Cognition and interpersonal coordination of patients with schizophrenia who have sports habits

Team sports activities are effective for improving the negative symptoms and cognitive functions in patients with schizophrenia. However, the interpersonal coordination during the sports and visual cognition of patients with schizophrenia who have team sports habits are unknown. The main objectives of this study were to test two hypotheses: first, patients with schizophrenia perform the skill requiring ball passing and receiving worse than healthy controls; and second, the patients will be impaired in these functionings in accordance with the previous studies regarding schizophrenia in general. Twelve patients with schizophrenia and 15 healthy controls, who had habits in football, participated in this study. The participants performed three conventional cognitive tests and a 3-vs-1 ball possession task to evaluate their interpersonal coordination. The results showed that in the 3-vs-1 possession task, the displacement in the pass angle for the patients was significantly smaller than that for the control. The recall in the complex figure test, the performance in the trail making test, and that in the five-choice reaction task for the patients were worse than those for the control. Moreover, we found the significant partial correlations in the patients between the extradimensional shift error and the pass angle as well as between the time in the trail making test and the displacement in the pass angle, whereas there was no significant correlation in the control group. This study clarified the impaired interpersonal coordination during team sports and the visual cognition of patients with schizophrenia who have team sports habits.

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Cerebral hemodynamics in schizophrenia during the Trail Making Test: A functional transcranial Doppler sonography study

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2016.01.094 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 33 (S1) ◽

pp. S107-S107 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

D. Schuepbach ◽

S. Egger ◽

S.C. Herpertz

Keyword(s):

Transcranial Doppler ◽

Negative Symptoms ◽

Doppler Sonography ◽

Cerebral Blood Flow Velocity ◽

Cerebral Arteries ◽

Transcranial Doppler Sonography ◽

Cerebral Hemodynamics ◽

Trail Making Test ◽

Trail Making ◽

Functional Transcranial Doppler Sonography

IntroductionSchizophrenia is a severe mental disorder, with complex symptoms involving psychosis, negative symptoms and cognitive impairment. The Trail Making Test (TMT) has been widely used to assess attention and executive function. Functional transcranial Doppler sonography (fTCD) of basal cerebral arteries allows monitoring of aberrant cerebral hemodynamics during cognitive tasks in this patient group.ObjectivesWe assessed cerebral hemodynamics in the middle cerebral arteries (MCA) using fTCD while patients with schizophrenia and healthy subjects performed the TMT and a control task.MethodsFifteen patients with chronic schizophrenia and 15 healthy controls performed the TMT-A and -B during fTCD measurements of the MCA. Dependent measures were performance, mean cerebral blood flow velocity (MFV) and the lateralization.ResultsPatients demonstrated an overall decreased speed of solution (P = 0.002), and there was no significant effect of age. They showed a significantly increased flow pattern for the TMT-B (P = 0.005). There were no lateralization differences between diagnostic groups.ConclusionsThere was a performance deficit in patients with schizophrenia for both TMT-A and -B that fits well with results of existing literature. The aberrant hemodynamic response supports the idea that cognitive performance elicits an aberrant cerebral hemodynamic correlate. It adds to the notion that fTCD is a valuable tool to correlate psychological paradigms with brain perfusion in patients with schizophrenia.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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How does a 4-week motor–cognitive training affect choice reaction, dynamic balance and cognitive performance ability? A randomized controlled trial in well-trained, young, healthy participants

SAGE Open Medicine ◽

10.1177/2050312119870020 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

pp. 205031211987002

Author(s):

Daniel Niederer ◽

Ulrike Plaumann ◽

Tanja Seitz ◽

Franziska Wallner ◽

Jan Wilke ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Training ◽

Perceived Exertion ◽

Intervention Group ◽

Rating Of Perceived Exertion ◽

Control Group ◽

Trail Making Test ◽

Potential Health ◽

Time To Stabilization ◽

Trail Making ◽

Active Adults

Background: We aimed to investigate the potential effects of a 4-week motor–cognitive dual-task training on cognitive and motor function as well as exercise motivation in young, healthy, and active adults. Methods: A total of 26 participants (age 25 ± 2 years; 10 women) were randomly allocated to either the intervention group or a control group. The intervention group performed a motor–cognitive training (3×/week), while the participants of the control group received no intervention. Before and after the intervention period of 4 weeks, all participants underwent cognitive (d2-test, Trail Making Test) and motor (lower-body choice reaction test and time to stabilization test) assessments. Following each of the 12 workouts, self-reported assessments (rating of perceived exertion, enjoyment and pleasant anticipation of the next training session) were done. Analyses of covariances and 95% confidence intervals plotting for between group and time effects were performed. Results: Data from 24 participants were analysed. No pre- to post-intervention improvement nor a between-group difference regarding motor outcomes (choice-reaction: F = 0.5; time to stabilization test: F = 0.7; p > 0.05) occurred. No significant training-induced changes were found in the cognitive tests (D2: F = 0.02; Trail Making Test A: F = 0.24; Trail Making Test B: F = 0.002; p > 0.05). Both enjoyment and anticipation of the next workout were rated as high. Discussion: The neuro-motor training appears to have no significant effects on motor and cognitive function in healthy, young and physically active adults. This might be explained in part by the participants’ very high motor and cognitive abilities, the comparably low training intensity or the programme duration. The high degree of exercise enjoyment, however, may qualify the training as a facilitator to initiate and maintain regular physical activity. The moderate to vigorous intensity levels further point towards potential health-enhancing cardiorespiratory effects.

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FREQUENCY ANALYSIS OF SINGULAR FIRST-PERSON PRONOUNS AND VERBS IN THE UTTERANCES OF SCHIZOPHRENIA PATIENTS AND HEALTHY CONTROLS. A RESEARCH REPORT

Lingua Posnaniensis ◽

10.2478/linpo-2013-0006 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 55 (1) ◽

pp. 87-98

Author(s):

Monika Obrębska

Keyword(s):

Frequency Analysis ◽

Negative Symptoms ◽

Paranoid Schizophrenia ◽

Research Report ◽

Control Group ◽

First Person ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Healthy Individuals ◽

Personal Pronouns ◽

Positive Type

Abstract The purpose of this article is to present the results of a frequency analysis of first-person pronouns and verbs in utterance texts of schizophrenia patients and healthy controls. Method: The study involved 130 hospitalized psychiatric patients diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and 130 healthy individuals. As a result of the study, the largest corpus to date of marked utterance texts of schizophrenic patients in the Polish language was obtained. The ratio of the number of singular first-person personal pronouns and verbs to the total number of personal pronouns and verbs used in any particular text was calculated and was then averaged for each of the four studied groups: a group of patients with positive schizophrenia symptoms, a group of patients with negative schizophrenia symptoms, a control group for the patients with positive symptoms, and a control group for the patients with negative symptoms. Results: The highest mean was found for the group of patients with positive schizophrenia symptoms, and the lowest for the group of healthy individuals. This difference was found to be statistically significant. Conclusion: The “egocentric orientation” and difficulty in defining one’s own identity experienced by psychotic patients, especially those with the positive type of schizophrenia, are reflected in their lexical choices.

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Association of Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia Assessed by the BNSS and SNS Scales With Neuropsychological Performance: A Gender Effect

Frontiers in Psychiatry ◽

10.3389/fpsyt.2021.797386 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Paweł Wójciak ◽

Klaudia Domowicz ◽

Marta Zabłocka ◽

Michał Michalak ◽

Janusz K. Rybakowski

Keyword(s):

Negative Symptoms ◽

Color Word ◽

Gender Effect ◽

Neuropsychological Performance ◽

Trail Making Test ◽

Female Patients ◽

Interference Test ◽

Trail Making ◽

Male Patients ◽

The Relationship

Objective: The relationship between negative symptoms and neurocognitive performance in schizophrenia is well documented, but the mechanism of these connections remains unclear. The study aims to measure the relationship between the results on the new scales for the assessment of negative symptoms such as Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS) and Self-evaluation of Negative Symptoms (SNS), and the results of some neurocognition tests. The second aim is to assess a possible gender effect on these associations.Methods: The study included 80 patients (40 men, 40 women) with schizophrenia, aged 19–63 (mean 38 years), during the improvement period (total PANSS score <80, unchanged pharmacological treatment in the last 3 weeks). They were assessed using the BNSS, SNS, Personal and Social Performance (PSP) scales, and the tests for neuropsychological performance such as the Trail Making Test (TMT-A, TMT-B), Stroop Color-Word Interference Test, Verbal fluency tests (VFT), Category fluency test (CFT), and Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST).Results: Male patients obtained higher scores than females on some PANSS and BNSS items. No gender differences were observed for the SNS scale. Female patients scored better in the PSP and CFT. In male patients, a significant positive correlation between the intensity of negative symptoms measured by the BNSS and the results of PSP with the Trail Making Test was observed. In female patients, we found a positive correlation between the results of BNSS and PSP with the Stroop Color-Word Interference Test.Conclusion: The obtained results confirm the relationship between negative symptoms and neurocognition in schizophrenia patients. However, in male and female patients such association was observed for different cognitive domains. Further research is needed to explain the nature of these differences.

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T12. THE RELATIONSHIP OF INTESTINAL PERMEABILITY FACTORS WITH SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC AND PHYSICAL HEALTH FACTORS AND PANSS SCORES IN SCHIZOPHRENIA PATIENTS AND HEALTHY CONTROLS

Schizophrenia Bulletin ◽

10.1093/schbul/sbaa029.572 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 46 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S235-S235

Author(s):

Jenny Borkent ◽

Iris E C Sommer ◽

Bartholomeus C M Haarman

Keyword(s):

Metabolic Syndrome ◽

Physical Health ◽

Intestinal Permeability ◽

Negative Symptoms ◽

Eating Habits ◽

Bipolar Disorders ◽

Intestinal Microbiome ◽

Control Group ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Schizophrenia Group

Abstract Background Recent studies have pointed to the gut-brain axis as a new venue for treatment of psychiatric disorders, with increased inflammation stemming from increased intestinal permeability to further affect brain functioning in a significant subset of patients. Yet, this line of research is still in its infancy, with multiple studies showing increased intestinal permeability in schizophrenia and bipolar disorders, demonstrated as translocation of food and bacterial antigens, as well as intestinal microbiome disturbances. Methods Therefore, we measured intestinal permeability markers soluble CD14 (sCD14) and lipopolysaccharide binding protein (LBP) in schizophrenia patients and healthy controls. Intestinal permeability markers were compared to several sociodemographic, including age, gender and BMI, and physical health variables, including CRP, glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, LDL and non-HDL, and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) scores. Of the control group (n = 43), 76.7% was male, with a mean age of 25.1 years. Of the schizophrenia group (n = 105) 75.2 % was male, with a mean age of 27.4 years and an average PANSS score of 57.2. Results Levels of LBP and sCD14 were not significantly different between schizophrenia patients and controls. LBP and sCD14 levels were neither correlated in the control group, nor in the schizophrenia group. In the control group Females had elevated LBP levels compared to males (p < 0.01), but not in the schizophrenia group. Quantitative levels of LBP, but not sCD14, correlated with triglycerides in the schizophrenia group (R2 = 0.049, p < 0.05). Furthermore, quantitative levels of sCD14, but not LBP, correlated with CRP in the schizophrenia group (R2 = 0.078, p < 0.05). Finally, LBP levels in patients correlated with PANSS negative scores (R2 = 0.055, p < 0.05). Neither a correlation of LBP and sCD14 with age, nor with BMI was observed in both the control and the schizophrenia group. Discussion In conclusion, these intestinal permeability markers showed few differences between the schizophrenia and the control group. We found weak, yet significant correlations with triglycerides, CRP and severity of negative symptoms, which may be caused by poor eating habits or metabolic syndrome leading to leaky gut in the more severely affected patients. These results are not in line with results of Severance et al. (2013), who performed a similar analysis and found differences in intestinal permeability markers between a control group and a schizophrenia group. Furthermore, they did observe a positive correlation between sCD14 and LBP in both the control and the schizophrenia group. The difference between that study and our current findings may stem from the different patients samples, as we assessed patients in their first five years after diagnosis, when metabolic syndrome was less abundant.

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Executive attention and working memory in narcoleptic outpatients

Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria ◽

10.1590/s0004-282x2012005000007 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 70 (5) ◽

pp. 335-340 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Mirleny Moraes ◽

Sueli Rossini ◽

Rubens Reimão

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Excessive Daytime Sleepiness ◽

Daytime Sleepiness ◽

Brazilian Portuguese ◽

Control Group ◽

Trail Making Test ◽

Executive Attention ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Trail Making ◽

Normal Controls

OBJECTIVE: This pioneering study aimed to evaluate executive attention and working memory in Brazilian narcoleptic outpatients. METHODS: Narcoleptic group: 19 treated narcoleptic outpatients (13 F; 6 M) (mean age=37.58; SD = 8.93); control group: 19 subjects (15 F; 4 M) (mean age=34.42; SD=12.31). INSTRUMENTS: Epworth Sleepiness Scale - Brazilian Portuguese Version (ESS-BR), Victoria Stroop Test (VST), Trail Making Test (TMT) and Letter-Number Sequencing (LNS) of WAIS-III. RESULTS: Significant difference at Excessive Daytime Sleepiness (EDS) (p<0.001) and at working memory (p=0.009) with worse results for narcoleptic patients. Patients were slower at VST-1 (p=0.002), VST-2 (p=0.045) and at TMT-A (p=0.016), TMT-B (p=0.006) and B-A (p=0.024). CONCLUSION: Narcoleptic patients showed higher degrees of EDS, an impaired executive attention at a temporal level and lower performance in working memory when compared to normal controls.

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Cognitive and emotional impairment in patients with migraine and signs of leukoencephalopathy during preventive therapy

Neurology neuropsychiatry Psychosomatics ◽

10.14412/2074-2711-2020-6-19-25 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (6) ◽

pp. 19-25

Author(s):

K. A. Pozhidaev ◽

V. A. Parfenov

Keyword(s):

Emotional Disorders ◽

Recall Test ◽

Depression Scale ◽

Preventive Treatment ◽

Preventive Therapy ◽

Word Recall ◽

Control Group ◽

Trail Making Test ◽

Trail Making ◽

Moca Score

Patients with migraine and signs of leukoencephalopathy are frequently found to have cognitive impairment (CI), the pathogenesis of which is not entirely clear. The dynamics of CI in these patients during preventive therapy has been little studied.Patients and methods. A six-month follow-up study was conducted in 50 patients (8 men and 42 women; mean age, 41.9±11.9 years) with migraine (mainly chronic one) and signs of cerebral leukoencephalopathy according to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A control group consisted of 40 healthy individuals (13 males and 27 females) aged 20 to 64 years (mean age, 42.6±12.0 years). Neuropsychological examinations (the 12-word recall test; the test of literal and categorical associations; the Benton visual retention test, the Munsterberg test; the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), the trail making test; the forward and backward digit recall test; the digit-symbol coding test; and the Stroop color test) and studies of emotional disorders (the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D); the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and the Spielberger-Khanin Scale) were performed at baseline, and at 3 and 6 months of preventive therapy for migraine.Results and discussion. The patients with migraine versus the control group were observed to have lower scores of the MoCA (p=0.004), the 12- word recall test (p=0.0003), and the tests of literal (p=0.001) and categorical (p=0.0002) associations. No significant relationship was found between the volume of MRI cerebral white matter lesions and the severity of CI. There was a moderate inverse correlation (correlation coefficient R=-0.41) between the number of headache (HA) days per month and the MoCA score (p<0.05). The patients with migraine were found to have the signs of depression on the Hospital Depression Scale (p=0.04), the BDI (p=0.003), and the CES-D Scale (p=0.0001) and increased anxiety on the HADS (p=0. 0001) and the Spielberger–Khanin Scale (p=0.0001). There was a significant association between the degree of depression and the MoCA score (p=0.007). During 6-month preventive therapy, there was a decline in the incidence of HA from 19.4±2.9 to 12.6±4.4 days per month (p<0.05), a significant reduction in the severity of emotional disorders, and an improvement in cognitive functions by most neuropsychological tests (the MoCA, the 12-word recall test, the Munsterberg test, and the trail making test Part B) compared to the baseline data.Conclusion. During preventive treatment for migraine, there was a reduction in the frequency of HA attacks and in the severity of emotional and cognitive impairment. The preventive treatment of migraine and related emotional disorders seems to be the most effective way to improve cognitive functions.

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Peculiarities of perception (visual gnosis) and thinking in patients with schizotypal disorder

Clinical Psychology and Special Education ◽

10.17759/cpse.2018070207 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 97-110

Author(s):

Yu. Simon ◽

A. Bizyuk ◽

E. Isaeva ◽

I.I. Shoshina ◽

Yu. Mukhitova

Keyword(s):

Social Intelligence ◽

Control Group ◽

Trail Making Test ◽

Voluntary Attention ◽

Logical Connection ◽

Complex Image ◽

Cognitive Pattern ◽

Icd 10 ◽

Trail Making ◽

Schizotypal Disorder

The article deals with the peculiarities of perception (visual gnosis) and thinking in patients with schizotypal disorder. A cognitive pattern of perception, characteristics of voluntary attention and changes in the mental domain in patients with this pathology were described. 45 people suffering from schizotypal disorder (F21 for ICD-10) were examined, including 27 men and 18 women, the average age was 22.06 ± 1.31 years. Control group was the group of university students (30 people) 14 of them men and 16 women, the average age was 21.03 ± 0.9 years, controlshad not suffered from any mental and chronic physical illnesses. Following patho- and neuropsychological techniques were used: figures of Poppelreuter, method «Non-completed images»; «Elimination of excess», Guildford’s test «Social intelligence», Subtest No. 2 of «Group expression», TMT (Trail Making Test, parts A and B). The results have revealed that the visual perception of the patients with schizotypal disorder is disturbed at every stage of visual gnosis, disturbances appear evidently at the stages of formation of a complex image and its further correlation with pattern samples from memory. It has been shown that in patients with schizotypal disorder, the process of internal logical connection between statements is disrupted, as a result, the act of perceptual nomination changes.

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Limitations of the Trail Making Test Part-B in Assessing Frontal Executive Dysfunction

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society ◽

10.1017/s135561771500003x ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 169-174 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Edgar Chan ◽

Sarah E. MacPherson ◽

Gail Robinson ◽

Martha Turner ◽

Francesca Lecce ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Completion Time ◽

Executive Dysfunction ◽

Brain Dysfunction ◽

Trail Making Test ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Focal Lesions ◽

Robust Test ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Trail Making ◽

Frontal Lesions

AbstractPart B of the Trail Making Test (TMT-B) is one of the most widely used neuropsychological tests of “executive” function. A commonly held assumption is that the TMT-B can be used to detect frontal executive dysfunction. However, so far, research evidence has been limited and somewhat inconclusive. In this retrospective study, performance on the TMT-B of 55 patients with known focal frontal lesions, 27 patients with focal non-frontal lesions and 70 healthy controls was compared. Completion time and the number of errors made were examined. Patients with frontal and non-frontal lesions performed significantly worse than healthy controls for both completion time and the number of errors. However, there was no significant difference for both completion time and the number of errors when patients with frontal and non-frontal lesions were compared. Performance was also not significantly different between patients with focal lesions within different regions of the frontal lobe (orbital, left lateral, right lateral, medial). Our findings suggest that the TMT-B is a robust test for detection of brain dysfunction. However, its capacity for detecting frontal executive dysfunction appears rather limited. Clinicians should be cautious when drawing conclusions from performance on the TMT-B alone. (JINS, 2015, 21, 169–174)

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The Impact of Micronutrient Fortified Foods on Cognitive Functioning Among Low-Income Children: A Pilot Study (P18-096-19)

Current Developments in Nutrition ◽

10.1093/cdn/nzz039.p18-096-19 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

Author(s):

Juliana Cohen ◽

Kelly Sagar ◽

M Kathryn Dahlgren ◽

Eric Rimm ◽

Staci Gruber

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Functioning ◽

Low Income ◽

Intervention Group ◽

Control Group ◽

Trail Making Test ◽

Fortified Foods ◽

Afterschool Program ◽

Low Income Children ◽

Trail Making ◽

Over Time

Abstract Objectives To examine the association between micronutrient fortified food consumption compared with standard foods and cognitive functioning among low-income children. Methods Low-income children (ages 8–12 years) participating in an afterschool program were recruited for this randomized-controlled trial. At baseline, trained research assistants measured IQ (Shipley-2 Composite Standard Scores) and cognitive functioning (Stroop Color Word Test [Golden Version], Trail Making Test, and Conners Continuous Performance Test [CPT-3]) to evaluate executive functioning, selective attention, and processing speed. Children were then randomly assigned to receive either micronutrient fortified foods (n = 19) or to continue receiving standard foods (n = 16) daily at the afterschool program for approximately three months. The intervention foods contained 75% Daily Value for all essential vitamins and minerals, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, protein, one cup of milk, and one serving of fruits. The standard foods consisted of juice and primarily processed meats with refined grains. The cognitive tests were re-administered post-implementation. Differences in cognitive scores between the intervention and control groups were assessed using repeated measures ANOVAs and ANCOVAs, adjusting for age Results A total of n = 35 children were eligible to participate and had regular attendance at the afterschool program during the study period. When examining differences between the control and intervention groups over time, the results were suggestive of a trend towards the control group performing worse over time CPT Omissions T-scores (P = 0.10), CPT Hit Reaction Time (HRT) T-scores (P = 0.06), and CPT HRT Block Change T-Score (P = 0.09) compared with the intervention group. However, there was a trend towards worse performance in the intervention group on CPT Perseverations T-Scores (P = 0.07) compared with the control group. There were no significant differences between-groups over time on the Trail Making test or Stroop test Conclusions Overall, there was some evidence of improved cognitive scores over time among low-income children provided with micronutrient fortified foods relative to the control group. It is possible that these nutrient-dense, fortified foods may be cognitively protective in this population and future larger studies should examine these associations Funding Sources This study was funded by an unrestricted gift from the 43ForKids Foundation.

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