responses, perseverative errors, non-perseverative errors, percentage of conceptual level responses and failure to maintain set, clearly influenced by the variable age, which showed a shared variance between 17% and 33% in depressive patients’ performance and between 16% and 26% in healthy controls’ performance.Conclusions: Results allowed us to identify differences in performance between the two groups, therefore this version of the WCST revealed itself a reliable alternative to assess Executive Functions (EFs), accessible to all clinicians.

Download Full-text

No deficit in Wisconsin Card Sorting Test performance of schizophrenic patients' first-degree relatives

Schizophrenia Research ◽

10.1016/s0920-9964(97)00047-9 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 26 (2-3) ◽

pp. 147-151 ◽

Cited By ~ 36

Author(s):

P Stratta ◽

E Daneluzzo ◽

P Mattei ◽

M Bustini ◽

M Casacchia ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Test Performance ◽

Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽

Card Sorting ◽

First Degree Relatives ◽

Schizophrenic Patients ◽

Wisconsin Card Sorting ◽

Sorting Test

Download Full-text

Cognitive Inflexibility and Pre-frontal Dysfunction in Schizophrenia and Mania

The British Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1192/bjp.157.1.50 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 157 (1) ◽

pp. 50-54 ◽

Cited By ~ 178

Author(s):

Rodney Morice

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Assessment ◽

Poor Performance ◽

Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽

Control Group ◽

Card Sorting ◽

Frontal Dysfunction ◽

Cognitive Inflexibility ◽

Wisconsin Card Sorting ◽

Sorting Test ◽

And Control

The ability to shift cognitive set, which is probably subserved, at least in part, by the pre-frontal cortex, was determined for schizophrenic, bipolar (manic) and control subjects, using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). The schizophrenic and manic subjects both demonstrated poor performance on the WCST, suggesting that cognitive inflexibility and/or pre-frontal dysfunction, is not specific to schizophrenia (although laterality differences could exist). Moderate levels of poor performance in the non-psychiatric control group suggest the need for a review of the cut-off figures in the WCST currently used for predicting ‘brain damage’ and ‘focal frontal involvement‘, especially given the trend for the increasing use of cognitive assessment and rehabilitation in the major psychoses.

Download Full-text

Executive function performance as neurocognitive differentiating marker between schizophrenia and psychotic depression

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/s0924-9338(11)72140-x ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 26 (S2) ◽

pp. 433-433 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

A. Rady ◽

A. Elsheshai ◽

O. Elkholy ◽

H. Abou el Wafa

Keyword(s):

Diagnostic Tool ◽

Rating Scale ◽

Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽

Control Group ◽

Psychotic Depression ◽

Card Sorting ◽

Group I ◽

Severe Impairment ◽

Wisconsin Card Sorting ◽

Sorting Test

Background and aimSchizophrenia and psychotic depression are two psychiatric disorders sharing in common the presence of psychotic features, delusion, hallucinations or both and severe impairment in occupational functions. Added to that the diagnostic dilemma to differentiate between severe psychomotor retardation, which is not uncommon in psychotic depression, and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Our work aims at utilizing Wisconsin Card Sorting Test WCST performance as a differentiating diagnostic tool helping in differentiating between both diagnosis.Subjects and methodsPatients are recruited randomly from the outpatient service of Alexandria University Hospitals, three groups are included;Group I patients with psychotic depression,Group II schizophrenic patients andGroup III control group.Patients recruited in both group I and II score 4 or higher on the Clinical Global Impression for Severity CGI-S scale, all participants were subjected to Brief Psychiatric Rating scale and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test WCST 128 card computerized version.ResultsThe study showed severe impairment in executive functions in all parameters assessed by the WCST including number of administered trials, percentage of errors and perseverative errors as well as failure to maintain categories. Such cognitive dysfunction was significantly more severe in schizophrenia than both other groups. Both schizophrenic and psychotically depressed groups showed poorer performance compared to healthy control.ConclusionPerformance on WCST may be of great help as a differentiating diagnostic tool to distinguish between schizophrenia and psychotic depression.

Download Full-text

Hypofrontality in neuroleptic-naive schizophrenic patients during the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test - a fMRI study

European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience ◽

10.1007/s004060170055 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 251 (2) ◽

pp. 66-71 ◽

Cited By ~ 58

Author(s):

Stefan Riehemann ◽

Hans-Peter Volz ◽

Peggy Stützer ◽

Stefan Smesny ◽

Christian Gaser ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽

Card Sorting ◽

Fmri Study ◽

Schizophrenic Patients ◽

Wisconsin Card Sorting ◽

Sorting Test

Download Full-text

FUNCTIONAL NEUROANATOMY OF THE WISCONSIN CARD SORTING TEST IN SCHIZOPHRENIC PATIENTS: AN EVENT-RELATED 3T fMRI STUDY

Schizophrenia Research ◽

10.1016/s0920-9964(08)70275-5 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 102 (1-3) ◽

pp. 91

Author(s):

Patricia Ohrmann ◽

Andreas Wilmsmeier ◽

Jochen Bauer ◽

Ansgar Siegmund ◽

Thomas Suslow ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽

Functional Neuroanatomy ◽

Card Sorting ◽

Fmri Study ◽

Schizophrenic Patients ◽

Wisconsin Card Sorting ◽

Sorting Test

Download Full-text

Is executive function distinguishing schizophrenia from bipolar disorder?

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/s0924-9338(11)73124-8 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 26 (S2) ◽

pp. 1419-1419

Author(s):

M.R. Khodaee ◽

M.K. Derakhshan ◽

A. Khodabakhshi Kooalee

Keyword(s):

Executive Function ◽

Educational Status ◽

Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽

Card Sorting ◽

Schizophrenic Patients ◽

Bipolar Type ◽

Patient Groups ◽

Wisconsin Card Sorting ◽

Sorting Test

ObjectivesThere is an evidence for differential executive function in bipolar type 1 disorder (B1D) and schizophrenia that may tend different cognitive deficits and abnormalities. The objective of this study was to compare the executive function of B1D and schizophrenic patients.MethodWe studied 50 patients with B1D, and 50 schizophrenic participants. All participants completed the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) of the Persian version. The participants were match in three basic variables which had most contributions in cognitive conditions in patients. They were Age, educational status and period of illness.ResultsThe two patient groups had compared performance on the WCST. In the WCST, schizophrenic patients showed impairment executive function more than B1D patients.ConclusionsFindings indicated that schizophrenic patients had more dysfunctions executive function than the Bipolar type 1 disorder patients. Although, both disorders may show the impairment in executive function, but the dysfunction in schizophrenia greater than bipolar type 1disorder patients.

Download Full-text