Spatial working memory performance in patients with schizoaffective psychosis versus schizophrenia: a tale of two disorders?

We explored the relationship between schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder by comparing the two patient groups in terms of their performance on measures of executive functioning (spatial working memory and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test). Patients with schizophrenia (N=34) and those with schizoaffective disorder (N=23) performed significantly poorer than community controls (N=30). However, the schizoaffective and schizophrenia groups did not differ from each other in terms of working memory accuracy or mean response latencies. Similarly, the two patient groups did not differ in terms of the number of categories achieved or number of perseverative errors on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Among the patients, working memory accuracy was associated with number of WCST perseverative errors and number of categories achieved, though working memory performance was not associated with number of WCST nonperseverative errors. These findings indicate that both schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder are associated with executive functioning deficits. The findings are discussed in the context of the ongoing debate regarding the conceptualization of schizoaffective disorder.     

发育性协调运动障碍儿童执行功能的横断面研究(英文)

背景发育性协调运动障碍(developmental coordination disorder,DCD)患儿存在明显的运动能力、学习和日常生活能力的下降。国外研究表明,患儿的这些能力下降与其认知功能尤其是执行功能的受损有关,但国内尚无此类研究来证实这些结果。目的比较发育性协调运动障碍患儿与正常儿童的执行功能。方法对2008年3月至2010年3月在杭州市第七人民医院就诊并符合DSM-IV发育性协调运动障碍诊断的39例患儿采用威斯康星卡片分类测验(Wisconsin Card Sorting Test,WCST)进行评估。另外,在杭州某小学随机抽取39名健康儿童作为对照组,同样对他们进行WCST评估。结果两组在WCST的总应答数及非持续错误数相似,但是研究组的错误应答数、持续性应答数和持续性错误数均显著高于对照组。另外,研究组患儿完成分类数低于对照组,完成第一个分类所需的应答数也高于对照组。结论本研究证实了先前一些研究的结果,即发育性协调运动障碍患儿存在明显的执行功能缺陷。所有这些研究均提示,患儿的执行功能缺陷显著影响了其智能和社会功能的发展。     

Do schizophrenia patients make more perseverative than non-perseverative errors on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test? A meta-analytic study

The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) is widely used to explore executive functions in patients with schizophrenia. Among other findings, a higher number of perseverative errors has been suggested to implicate a deficit in task switching and inhibitory functions in schizophrenia. Many studies of patients with schizophrenia have focused on perseverative errors as the primary performance index in the WCST. However, do schizophrenia patients characteristically make more perseverative than non-perseverative errors compared with healthy controls? We reviewed the literature where schizophrenia patients were engaged in the WCST irrespective of the primary goal of the study. The results showed that while both schizophrenia patients and healthy participants made more perseverative than non-perseverative errors, the contrast between perseverative and non-perseverative errors is higher in schizophrenia patients only at a marginal level of significance. This result suggests that schizophrenia patients do make a comparable number of non-perseverative errors and cautions against simplistic interpretation of poor performance of schizophrenia patients in WCST as entirely resulting from impairment in set-shifting or inhibitory functions.     

Executive functions and P300 latency in elderly depressed patients and control subjects.

The authors asked whether impaired executive functioning and long P300 latency are related dysfunctions and whether they are associated with geriatric depression. A group of 25 elderly depressed patients without dementia and 20 control subjects were assessed on tasks of fluency, initiation and perseveration, the Stroop task, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) perseverative error score, and P300 latency. The groups' performance differed significantly on these tasks and in P300 latency. Longer latency was associated with poorer performance in both groups on all measures except WCST perseverative errors. Regardless of patients' depression status, increased P300 latency predicts poorer performance on executive function tasks requiring speeded performance.     

Wisconsin Card Sorting Test deficits in schizotypic individuals

The present study investigates executive functioning in schizotypic college students and control subjects using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). Inhibitory control and working memory, two aspects of executive functioning, were examined in deviantly high scorers on the Perceptual Aberration and Magical Ideation Scales (n=97), high scorers on the revised Social Anhedonia Scale (n=58), and in control subjects (n=104). The schizotypic groups displayed significantly more perseverative errors and achieved fewer categories than the control group. The two schizotypic groups did not differ from each other. We identified a subset of schizotypic individuals who also produced clinically deviant WCST profiles. The findings support the hypothesis that executive function deficits may precede the onset of schizophrenia and related illnesses.     

Prefrontal executive function and D1, D3, 5-HT2A and 5-HT6 receptor gene variations in healthy adults

OBJECTIVE: The Val158Met polymorphism of the catechol-O-methyltransferase gene has been demonstrated to be associated with prefrontal executive function explaining 4% of variance in perseverative errors on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). Studies suggest that dopamine D(1) and D(3) and serotonin 5-HT(2A) and 5-HT(6) receptors may also be involved in prefrontal cognitive function and that genetic polymorphisms (D(1) A-48G, D(3) Ser9Gly, 5-HT(2A) T102C, and 5-HT(6) T267C) of these receptors may be associated with brain glucose metabolism or neurophysiological function. The current study's objective was to investigate whether executive function varies with these genetic variations. METHODS: A sample of 216 healthy Han Chinese adults were measured with the WCST and genotyped for the 4 genetic polymorphisms. RESULTS: Kruskal-Wallis tests showed a significant difference in WCST perseverative errors among the genotypes D(3) Ser9Gly (p = 0.009), 5-HT(2A) T102C (p = 0.038) and 5-HT(6) T267C (p = 0.010), but not in the genotype D(1) A-48G. Multiple regression analysis for the WCST natural logarithm values (i.e., for fulfilling the normal distribution requirement) showed that subjects' perseverative errors were significantly influenced by D(1) A-48G, D(3) Ser9Gly, 5-HT(2A) T102C and 5-HT(6) T267C polymorphisms after adjustment of other variables. CONCLUSION: The preliminary data suggest that D(1), D(3), 5-HT(2A) and 5-HT(6) genetic mutations may influence prefrontal executive cognition in healthy adults. Further studies in larger samples with other ethnicities or in mentally ill patients are warranted.     

Dissociation of ketamine effects on rule acquisition and rule implementation: possible relevance to NMDA receptor contributions to executive cognitive functions.

BACKGROUND: The demands of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) change with experience. This report contains two studies designed to examine N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor contributions to the executive components of WCST performance. These aspects of WCST performance figure more prominently in the initial completion of this task than in subsequent task repetitions in healthy populations. METHODS: In the first study, healthy subjects (n = 15) completed the WCST on two occasions separated by 1 week. In the second study, healthy subjects (n = 22) completed two test days spaced by approximately 1 week, during which, they completed the WCST and other assessments after administration of the NMDA antagonist ketamine (intravenous bolus 0.26 mg/kg followed by infusion of 0.65 mg/kg/hour) or matched placebo. RESULTS: In the first study, subjects reduced the number of total and perseverative errors with a single repetition of the WCST. In the second study, ketamine significantly increased the number of total errors and the number and percent of perseverative errors on the first, but not the second test day. Similarly, it reduced the number of category criteria met on the first, but not second test day. Ketamine also increased distractibility, impaired recall, produced psychosis, altered perception, and had effects resembling the negative symptoms of schizophrenia. However, only WCST performance showed order dependency. CONCLUSIONS: This order dependency further implicates NMDA receptors in executive cognitive functions associated with the frontal cortex.     

Vulnerability for autism traits in boys and men with an extra X chromosome (47,XXY): The mediating role of cognitive flexibility

The XXY chromosomal pattern (Klinefelter syndrome, KS) has been associated with specific effects on physical, neurobiological, endocrinological and psychological development. This study was focused on the described risk for autism in KS, and the cognitive mechanisms that mediate this risk. Our aim was to assess whether autistic features in KS result from impairments in executive functioning, more specifically difficulties in cognitive flexibility. In total, 71 boys and men with KS and 61 non-clinical controls participated in the study. Autistic features were assessed using the Autism-spectrum Quotient (AQ). Mental flexibility was measured using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). The level of autism traits was significantly increased in the KS group, the effect size for total AQ score was 1.6. The KS group also showed significantly more difficulties in cognitive flexibility, as indicated by and increased number of perseverative (but not non-perseverative) errors in the WCST. This effect was independent of intellectual functioning, age or testosterone supplements. Within the KS group, the number of perseverative errors was significantly (positively) correlated with total AQ score. Our findings suggest that KS can be associated with dysfunctions in mental flexibility, and that individuals with more mental flexibility problems also have more autism traits. This insight is relevant for diagnosis, prevention and treatment of severe problems in individuals with KS. Implications also extend beyond this specific syndrome. As executive dysfunctions in KS have also been linked to ADHD symptoms and thought disorder, this could be a shared mechanism contributing to overlap in symptoms and comorbidity between different psychiatric conditions.     

Poor sleep and neurocognitive function in early adolescence

BackgroundEvidence regarding the associations between sleep duration and quality, and neurocognitive function in adolescents remains scanty. This study examined the associations in early adolescence between: sleep duration; efficiency; fragmentation; wake-after-sleep-onset (WASO); catch-up sleep; intelligence; memory; and executive function, including attention.MethodsThis study included 354 girls and boys with a mean age 12.3 years (SD = 0.5) from a birth cohort born in 1998. Sleep was measured with accelerometers for an average of eight nights. Cognitive function was evaluated with subtests from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III (WISC-III), the Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment 2 (NEPSY-2), the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST), Conners' Continuous Performance Task (CPT), and the Trail Making Test (TMT).ResultsIn girls, a higher WASO and fragmentation index were associated with poorer executive functioning (higher number of perseverative errors in the WCST), and longer catch-up sleep was associated with longer reaction times and better performance in one verbal intelligence test (Similarities subtest of the WISC-III). In boys, shorter sleep duration, lower efficiency, higher WASO, higher sleep fragmentation and shorter catch-up sleep were associated with lower executive functioning (more commission errors, shorter reaction times, and had lower D Prime scores in CPT).ConclusionsIn adolescent girls, poorer sleep quality was only weakly associated with poorer executive functioning, while in boys, poorer sleep quantity and quality were associated with an inattentive pattern of executive functioning. The amount of catch-up sleep during weekends showed mixed patterns in relation to neurocognitive function.     

奥氮平对精神分裂症患者执行功能障碍的影响

目的:探讨奥氮平对精神分裂症患者执行功能障碍的长期疗效。方法:对29例服用奥氮平维持治疗与24例服用氯丙嗪维持治疗的精神分裂症患者进行2年随访,采用威斯康星卡片分类测验(WCST)评估执行功能。结果:维持治疗2年末奥氮平组和氯丙嗪组的WCST测验中的总测验次数、持续错误数、随机错误数均显著下降(P<0.05或P<0.01),但奥氮平组的总测验次数、持续错误数、随机错误数减分率均显著高于氯丙嗪组(P均<0.01)。结论:奥氮平长期维持治疗能显著改善精神分裂症患者的执行功能。     

精神分裂症患者与其健康同胞的注意和执行功能障碍的对照研究

目的　探讨精神分裂症患者及其健康同胞的注意、工作记忆 /执行功能的特点。方法对 5 0例精神分裂症患者 (患者组 )及其健康同胞 5 0名 (同胞组 ) ,以及 4 5名正常对照者 (正常对照组 )采用威斯康星卡片分类测验 (WCST)和持续操作测验 (CPT) ,评估注意、工作记忆 /执行功能。结果　(1)在WCST中 ,患者组及其同胞组的总测验次数 (分别为 83 4± 2 3 2和 74 1± 2 4 6 )、持续错误数 (分别为 2 5 8± 11 7和 2 2 8± 10 7)、随机错误数 (33 4± 19 2和 2 5 9± 17 1)均高于正常对照组 (分别为6 0 0± 2 1 6、14 8± 8 3和 18 1± 16 0 ;P <0 0 1)。 (2 )在CPT中 ,患者组的评分 [(2 8 4± 4 0 )分 ]低于同胞组 [(30 4± 2 3)分 ]和正常对照组 [(30 9± 2 8)分 ],而同胞组与正常对照组的差异无显著性(P >0 0 5 )。(3)患者组及其同胞组发生执行功能障碍 (分别为 2 9例和 2 5例 )和注意缺陷 (分别为 2 2例和 7例 )的例数均多于正常对照组 (分别为 9例和 4例 ;P <0 0 1) ,其中有工作记忆 /执行功能缺陷的精神分裂症患者 ,其同胞出现这一缺陷的比率 (6 6 % )高于无缺陷的精神分裂症患者的同胞 (2 8% )。(4)WCST中的持续错误数与文化程度呈负相关 (r =- 0 32 ,P <0 0 1) ,CPT与性别 (r=- 0 2     

What about inhibition in the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test?

The commercially available Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) is one of the most commonly used tests for assessing executive functions within clinical settings. Importantly, however, it remains relatively unclear exactly what processes are assessed by the test. Conceptually, increased perseverative errors in sorting cards are usually related to deficient inhibition processes. Empirically, evidence supporting this conclusion is limited. In a sample of 38 healthy adults we addressed the question to what extent inhibition mechanisms assessed by the go/no-go and the stop-signal paradigm are related to WCST performances. Inhibition-related scores were found to predict non-perseverative errors better than perseverative errors. Consequently we conclude that the non-perseverative errors score reflects processes that are partly dependent on inhibition functions.     

What About Inhibition in the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test?

The commercially available Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) is one of the most commonly used tests for assessing executive functions within clinical settings. Importantly, however, it remains relatively unclear exactly what processes are assessed by the test. Conceptually, increased perseverative errors in sorting cards are usually related to deficient inhibition processes. Empirically, evidence supporting this conclusion is limited. In a sample of 38 healthy adults we addressed the question to what extent inhibition mechanisms assessed by the go/no-go and the stop-signal paradigm are related to WCST performances. Inhibition-related scores were found to predict non-perseverative errors better than perseverative errors. Consequently we conclude that the non-perseverative errors score reflects processes that are partly dependent on inhibition functions.     

Caudate atrophy and impaired frontostriatal connections are linked to executive dysfunction in temporal lobe epilepsy

This study tested the hypothesis that executive dysfunction, common in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), is associated with an abnormal frontostriatal network. Structural and diffusion tensor MR scans, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) targeting cognitive flexibility, and the Trail Making Test B examining parallel sequencing were obtained from 9 patients with left TLE and 17 healthy controls. The five major findings were: (1) Caudate volume is reduced on the left side in TLE. (2) The atrophy involves the dorsal and ventral head of the caudate. (3) These atrophic caudate regions have a corresponding high probability of connections to dorsal prefrontal, anterior cingulate, and orbitofrontal cortex. (4) Smaller caudate volumes are linked to greater numbers of WCST perseverative errors. (5) Reduced connections between caudate and dorsal prefrontal cortex correlated with poorer scores on the Trail Making Test B. The results suggest that atrophy in the dorsal head of the caudate might disrupt frontostriatal networks that are critical for executive functioning in TLE.     

首次发病与复发抑郁症患者执行功能的对照研究

目的:探讨首发和复发抑郁症患者执行功能损害情况。方法:采用威斯康星卡片分类测验(WCST)、Stroop测验、汉密尔顿抑郁量表(HAMD-17)对100例抑郁症患者进行评定,其中首次发病(首发组)患者41例,复发(复发组)患者59例;同时以50名正常人作为对照组进行测评并分析比较。结果:在WSCT的总错误数、分类完成数、持续性错误数及持续性应答数、以及Stroop色词测验的彩色文字阅读(Stroop-c)时间和彩色文字的色彩阅读(Stroop-cw)正确数上,首发组、复发组与对照组之间差异均有统计学意义(P0.05或P0.01);Stroop-c正确数上首发组和复发组之间差异无统计学意义(P0.05)。结论:无论首发还是复发抑郁症患者均存在明显的执行功能损害,复发者更为显著。     

Is a perseveration a perseveration? An evaluation of cognitive error types in patients with subcortical pathology

This study investigated several constructs of executive functioning in a group of 77 patients with subcortical pathology. Specifically, we examined the validity of categorizing perseverative errors as "recurrent," "stuck-in-set," or "continuous," as proposed by Sandson and Albert (1984). A principal components analysis of 2 measures of recurrent perseveration, 2 measures of stuck-in-set perseveration, and 2 measures of intrusive errors yielded a 2 component solution with stuck-in-set perseverations and intrusive errors loading on Component 1, and recurrent perseverations loading on Component 2. Presence of a continuous perseveration on a graphomotor test was significantly associated with higher factor scores on Component 1, but not Component 2. The stuck-in-set perseveration and intrusion component was associated with the majority of the other neuropsychological tests administered, including tests of executive function and memory. The recurrent perseveration component was not associated with the other measures of cognitive functioning. Presence of a continuous perseveration was associated with executive function but not memory measures. This study provides evidence that recurrent perseverations are distinct from the other types of perseverative and intrusive errors, and that stuck-in-set and intrusive errors are good indicators of general cognitive functioning in patients with subcortical pathology.     

Subtype diagnosis in schizophrenia and its relation to neuropsychological and computerized tomography measures

We compared schizophrenic patients with a subtype diagnosis of paranoia (n = 14) to those with nonparanoid subtype diagnoses (n = 18) on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and multiple computed tomography (CT) scan measures. The results showed that patients with nonparanoid diagnoses sorted fewer categories and made more perseverative errors on the WCST than did patients with the paranoid diagnosis. However, patients in the nonparanoid group could not be distinguished from those in the paranoid group on CT scan measures of brain structure. Additionally, a significant correlation was found between right frontal sulcal enlargement on CT scans and the number of perseverative errors made on the WCST.     

The impact of repeated manic episodes and executive dysfunction on work adjustment in bipolar disorder

The aim of this study was to study the clinical and neurocognitive variables that best explain poor work adjustment in a sample of bipolar I euthymic patients. Eighty-five euthymic patients at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona were assessed for this study by means of a comprehensive neuropsychological battery and a work-focused interview to determine work adjustment. Clinical and sociodemographic variables were also collected. Direct logistic regression was performed to assess the impact of demographic, clinical and neuropsychological variables on the likelihood of presenting poor work adjustment. The model that best fitted contained five variables (Hamilton Depression Rating scores, number of manic episodes, number of perseverative errors in the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), number of depressive episodes and Trail Making Test-part B). However, only two out of these variables made a unique statistically significant contribution to the model, which were number of manic episodes (OR 1.401; CI 1.05–1.86; p = 0.021) and number of perseverative errors in the WCST (OR 1.062; CI 1.00–1.12; p = 0.044). The model explained up to 36 % of the variance in work adjustment. This study highlights the role of manic relapses and neurocognitive impairment, specifically the role of executive function, in work adjustment.     

伴轻度抑郁症状的双相障碍患者执行和注意功能对照研究

目的:探讨伴轻度抑郁症状的双相障碍患者执行功能、注意功能与健康对照者的差异。方法:40例伴轻度抑郁症状的双相障碍患者(研究组)和40名年龄、性别、受教育年限与研究组匹配的健康者(健康对照组)均采用威斯康星卡片分类测验(WCST)及持续操作测验(CPT)测试两组执行功能和注意功能。结果:两组WCST测试成绩除完成第1个分类所需应答数、非持续性错误数差异无统计学意义(P0.05)外,完成分类数、总应答数、正确应答数、错误应答数、持续性错误数、持续性错误率组间差异有统计学意义(t=-6.10~5.96,P均=0.000);CPT测验中正确数研究组明显低于健康对照组(t=-3.87,P=0.000);错误数明显高于健康对照组(t=5.21,P=0.000)。结论:伴轻度抑郁症状的双相障碍患者存在执行功能损害和注意功能损害。     

Right frontal event related EEG coherence (ERCoh) differentiates good from bad performers of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST).

AIM: To investigate changes in Event-Related Coherence (ERCoh) associated to good and bad resolution of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). METHODS: Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) were recorded from a sample of 30 university students while they performed a computerized version of the WCST. ERCoh was calculated for frontal and parietal electrodes for two specific moments: immediately before the response and after the feedback cues. RESULTS: Bad performers presented significantly reduced ERCoh at the right frontal region (in alpha, beta-1 and beta-2 bands), while no consistent group differences emerged for parietal ERCoh. Furthermore, the strength of functional coupling (ERCoh) between midfrontal and right-frontal electrodes was a good predictor of WCST behavioural parameters, such as the percentage of perseverative errors or the number of categories achieved. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the right prefrontal cortex is specifically involved in executive functions, such as planning and foresight, tapped by the WCST. Although the specificity of the WCST to explore frontal lesions has been recently questioned, the present findings support that prefrontal areas are specifically involved in the successful resolution of the test by healthy subjects.