scholarly journals Toward a Computational Neuropsychology of Cognitive Flexibility

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1000
Author(s):  
Alexander Steinke ◽  
Bruno Kopp
Keyword(s):  
Computational Modeling ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Computational Models ◽  
Neurological Diseases ◽  
Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Card Sorting ◽  
Stimulus Response ◽  
Cognitive Inflexibility ◽  
Sorting Test

Cognitive inflexibility is a well-documented, yet non-specific corollary of many neurological diseases. Computational modeling of covert cognitive processes supporting cognitive flexibility may provide progress toward nosologically specific aspects of cognitive inflexibility. We review computational models of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), which represents a gold standard for the clinical assessment of cognitive flexibility. A parallel reinforcement-learning (RL) model provides the best conceptualization of individual trial-by-trial WCST responses among all models considered. Clinical applications of the parallel RL model suggest that patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) share a non-specific covert cognitive symptom: bradyphrenia. Impaired stimulus-response learning appears to occur specifically in patients with PD, whereas haphazard responding seems to occur specifically in patients with ALS. Computational modeling hence possesses the potential to reveal nosologically specific profiles of covert cognitive symptoms, which remain undetectable by traditionally applied behavioral methods. The present review exemplifies how computational neuropsychology may advance the assessment of cognitive flexibility. We discuss implications for neuropsychological assessment and directions for future research.

scholarly journals Internal Manipulation of Perceptual Representations in Human Flexible Cognition: A Computational Model

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Granato ◽  
Gianluca Baldassarre
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Computational Model ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Computational Models ◽  
Neuropsychological Test ◽  
Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽  
Card Sorting ◽  
Perceptual Representations ◽  
Dependent Learning ◽  
Sorting Test

Executive functions represent a wide set of goal-directed cognitive processes that rely on integrated cortical-basal ganglia brain systems and are at the basis of human flexible behaviour. Several computational models have been proposed to study cognitive flexibility and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), an important neuropsychological test used for measuring such function. These models clarify important aspects of cognitive flexibility, in particular the processes concerning decision making, motor response, and feedback-dependent learning. However, several studies suggest that categorisation processes, as those involved in the solution of the WCST, also involve a fundamental category representation stage supporting the other processes. Surprisingly, all models of the WCST ignore such fundamental stage and propose that decision making directly triggers actions. Here we propose a novel hypothesis for which the key element of cognitive flexibility resides on the acquisition of suitable representations of percepts, and their top-down internal manipulation, to prepare effective actions. We also propose a neuro-inspired computational model to operationalise the hypothesis. The model is validated by systematically reproducing and interpreting the behaviour of healthy young and old adults, and of frontal and Parkinson pathological patients. The hypothesis and model also allow the proposal of a new version of the WCST that might be used to further investigate the important role of the internal manipulation of representations here proposed to be at the core of flexible goal-directed behaviour.

Cognitive Inflexibility and Pre-frontal Dysfunction in Schizophrenia and Mania

1990 ◽  
Vol 157 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-54 ◽  
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.

Cognitive Flexibility in Primary Dystonia

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 662-670 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian Lange ◽  
Caroline Seer ◽  
Reinhard Dengler ◽  
Dirk Dressler ◽  
Bruno Kopp
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Hemifacial Spasm ◽  
Psychiatric Symptoms ◽  
Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽  
Motor Symptoms ◽  
Card Sorting ◽  
Cognitive Inflexibility ◽  
Primary Dystonia ◽  
Similar Motor ◽  
Integration Errors

AbstractObjectives Although primary dystonia is typically characterized as a movement disorder, it is also associated with cognitive alterations in the domain of executive functioning which may arise from changes in cortico-basal ganglia circuits. Specifically, in comparison to healthy controls, patients with dystonia show deficits in neuropsychological tests of cognitive flexibility. However, it is unclear whether cognitive inflexibility is caused by the pathomechanisms underlying primary dystonia or by confounding factors such as depression or symptom-related distraction.Methods The present study aimed to eliminate these confounds by examining cognitive flexibility in dystonia patients and in patients with similar motor symptoms but without a comparable central pathophysiology. Eighteen patients with primary blepharospasm, a common form of dystonia affecting the muscles around the eyes, and 19 patients with hemifacial spasm, a facial nerve disorder causing similar eyelid spasms, completed a computerized version of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (cWCST). The two groups were further compared on tests of global cognitive functioning, psychiatric symptoms, health status, and impulsiveness. Results Blepharospasm patients committed significantly more errors on the cWCST than patients with hemifacial spasm. Group differences were most pronounced with regard to integration errors, a measure of rule-inference processes on the cWCST. Integration errors were also associated with impulsiveness in patients with blepharospasm. Conclusions Primary blepharospasm is related to deficits in cognitive flexibility, even when blepharospasm patients are compared with patients who suffer from motor symptoms of non-dystonic origin. Our results support the possibility that cognitive inflexibility results from the specific pathophysiological processes underlying primary dystonia. (JINS, 2016, 22, 662–670)

scholarly journals Analysis of performance on a modified Wisconsin Card Sorting Test for the military

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-46
Author(s):  
Cardy Moten ◽  
Quinn Kennedy ◽  
Jonathan Alt ◽  
Peter Nesbitt
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Strong Predictor ◽  
Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽  
Military Officers ◽  
Random Errors ◽  
Card Sorting ◽  
Perseverative Error ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Wisconsin Card Sorting ◽  
Sorting Test

Purpose Current Army doctrine stresses a need for military leaders to have the capability to make flexible and adaptive decisions based on a future unknown environment, location and enemy. To assess a military decision maker’s ability in this context, this paper aims to modify the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test which assesses cognitive flexibility, into a military relevant map task. Thirty-four military officers from all service branches completed the map task. Design/methodology/approach The purpose of this study was to modify a current psychological task that measures cognitive flexibility into a military relevant task that includes the challenge of overcoming experiential bias, and understand underlying causes of individual variability in the decision-making and cognitive flexibility behavior of active duty military officers on this task. Findings Results indicated that non-perseverative errors were a strong predictor of cognitive flexibility performance on the map task. Decomposition of non-perseverative error into efficient errors and random errors revealed that participants who did not complete the map task changed their sorting strategy too soon within a series, resulting in a high quantity of random errors. Originality/value This study serves as the first step in customizing cognitive psychological tests for a military purpose and understanding why some military participants show poor cognitive flexibility.

scholarly journals Dopamine, Cognitive Flexibility and IQ: Synergistic COMT:DRD2 Gene-Gene Interactions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leor Zmigrod ◽  
Trevor William Robbins
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽  
Gene Interactions ◽  
Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽  
Card Sorting ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
High Intelligence ◽  
Striatal Dopamine Receptor ◽  
Sorting Test

Cognitive flexibility has been hypothesized to be neurochemically rooted in dopamine neurotransmission. Nonetheless, underpowered sample sizes and contradictory meta-analytic findings have obscured the role of dopamine genes in cognitive flexibility and neglected potential gene-gene interactions. In this study, the largest neurocognitive-genetic one to date (N=1400), single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with elevated prefrontal dopamine levels (Catechol-O-methyltransferase, COMT; rs4680) and striatally-concentrated DRD2 receptor availability (C957T; rs6277) were both implicated in Wisconsin Card Sorting Test performance. Crucially, however, these genetic effects were only evident in low-IQ participants, suggesting high intelligence compensates for and eliminates the effect of dispositional dopamine functioning on flexibility. This interaction between cognitive systems may explain and resolve previous empirical inconsistencies in highly educated participant samples. Moreover, compensatory gene-gene interactions were discovered between COMT and DRD2, such that genotypes conferring either elevated prefrontal dopamine or striatal dopamine receptor availability are sufficient for cognitive flexibility, but neither is necessary. The study therefore has revealed a form of redundancy or substitutability amongst dopamine systems in shaping adaptable thought and action, thus defining boundary conditions for dopaminergic effects on flexible behaviour. These results inform theories of clinical disorders and psychopharmacological interventions and uncover complex fronto-striatal synergies in human flexible cognition.

scholarly journals Assessment of Cognitive Flexibility in Personnel Selection: Validity and Acceptance of a Gamified Version of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Björn Erik Hommel ◽  
Regina Ruppel ◽  
Hannes Zacher
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Personnel Selection ◽  
Neuropsychological Test ◽  
Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽  
Card Sorting ◽  
Ability Test ◽  
Online Study ◽  
Wisconsin Card Sorting ◽  
Sorting Test ◽  
Set Shifting Task

The present study contributes to the emerging field of gamification in personnel selection by examining validity and acceptance of the Gamified Set-Shifting Task (GSST), which is based on a well-established neuropsychological test of cognitive flexibility, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). Results based on a sample of 180 participants in an online study provided preliminary support for construct and criterion-related validity. The GSST was better accepted among test-takers than both the WCST and a cognitive ability test. Overall, the findings suggest that the GSST may be an attractive and valid method to assist organizations in selecting employees who are able to adapt to changing environments.

Considerations for using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test to assess cognitive flexibility

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Miles ◽  
Caitlin A. Howlett ◽  
Carolyn Berryman ◽  
Maja Nedeljkovic ◽  
G. Lorimer Moseley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽  
Card Sorting ◽  
Wisconsin Card Sorting ◽  
Sorting Test

scholarly journals Computational Modeling for Neuropsychological Assessment of Bradyphrenia in Parkinson’s Disease

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 1158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Steinke ◽  
Florian Lange ◽  
Caroline Seer ◽  
Merle K. Hendel ◽  
Bruno Kopp
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Computational Modeling ◽  
Neuropsychological Assessment ◽  
Neurological Diseases ◽  
Cognitive Learning ◽  
Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Cognitive Dysfunctions ◽  
Behavioral Indicators

The neural mechanisms of cognitive dysfunctions in neurological diseases remain poorly understood. Here, we conjecture that this unsatisfying state-of-the-art is in part due to the non-specificity of the typical behavioral indicators for cognitive dysfunctions. Our study addresses the topic by advancing the assessment of cognitive dysfunctions through computational modeling. We investigate bradyphrenia in Parkinson’s disease (PD) as an exemplary case of cognitive dysfunctions in neurological diseases. Our computational model conceptualizes trial-by-trial behavioral data as resulting from parallel cognitive and sensorimotor reinforcement learning. We assessed PD patients ‘on’ and ‘off’ their dopaminergic medication and matched healthy control (HC) participants on a computerized version of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. PD patients showed increased retention of learned cognitive information and decreased retention of learned sensorimotor information from previous trials in comparison to HC participants. Systemic dopamine replacement therapy did not remedy these cognitive dysfunctions in PD patients but incurred non-desirable side effects such as decreasing cognitive learning from positive feedback. Our results reveal novel insights into facets of bradyphrenia that are indiscernible by observable behavioral indicators of cognitive dysfunctions. We discuss how computational modeling may contribute to the advancement of future research on brain–behavior relationships and neuropsychological assessment.

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