Clinical and neuropsychological assessment of executive function in a sample of children and adolescents with idiopathic epilepsy

Objective To compare the executive functions of children and adolescents with idiopathic epilepsy with a control group and to correlate with clinical data, intelligence and academic performance. Method Cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study. Thirty-one cases and thirty-five controls were evaluated by the WCST (Wisconsin Card Sorting Test).The results were compared with clinical data (seizure type and frequency, disease duration and number of antiepileptic drugs used), IQ (WISC-III) and academic performance (APT). Results Patients with epilepsy had poorer executive function scores. There was no positive linear correlation between test scores and epilepsy variables. There was a positive association between academic performance and some executive function results. Conclusion Children with well controlled idiopathic epilepsy may show deficits in executive functions in spite of clinical variables. Those deficits may influence academic performance.

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Differences in Executive Function Among Patients With Schizophrenia, Their Unaffected First-Degree Relatives, and Healthy Participants

The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology ◽

10.1093/ijnp/pyaa052 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 23 (11) ◽

pp. 731-737

Author(s):

Yuzuru Kataoka ◽

Takamitsu Shimada ◽

Yoko Koide ◽

Hiroaki Okubo ◽

Takashi Uehara ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Executive Function ◽

Executive Functions ◽

Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽

Intermediate Phenotype ◽

Clinical Variable ◽

Card Sorting ◽

First Degree Relatives ◽

Duration Of Illness ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Perseverative Errors

Abstract Background Patients with schizophrenia (SCZ) display impaired executive functions compared with healthy controls (HCs). Furthermore, unaffected first-degree relatives (FRs) of patients with SCZ independently perform worse executive functions than do HCs. However, few studies have investigated the differences in executive functions assessed among patients with SCZ, FRs, and HCs, and the findings are inconsistent. Methods We investigated diagnostic differences in executive functions, namely (1) numbers of categories achieved (CA), (2) total errors (TE), and (3) percentage of perseverative errors of Nelson types (%PEN), using the Wisconsin card sorting test among patients with SCZ (n = 116), unaffected FRs (n = 62), and HCs (n = 146) at a single institute. Correlations between these executive functions and clinical variables were investigated. Results Significant differences existed in all executive functions among diagnostic groups (CA, F2,319 = 15.5, P = 3.71 × 10–7; TE, F2,319 = 16.2, P = 2.06 × 10–7; and %PEN, F2,319 = 21.3, P = 2.15 × 10–9). Patients with SCZ had fewer CA and more TE and %PEN than those of HCs (CA, Cohen’s d = −0.70, P = 5.49 × 10–8; TE, d = 0.70, P = 5.62 × 10–8; and %PEN, d = 0.82, P = 2.85 × 10−10) and FRs (TE, d = 0.46, P = 3.73 × 10–3 and %PEN, d = 0.38, P = .017). Of the 3 executive functions, CA and %PEN of FRs were intermediately impaired between patients with SCZ and HCs (CA, d = −0.41, P = .011 and %PEN, d = 0.41, P = .012). In contrast, no significant difference in TE existed between FRs and HCs (d = 0.22, P = .18). Although CA and TE were affected by the duration of illness (P < .017), %PEN was not affected by any clinical variable in patients with SCZ (P > .017). Conclusions Executive function, particularly %PEN, could be a useful intermediate phenotype for understanding the genetic mechanisms implicated in SCZ pathophysiology.

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Lack of executive function deficits among adult ADHD individuals from a Brazilian clinical sample

Dementia & Neuropsychologia ◽

10.1590/s1980-57642009dn30100007 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 34-37 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Eloisa Saboya ◽

Gabriel Coutinho ◽

Daniel Segenreich ◽

Vanessa Ayrão ◽

Paulo Mattos

Keyword(s):

Executive Function ◽

Executive Functions ◽

Adult Adhd ◽

Clinical Sample ◽

Digit Span ◽

Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽

Adhd Group ◽

Card Sorting ◽

Control Subjects ◽

Executive Function Deficits

Abstract Executive function deficits have been previously documented in individuals with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Objective: The current study aimed to compare measures of executive functions among a clinical sample of adults with ADHD and normal control subjects, matched for age, gender and education. Methods: Twenty-three self-referred adults diagnosed with ADHD according to DSM-IV criteria, and twenty-five control subjects were assessed using a neuropsychological battery which included the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Tower of Hanoi, Digit Span, Trail Making Test (A and B), Stroop Test and Raven's Progressive Matrices. Results: The ADHD group did not differ significantly from the control subjects on any of the measures assessed. Conclusion: Measures of executive functions using this test battery were unable to discriminate between adults with ADHD and control subjects in this clinical sample.

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Executive Function Deficits in Patients after Cerebellar Neurosurgery

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society ◽

10.1017/s1355617715001174 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 47-57 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Monika Mak ◽

Ernest Tyburski ◽

Łukasz Madany ◽

Andrzej Sokołowski ◽

Agnieszka Samochowiec

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Executive Functions ◽

Response Times ◽

Digit Span ◽

Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽

Control Group ◽

Card Sorting ◽

Mediating Role ◽

Regulatory Processes ◽

Perseverative Errors

AbstractThe cerebellum has long been perceived as a structure responsible for the human motor function. According to the contemporary approach, however, it plays a significant role in complex behavior regulatory processes. The aim of this study was to describe executive functions in patients after cerebellar surgery. The study involved 30 patients with cerebellar pathology. The control group comprised 30 neurologically and mentally healthy individuals, matched for sex, age, and number of years of education. Executive functions were measured by the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Stroop Color Word Test (SCWT), Trail Making Test (TMT), and working memory by the Digit Span. Compared to healthy controls, patients made more Errors and Perseverative errors in the WCST, gave more Perseverative responses, and had a lower Number of categories completed. The patients exhibited higher response times in all three parts of the SCWT and TMT A and B. No significant differences between the two groups were reported in their performance of the SCWT and TMT with regard to the measures of absolute or relative interference. The patients had lower score on the backward Digit Span. Patients with cerebellar pathology may exhibit some impairment within problem solving and working memory. Their worse performance on the SCWT and TMT could, in turn, stem from their poor motor–somatosensory control, and not necessarily executive deficits. Our results thus support the hypothesis of the cerebellum’s mediating role in the regulation of the activity of the superordinate cognitive control network in the brain. (JINS, 2016, 22, 47–57)

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Executive functions and insight in OCD: a comparative study

BMC Psychiatry ◽

10.1186/s12888-021-03227-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Lucas Manarte ◽

António R. Andrade ◽

Linete do Rosário ◽

Daniel Sampaio ◽

Maria Luísa Figueira ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Executive Functions ◽

Verbal Learning ◽

Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽

Control Group ◽

Card Sorting ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Significance Level ◽

Good Insight ◽

Compulsive Disorder ◽

Neuropsychological Profile

Abstract Background Around 25 to 30% of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) do not respond to treatment. These patients have the longest duration of disease and the worst prognosis. Following years of research on this topic, insight has emerged as a potential explanation for this therapeutic resistance. Therefore, it has become important to characterize OCD patients with poor insight. Few studies have focused on the neuropsychological and cognitive characteristics of these patients. Methods To help fill this gap, we divided 57 patients into two groups, one with good insight and the other with poor insight, assessed their neuropsychological functions—through a Rey’s figure test, a California verbal learning test, a Toulouse–Piéron test and a Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST)—and compared the results with those of a paired control group. Results The statistical analysis, with a significance level of 95%, revealed differences in the executive function tests, and particularly in the WCST (p ≤ 0.001) and trail-making-test (TMT A/B) (p = 0.002). Conclusions These differences suggest that the neuropsychological profile of poor-insight patients is different from their good-insight counterparts, emphasize the role played by the executive functions in insight and highlights the need for more accurate neurocognitive research and treatment.

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Moderate Exercise Improves Brain Efficiency for Executive Functions in Young Adults

Journal of Medical Imaging and Health Informatics ◽

10.1166/jmihi.2020.2933 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 782-785 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Huijin Song ◽

Jin Gu Kim ◽

Kyung Eun Jang ◽

Hyunsil Cha ◽

Sechang Kwon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Executive Function ◽

Executive Functions ◽

Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽

Brain Network ◽

Behavioral Performance ◽

Moderate Exercise ◽

Card Sorting ◽

Added Benefit ◽

Sorting Test ◽

Function Network

This study investigates how moderate and addictive exercise influence the executive function network of the brain using fMRI. Sixty-five healthy participants performed the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) during a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan. Participants were divided into three groups, according to the Korean exercise addiction scale (K-EAS): addictive exercise (AE), moderate exercise (ME), and no exercise (NE). We compared the extracted volumes of activity from the fMRI data between groups and analyzed the correlation between the volumes and the behavioral data. The activated area in the executive function network was significantly smaller in the AE and ME groups than in the NE group. In contrast, there was no difference between the AE and the ME group in the size of the activated area of the executive function network. The groups did not differ in behavioral performance. There was no significant correlation between the behavioral measurements and the activation volumes. A focused reorganization of the executive brain network through exercise may suggest improved neural efficiency for executive functions, and exercise may be helpful in maintaining executive functions and behavioral performance levels. Addictive exercise did not show an added benefit for the efficiency of executive functions.

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Are changes in cardiorespiratory fitness resulting from physical activity interventions related to changes in executive function and academic performance in children and adolescents? A systematic review and meta-regression.

10.31236/osf.io/4j2sa ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Samuel Tuvey ◽

James Steele ◽

Elizabeth Horton ◽

Xian Mayo ◽

Gary Liguori ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Academic Performance ◽

Executive Function ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Cardiorespiratory Fitness ◽

Control Group ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Meta Regression ◽

The Impact

Physical activity (PA) interventions in children and adolescents are thought to improve cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), and possibly executive function (EF), and academic performance (AP). It is thought that the impact of PA upon CRF might be associated with improved EF and AP. However, previous meta-analyses have not examined this relationships. Thus, we conducted a systematic review and meta-regression of intervention studies that reported a pre- and a post-intervention measure of CRF and AP and/or EF and included a control group. A total of 17 studies were included. PA interventions had the following main effects: 0.24 [95% CI=0.09, 0.40] for CRF; 0.11 [95% CI=-0.16, 0.38] for AP; and 0.02 [95% CI=-0.09, 0.13] for EF after removal of influential studies. Meta-regression for CRF changes upon EF outcomes suggested a small effect ranging from negative trivial to moderate (β = 0.26 [95% CI=-0.18, 0.70]). For CRF changes upon AP outcomes the estimate was trivial with poor precision ranging negative to positive large effects (β = -0.04 [95% CI=-1.52, 1.45]). Despite small positive effects upon CRF, the effects upon EF or AP are less clear. Further, it seems unlikely improvements in CRF from PA interventions are associated with changes EF or AP.

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High IQ May “Mask” the Diagnosis of ADHD by Compensating for Deficits in Executive Functions in Treatment-Naïve Adults With ADHD

Journal of Attention Disorders ◽

10.1177/1087054714554933 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 21 (6) ◽

pp. 455-464 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Ana Luiza Vidal Milioni ◽

Tiffany Moukbel Chaim ◽

Mikael Cavallet ◽

Nathalya Moleda de Oliveira ◽

Marco Annes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Executive Functioning ◽

Executive Functions ◽

Clinical Diagnosis ◽

Performance Test ◽

Continuous Performance Test ◽

Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽

Control Group ◽

Adhd Group ◽

Card Sorting ◽

Commission Errors

Objective: To evaluate and compare the performance of adults with ADHD with high and standard IQ in executive functions (EF) tasks. Method: We investigated the neuropsychological performance of 51 adults with ADHD, compared with 33 healthy controls (HC) while performing a wide battery of neuropsychological tests that measure executive functioning. Adults with clinical diagnosis of ADHD were divided into two groups according to their IQ level (IQ ≥ 110—ADHD group with more elevated IQ, and IQ < 110—ADHD group with standard IQ). Results: The ADHD group with standard IQ presented a worse executive functioning compared with the HC group in the following measures: Stroop 2 ( p = .000) and 3 ( p = .000), Trail Making Test (TMT) B ( p = .005), Wisconsin Card-Sorting Test (WCST)—perseverative errors ( p = .022) and failures to maintain set ( p = .020), Continuous Performance Test (CPT)—omission errors ( p = .005) and commission errors ( p = .000), and Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB)—conceptualization ( p = .016). The ADHD group with more elevated IQ presented only impairments in the CPT—commission errors ( p = .019) when compared with the control group. Conclusion: Adults with ADHD and more elevated IQ show less evidence of executive functioning deficits compared with those with ADHD and standard IQ, suggesting that a higher degree of intellectual efficiency may compensate deficits in executive functions, leading to problems in establishing a precise clinical diagnosis.

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Comparison of Executive Function of Brain between Drug-dependent, in Abstinences and Normal Individuals in Tehran

Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International ◽

10.9734/jpri/2019/v26i230130 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Zahra Sadghi ◽

Abouzar Nouri Talemi ◽

Shahrbanoo Ghahari ◽

Ali Asghar Asgharnejadfarid

Keyword(s):

Executive Function ◽

Executive Functions ◽

Drug User ◽

Drug Users ◽

Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽

Card Sorting ◽

Normal Individuals ◽

Wisconsin Card Sorting ◽

Drug Dependent ◽

Sorting Test

Aim: Drug addiction causes many of brain dysfunctions and intellectual abnormalities so that its problem should be addressed. Hence, this study is aimed at comparing executive functions among drug-dependent, in abstinence, and normal individuals in Tehran. Methodology: Research method is descriptive-comparative. Studied samples consisted of men chosen from addiction treatment centers in Tehran, using random sampling method. Members of normal groups consisted of 25 normal people without any experience of opiates use; drug user group consisted of 25 drug-dependent patients; and group of in abstinence individuals consisted of 25 members who had been drug abusers before but were under treatment during this study. To compare executive functions of the brain of these three groups, Letter-Number Sequence Test and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test were used. Results: Drug users had lower function compared with normal but had a better function compared with in-abstinence groups in Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. in Letters-Digits Sequence Test, normal group have better performance than two other groups significantly; whereas, among two drug user and in-abstinence groups, drug users significantly performed better than in-abstinence group. Also. this current study showed that there is a relationship between substance use duration and low executive functions of brain (P<0.01). Conclusion: Drug users have lower function compared with normal and in-abstinence groups in Wisconsin Card Sorting and Letters-Digits Sequence test. Moreover, short-term deprivation from drugs correlate with lower executive function of brain in cognitive tasks.

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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).

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Study of the Interaction between Executive Function and Adaptive Behavior at School in Girls with Fragile X Syndrome

Genes ◽

10.3390/genes12081108 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (8) ◽

pp. 1108

Author(s):

Lorena Joga-Elvira ◽

Jennifer Martinez-Olmo ◽

María-Luisa Joga ◽

Carlos Jacas ◽

Ana Roche-Martínez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Executive Function ◽

Executive Functions ◽

Fragile X Syndrome ◽

Adaptive Behavior ◽

Neuropsychological Tests ◽

Rating Scale ◽

Fragile X ◽

School Setting ◽

Control Group ◽

The Relationship

The aim of this research is to analyze the relationship between executive functions and adaptive behavior in girls with Fragile X syndrome (FXS) in the school setting. This study is part of a larger investigation conducted at the Hospital Parc Tauli in Sabadell. The sample consists of a total of 40 girls (26 with FXS and 14 control) aged 7–16 years, who were administered different neuropsychological tests (WISC-V, NEPSY-II, WCST, TOL) and questionnaires answered by teachers (ABAS-II, BRIEF 2, ADHD Rating Scale). The results show that there is a greater interaction between some areas of executive function (cognitive flexibility, auditory attention, and visual abstraction capacity) and certain areas of adaptive behavior (conceptual, practical, social, and total domains) in the FXS group than in the control group. These results suggest that an alteration in the executive functions was affecting the daily functioning of the girls with FXS to a greater extent.

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