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Akbari-Lalimi H, Shafiei SA, Momennezhad M, Zare H, Talaei A, Naseri S. The effect of considering eye movement time in evaluating the efficiency of attentional networks. Psych J 2024; 13:588-597. [PMID: 38298162 DOI: 10.1002/pchj.734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2024]
Abstract
The attention network test (ANT) is a tool for assessing the executive, alerting, and orienting components of attention. However, conflicting findings exist regarding the nature and correlation between attention networks. This study aims to investigate the influence of eye movement time on the assessment of attention network efficiency. Forty male students, with an average age of 20.8 ± 1.3 years, participated in the study. The revised attention network test was conducted concurrently with the recording of the electrooculogram signal. The electrooculogram signal was used to estimate eye placement time on target stimuli. Considering eye movement time for calculating the score of each network was proposed as a novel method. The study explored the nature of attention networks and their relationships, and revealed significant effects for attention networks with and without considering the eye movement time. Additionally, a significant correlation is observed between the alerting and orienting networks. However, no significant correlation is found between attention networks using the proposed method. Considering eye movement time alters the assessment of attention network efficiency and modifies the correlation among attention networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hossein Akbari-Lalimi
- Department of Medical Physics, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Seyed Ali Shafiei
- Neuroscience Research Center, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran
| | - Mahdi Momennezhad
- Nuclear Medicine Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Hoda Zare
- Department of Medical Physics, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
- Medical Physics Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Ali Talaei
- Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Shahrokh Naseri
- Department of Medical Physics, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
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Coussement C, De Longueville X, Heeren A. Attentional networks in co-occurring generalized anxiety disorder and major depression disorder: Towards a staging approach to the executive control deficits. Compr Psychiatry 2022; 113:152294. [PMID: 34942482 DOI: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2021.152294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2021] [Revised: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 12/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Major Depression Disorder (MDD) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) often co-occur, but the neurocognitive mechanisms of this co-occurrence remain unknown. Prominent views have pointed to attentional processes as potent mechanisms at play in MDD and GAD, respectively. Yet uncertainty remains regarding the very nature of attentional impairments in patients with co-occurring MDD and GAD. METHODS Inspired by contemporary models of attentional networks, we compared the three main attentional networks, namely the orienting, alerting, and executive networks of the Attention Network Task's model, in four groups of patients with, respectively, co-occurring DSM-5 MDD and GAD (n = 30), DSM-5 MDD only (n = 30), DSM-5 GAD only (n = 30), or free from any DSM-5 diagnosis (n = 30). To capture the multivariate nature of our data, we examined between-group differences in the attentional networks through a multivariate analysis of variance. RESULTS Patients with co-occurring MDD and GAD exhibited more severe impairments in the executive control network than those with only one of the disorders. Although patients with MDD or GAD solely did not differ in terms of attentional impairments, both groups showed significantly more impairments in the executive control network than those free from any DSM-5 diagnosis (all Bonferonni-corrected post-hoc ps < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Our findings align with a longstanding staging approach to comorbidity whereby, via synergistic effects, co-occurring disorders produce more damages than the sum of each disorder. Here, for the first time, we extended this approach to the executive network of attention in the context of the co-occurrence between MDD and GAD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Coussement
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute, UCLouvain, Belgium; Le Beau Vallon - Psychiatric Hospital, Belgium
| | - Xavier De Longueville
- Department of Adult Psychiatry, Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Alexandre Heeren
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute, UCLouvain, Belgium; Institute of Neuroscience, UCLouvain, Belgium.
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3
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Koop T, Dienel A, Heldmann M, Münte TF. Effects of a
Rhodiola rosea
extract on mental resource allocation and attention: An event‐related potential dual task study. Phytother Res 2020; 34:3287-3297. [DOI: 10.1002/ptr.6778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2020] [Revised: 05/19/2020] [Accepted: 05/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tina Koop
- Department of Neurology University of Lübeck Lübeck Germany
| | | | - Marcus Heldmann
- Department of Neurology University of Lübeck Lübeck Germany
- Institute for Psychology II, University of Lübeck Lübeck Germany
| | - Thomas F. Münte
- Department of Neurology University of Lübeck Lübeck Germany
- Institute for Psychology II, University of Lübeck Lübeck Germany
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4
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Coffman BA, Haas G, Olson C, Cho R, Ghuman AS, Salisbury DF. Reduced Dorsal Visual Oscillatory Activity During Working Memory Maintenance in the First-Episode Schizophrenia Spectrum. Front Psychiatry 2020; 11:743. [PMID: 32848922 PMCID: PMC7417606 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2020] [Accepted: 07/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive deficits in people with schizophrenia are among the hardest to treat and strongly predict functional outcome. The ability to maintain sensory precepts in memory over a short delay is impacted early in the progression of schizophrenia and has been linked to reliable neurophysiological markers. Yet, little is known about the mechanisms of these deficits. Here, we investigated possible neurophysiological mechanisms of impaired visual short-term memory (vSTM, aka working memory maintenance) in the first-episode schizophrenia spectrum (FESz) using magnetoencephalography (MEG). Twenty-eight FESz and 25 matched controls performed a lateralized change detection task where they were cued to selectively attend and remember colors of circles presented in either the left or right peripheral visual field over a 1 s delay. Contralateral alpha suppression (CAS) during the delay period was used to assess selective attention to cued visual hemifields held in vSTM. Delay-period CAS was compared between FESz and controls and between trials presenting one vs three items per visual hemifield. CAS in dorsal visual cortex was reduced in FESz compared to controls in high-load trials, but not low-load trials. Group differences in CAS were found beginning 100 ms after the disappearance of the memory set, suggesting deficits were not due to the initial deployment of attention to the cued visual hemifield prior to stimulus presentation. CAS was not greater for high-load vs low-load trials in FESz subjects, although this effect was prominent in controls. Further, lateralized gamma (34-40 Hz) power emerged in dorsal visual cortex prior to the onset of CAS in controls but not FESz. Gamma power in this cluster differed between groups at both high and low load. CAS deficits observed in FESz were correlated with change detection accuracy, working memory function, estimated IQ, and negative symptoms. Our results implicate deficits in CAS in trials requiring broad, but not narrow, focus of attention to spatially distributed objects maintained in vSTM in FESz, possibly due to reduced ability to broadly distribute visuospatial attention (alpha) or disruption of object-location binding (gamma) during encoding/consolidation. This early pathophysiology may shed light upon mechanisms of emerging working memory deficits that are intrinsic to schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian A. Coffman
- Clinical Neurophysiology Research Laboratory, Western Psychiatric Hospital of UPMC, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Gretchen Haas
- Western Psychiatric Hospital of UPMC, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Carl Olson
- Center for Neural Basis of Cognition, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Raymond Cho
- Western Psychiatric Hospital of UPMC, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Avniel Singh Ghuman
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neurodynamics, Department of Neurosurgery, Presbyterian Hospital, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Dean F. Salisbury
- Clinical Neurophysiology Research Laboratory, Western Psychiatric Hospital of UPMC, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
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5
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Arora S, Lawrence MA, Klein RM. The Attention Network Test Database: ADHD and Cross-Cultural Applications. Front Psychol 2020; 11:388. [PMID: 32292363 PMCID: PMC7119191 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2019] [Accepted: 02/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Attention is a central component of cognitive and behavioral processes and plays a key role in basic and higher-level functioning. Posner's model of attention describes three components or networks of attention: the alerting, which involves high intensity states of arousal; the orienting, which involves the selective direction of attention; and the executive control, which involves cognitive functions such as conflict resolution and working memory. The Attention Network Test (ANT) is a computerized testing measure that was developed to measure these three networks of attention. This project describes the ANT, its widely used variants, and the recently developed ANT Database, a repository of data extracted from all studies that have used the ANT as of 2019. To illustrate the potential uses of the database, two meta-analyses conducted using the ANT Database are described. One explores task performance in children with and without attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The other one explores regional differences between studies conducted in China, Europe, and the United States. We are currently in the process of integrating the database into a publicly available web interface. When that work is complete, researchers, clinicians, and the general public will be able to use the database to explore topics of interest related to attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Swasti Arora
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | | | - Raymond M. Klein
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
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Abstract
Recent evidence suggests that schizophrenia involves hyperfocusing, an unusually narrow but intense focusing of processing resources. This appears to contradict the classic idea that schizophrenia involves an impairment in the ability to focus on relevant information and filter irrelevant information. Here, we review one set of studies suggesting that attentional filtering is impaired in people with schizophrenia and another set of studies suggesting that attentional filtering is unimpaired or even enhanced in these individuals. Considerable evidence supports both conclusions, and we propose 3 potential ways of reconciling the conflicting evidence. First, impaired attentional filtering may occur primarily during periods of active psychosis, with hyperfocusing being a part of the broad pattern of cognitive impairment that persists independent of the level of positive symptoms. Second, schizophrenia may involve hyperfocusing in the visual modality and impaired attentional filtering in the auditory modality. Third, attention may be directed toward irrelevant inputs as a result of impaired executive control, and hyperfocusing on those inputs may be functionally equivalent to a failure of attentional filtering. Given the widespread clinical observations and first-person reports of impaired attentional filtering in schizophrenia, it will be important for future research to test these possibilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven J Luck
- Center for Mind & Brain, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA,To whom correspondence should be addressed; tel: 530-297-4424, fax: 530-754-4500, e-mail:
| | - Carly J Leonard
- Department of Psychology, University of Colorado, Denver, CO
| | - Britta Hahn
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - James M Gold
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
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7
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Panagiotaropoulou G, Thrapsanioti E, Pappa E, Grigoras C, Mylonas D, Karavasilis E, Velonakis G, Kelekis N, Smyrnis N. Hypo-activity of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex relates to increased reaction time variability in patients with schizophrenia. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2019; 23:101853. [PMID: 31096180 PMCID: PMC6520565 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2019.101853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2018] [Revised: 03/15/2019] [Accepted: 05/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Increased reaction time intra-subject variability (RT-ISV) in fast decision tasks has been confirmed in patients with schizophrenia and has been hypothesized to result from a deficit in the control of attention. Here, an attentional task and functional brain imaging were used to probe the neural correlates of increased RT-ISV in schizophrenia. Thirty patients and 30 age and sex matched controls performed the Eriksen flanker spatial attention task with concurrent measurement of brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The behavioral measures included accuracy, mean, standard deviation of RT (RTSD), coefficient of variation of RT (RTCV) and ex-Gaussian model of RT distribution parameters (mu, sigma and tau). Larger mean RT and Ex-Gaussian mu was observed for patients compared to controls. The group difference was larger for incongruent (attentionally demanding) versus congruent trials confirming a deficit in the control of spatial attention for patients. Significant increase in RT-ISV measures (RTSD, sigma and tau) for patients compared to controls was observed and was not modulated by trial congruency. Attention modulation (congruency effect) resulted in activation of bilateral frontal and parietal areas that was not different between patients and controls. Right middle frontal, right superior temporal and bilateral cingulate areas were more active in controls compared to patients independent of congruency. Activation in ROIs extracted from attention (congruency) and group related areas correlated with RT-ISV measures (especially RTCV and tau). Hypo-activation of the right middle frontal area correlated with increased tau specifically in patients. Hypo-activity of the right prefrontal cortex predicted increased RT-ISV in schizophrenia. This effect was unrelated to the effects of spatial attention and might be linked to a deficit in the inhibitory control of action for these patients. Schizophrenia patients show increased reaction time intra-subject variability (RT-ISV). fMRI of patients and aged matched controls while performing a spatial attention task. RT-ISV measures were increased in patients independent of spatial attention load. Activity of the right middle frontal cortex predicted RT-ISV increase in patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Panagiotaropoulou
- Department of Psychiatry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, Eginition Hospital, Athens, Greece; Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Sensorimotor Control, University Mental Health, Neurosciences and Precision Medicine Research Institute "COSTAS STEFANIS", Athens, Greece
| | - E Thrapsanioti
- Department of Psychiatry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, Eginition Hospital, Athens, Greece; Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Sensorimotor Control, University Mental Health, Neurosciences and Precision Medicine Research Institute "COSTAS STEFANIS", Athens, Greece
| | - E Pappa
- Department of Psychiatry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, Eginition Hospital, Athens, Greece; Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Sensorimotor Control, University Mental Health, Neurosciences and Precision Medicine Research Institute "COSTAS STEFANIS", Athens, Greece
| | - C Grigoras
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Sensorimotor Control, University Mental Health, Neurosciences and Precision Medicine Research Institute "COSTAS STEFANIS", Athens, Greece
| | - D Mylonas
- MGH/HST Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - E Karavasilis
- Second Department of Radiology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, University General Hospital 'Attikon', Athens, Greece
| | - G Velonakis
- Second Department of Radiology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, University General Hospital 'Attikon', Athens, Greece
| | - N Kelekis
- Second Department of Radiology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, University General Hospital 'Attikon', Athens, Greece
| | - N Smyrnis
- Department of Psychiatry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, Eginition Hospital, Athens, Greece; Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Sensorimotor Control, University Mental Health, Neurosciences and Precision Medicine Research Institute "COSTAS STEFANIS", Athens, Greece.
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8
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Li AWY, Hui CLM, Lee EHM, Chang WC, Chan SKW, Chen EYH. Gender differences in correlates of cognition in first-episode psychosis. Psychiatry Res 2019; 271:412-420. [PMID: 30537663 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2018.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2018] [Revised: 11/19/2018] [Accepted: 12/02/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Studies of gender cognitive differences in schizophrenia have reported mixed results. This study examined cognitive correlates including demographics, symptoms and functioning in men and women in a large sample of first-episode adult-onset psychosis patients. Detailed demographic, clinical and functioning data were collected from 360 first-episode patients upon admission into an early intervention service for psychotic disorders. They were also administered a comprehensive neurocognitive battery. Correlation analyses showed that memory and working memory were more significantly associated with onset age, negative symptoms and side effects in women. Processing speed correlated with antipsychotic dosage in men and side effects in women. Selective attention correlated with reality distortion and negative symptoms in women, and onset age and education in men. Executive function correlated with onset age and reality distortion in women. All cognitive domains significantly correlated with educational level and functioning in both genders. Negative symptoms explained significant variability in cognition in both genders, while reality distortion, side effects and affective symptoms were significant factors that differentiated between genders. Although there are similarities in cognitive deficits, considerable heterogeneity exists in associations of symptoms and cognition in men and women. Results facilitate individualised tailoring of interventions, including cognitive remediation therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrienne W Y Li
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, United Kingdom
| | - Christy L M Hui
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
| | - Edwin H M Lee
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - W C Chang
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Sherry K W Chan
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Eric Y H Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
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9
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Donaldson KR, Roach BJ, Ford JM, Lai K, Sreenivasan KK, Mathalon DH. Effects of conflict and strategic processing on neural responses to errors in schizophrenia. Biol Psychol 2018; 140:9-18. [PMID: 30428312 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2018.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2017] [Revised: 10/13/2018] [Accepted: 11/05/2018] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
The error-related negativity (ERN) and error-positivity (Pe) are commonly linked to error-detection and strategic processing. Studies have documented the influence of conflict probability on ERN amplitude. However, the influence of conflict probability on ERN/Pe in schizophrenia, where such components are reduced, is unknown. A modified flanker paradigm was used to examine how the probability of conflict modulates ERN and Pe amplitudes in patients with schizophrenia (n = 33) and healthy controls (n = 25). Increased ERN was observed in response to errors on low probability, incongruent trials. No such differences were observed in Pe. While ERN and Pe showed significantly reduced amplitudes in patients relative to controls, patients showed normal condition-dependent ERN and reaction-time modulation. This suggests that while the neural mechanisms generating the ERN and Pe are compromised in schizophrenia, those modulating task performance strategy and neurophysiological responses to errors based on conflict probability are intact.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kayla R Donaldson
- Psychiatry Service, Veterans Affairs San Francisco Healthcare System, 4150 Clement Street, San Francisco, CA, 94121, United States
| | - Brian J Roach
- Psychiatry Service, Veterans Affairs San Francisco Healthcare System, 4150 Clement Street, San Francisco, CA, 94121, United States
| | - Judith M Ford
- Psychiatry Service, Veterans Affairs San Francisco Healthcare System, 4150 Clement Street, San Francisco, CA, 94121, United States; Department of Psychiatry, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA, 94143, United States
| | - Karen Lai
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, 757 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
| | - Kartik K Sreenivasan
- Division of Science and Mathematics, New York University Abu Dhabi, 19 Washington Square North, New York, NY, 10011, United States
| | - Daniel H Mathalon
- Psychiatry Service, Veterans Affairs San Francisco Healthcare System, 4150 Clement Street, San Francisco, CA, 94121, United States; Department of Psychiatry, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA, 94143, United States.
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10
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MacQueen DA, Young JW, Cope ZA. Cognitive Phenotypes for Biomarker Identification in Mental Illness: Forward and Reverse Translation. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2018; 40:111-166. [PMID: 29858983 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2018_50] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Psychiatric illness has been acknowledged for as long as people were able to describe behavioral abnormalities in the general population. In modern times, these descriptions have been codified and continuously updated into manuals by which clinicians can diagnose patients. None of these diagnostic manuals have attempted to tie abnormalities to neural dysfunction however, nor do they necessitate the quantification of cognitive function despite common knowledge of its ties to functional outcome. In fact, in recent years the National Institute of Mental Health released a novel transdiagnostic classification, the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC), which utilizes quantifiable behavioral abnormalities linked to neurophysiological processes. This reclassification highlights the utility of RDoC constructs as potential cognitive biomarkers of disease state. In addition, with RDoC and cognitive biomarkers, the onus of researchers utilizing animal models no longer necessitates the recreation of an entire disease state, but distinct processes. Here, we describe the utilization of constructs from the RDoC initiative to forward animal research on these cognitive and behavioral processes, agnostic of disease. By linking neural processes to these constructs, identifying putative abnormalities in diseased patients, more targeted therapeutics can be developed.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A MacQueen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Research Service, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Jared W Young
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
- Research Service, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA.
| | - Zackary A Cope
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
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11
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Attention impairments and ADHD symptoms in adult narcoleptic patients with and without hypocretin deficiency. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0182085. [PMID: 28763482 PMCID: PMC5538711 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0182085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2017] [Accepted: 07/12/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Attentional complaints are common in narcolepsy patients and can overlap with daytime sleepiness features. Few studies attempted to characterize attentional domains in narcolepsy leading to controversial results. We aimed to assess the impact of hypocretin deficiency on attentional functioning by comparing performances on the attention network test (ANT) of narcoleptic patients with hypocretin deficiency (narcolepsy type 1-NT1) versus patients without hypocretin deficiency (narcolepsy type 2-NT2) and healthy controls. We also addressed frequency and severity of psychopathological symptoms and their influence on performances on ANT. METHODS Twenty-one NT1 patients, fifteen NT2 patients and twenty-two healthy controls underwent the ANT, which allows assessing three separate attentional processes (alerting, orienting and executive control), and a psychometric assessment including questionnaires on attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety and depression symptoms. RESULTS NT1 and NT2 patients presented with slower reaction times compared to controls. NT1 patients exhibited an impairment of alerting network relative to NT2 and healthy controls, while orienting and executive control networks efficiency were comparable between groups. NT1 and NT2 displayed higher severity of ADHD inattentive domain than controls, NT1 patients also displayed higher severity of ADHD hyperactive domain and depressive symptoms. In NT1, ADHD and depressive symptoms were positively correlated. CONCLUSIONS Despite a shared slowing of reaction times in both NT1 and NT2, a selective impairment of alerting network was present only in hypocretin deficient patients. Clinicians should carefully consider attentional deficits and psychopathological symptoms, including ADHD symptoms, in the clinical assessment and management of patients with narcolepsy.
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12
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Ettinger U, Aichert DS, Wöstmann N, Dehning S, Riedel M, Kumari V. Response inhibition and interference control: Effects of schizophrenia, genetic risk, and schizotypy. J Neuropsychol 2017; 12:484-510. [DOI: 10.1111/jnp.12126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2016] [Revised: 03/06/2017] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Sandra Dehning
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy; University of Munich; Germany
| | | | - Veena Kumari
- Research and Development; Sovereign Health Group; San Clemente California USA
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13
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Block SR, Liberzon I. Attentional processes in posttraumatic stress disorder and the associated changes in neural functioning. Exp Neurol 2016; 284:153-167. [PMID: 27178007 DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2016.05.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2015] [Revised: 05/02/2016] [Accepted: 05/05/2016] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is associated with alterations in attention at the behavioral and neural levels. However, there are conflicting findings regarding the specific type of attention impairments present in PTSD, as the commonly used tests of attention do not isolate the mechanisms behind attention abnormalities, and the constructs measured do not map onto the neurocircuits governing attention. Here, we review the literature on attention processing in PTSD and offer directions for future research to clarify these unanswered questions. First, using instruments that allow assessment of behavioral and neurophysiological attention components will be necessary to understand attention deficits in PTSD. Second, focus on intra-individual variability in addition to assessment of central tendency may help clarify some of the mixed findings. Third, longitudinal studies on attentional processes are warranted to determine how attention contributes to the development and maintenance of PTSD. Integration of behavioral and neural measures of attention will be useful in understanding the pathophysiology of PTSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie R Block
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States; Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States; VA Ann Arbor Health Care System, Ann Arbor, MI, United States.
| | - Israel Liberzon
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States; Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States; VA Ann Arbor Health Care System, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
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14
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Rau HK, Suchy Y, Butner JE, Williams PG. Latent profiles of executive functioning in healthy young adults: evidence of individual differences in hemispheric asymmetry. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2015; 80:997-1019. [PMID: 26409468 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-015-0706-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2014] [Accepted: 09/04/2015] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Two competing theoretical models of individual differences in executive functioning (EF) were examined: the Prefrontal Convexity Model and the Hemispheric Asymmetry Model. Neurologically healthy individuals (N = 315; mean age 20.8) completed a modified switching task (MST) and the Attention Network Test (ANT) in a single testing session. Data analysis was conducted in two phases. In the first phase (model identification), latent profile analysis was applied to MST variables measuring the abilities to form, switch, and maintain mental sets under conditions designed to tax left or right hemisphere resources. In the second phase (model validation), participant clusters obtained from the first phase were compared on the ANT. The Model Identification phase yielded a 3-profile solution consistent with the Hemispheric Asymmetry Model. Profile 1 (N = 203) was characterized by average EF performances. Profile 2 (N = 43) revealed a set maintenance weakness under non-verbal conditions. Profile 3 (N = 38) demonstrated weaknesses in cognitive flexibility combined with poor executive performances under verbal conditions. The Model Validation phase confirmed group differences. Profile 1 demonstrated average EF performances. Profile 2 demonstrated distractibility and decreased alertness, consistent with a right hemisphere weakness. Profile 3 demonstrated cognitive rigidity in the absence of external cues, consistent with a left hemisphere weakness. Individual differences in EF appear to follow a Hemispheric Asymmetry Model of EF among neurologically healthy adults. Investigating the relationship between hemispherically mediated executive functions and other individual difference factors known to confer health risk or resilience could inform numerous disciplines within the field of psychology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holly K Rau
- Department of Psychology, University of Utah, 380 South 1530 East, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA.
| | - Yana Suchy
- Department of Psychology, University of Utah, 380 South 1530 East, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA
| | - Jonathan E Butner
- Department of Psychology, University of Utah, 380 South 1530 East, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA
| | - Paula G Williams
- Department of Psychology, University of Utah, 380 South 1530 East, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA
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Heeren A, Maurage P, Philippot P. Revisiting attentional processing of non-emotional cues in social anxiety: A specific impairment for the orienting network of attention. Psychiatry Res 2015; 228:136-42. [PMID: 25957649 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2015.04.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2014] [Revised: 03/02/2015] [Accepted: 04/09/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
People with social anxiety disorder (SAD) exhibit an attentional bias for threat (AB). Nevertheless, the focus on AB for emotional stimuli has led to neglect the exploration of basic attention deficits for non-emotional material among SAD patients. This study aimed to investigate the integrity of the attentional system in SAD. The Attention Network Test was used to precisely explore attentional deficits, and centrally the differential deficit across the three attentional networks, namely alerting (allowing to achieve and maintain a state of alertness), orienting (allowing to select information from sensory input by engaging or disengaging attention to one stimulus among others and/or shifting the attentional resources from one stimulation to another), and executive control (involving the top-down control of attention and allowing to resolve response conflicts). Twenty-five patients with SAD were compared to 25 matched controls. SAD patients exhibited a specific impairment for the orienting network (p < 0.001) but preserved performance for the alerting and executive networks. Complementary analyses revealed that this impairment may result from a faster attentional engagement to task-irrelevant material. The orienting impairment was highly correlated with the intensity of the social anxiety symptoms, but did not correlate either with trait-anxiety, state-anxiety, or depressive symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandre Heeren
- Laboratory for Experimental Psychopathology, Psychological Science Research Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium.
| | - Pierre Maurage
- Laboratory for Experimental Psychopathology, Psychological Science Research Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium; Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium
| | - Pierre Philippot
- Laboratory for Experimental Psychopathology, Psychological Science Research Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium
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Xu J, Yin X, Ge H, Han Y, Pang Z, Tang Y, Liu B, Liu S. Attentional performance is correlated with the local regional efficiency of intrinsic brain networks. Front Behav Neurosci 2015; 9:200. [PMID: 26283939 PMCID: PMC4517058 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2015] [Accepted: 07/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Attention is a crucial brain function for human beings. Using neuropsychological paradigms and task-based functional brain imaging, previous studies have indicated that widely distributed brain regions are engaged in three distinct attention subsystems: alerting, orienting and executive control (EC). Here, we explored the potential contribution of spontaneous brain activity to attention by examining whether resting-state activity could account for individual differences of the attentional performance in normal individuals. The resting-state functional images and behavioral data from attention network test (ANT) task were collected in 59 healthy subjects. Graph analysis was conducted to obtain the characteristics of functional brain networks and linear regression analyses were used to explore their relationships with behavioral performances of the three attentional components. We found that there was no significant relationship between the attentional performance and the global measures, while the attentional performance was associated with specific local regional efficiency. These regions related to the scores of alerting, orienting and EC largely overlapped with the regions activated in previous task-related functional imaging studies, and were consistent with the intrinsic dorsal and ventral attention networks (DAN/VAN). In addition, the strong associations between the attentional performance and specific regional efficiency suggested that there was a possible relationship between the DAN/VAN and task performances in the ANT. We concluded that the intrinsic activity of the human brain could reflect the processing efficiency of the attention system. Our findings revealed a robust evidence for the functional significance of the efficiently organized intrinsic brain network for highly productive cognitions and the hypothesized role of the DAN/VAN at rest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junhai Xu
- Department of Computer Information and Technology, School of Computer Science and Technology, Tianjin University Tianjin, China ; Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Department of Anatomy and Histology Embryology, Shandong University School of Medicine Jinan, China
| | - Xuntao Yin
- Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Department of Anatomy and Histology Embryology, Shandong University School of Medicine Jinan, China
| | - Haitao Ge
- Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Department of Anatomy and Histology Embryology, Shandong University School of Medicine Jinan, China
| | - Yan Han
- Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of Medical College, Qingdao University Qingdao, China
| | - Zengchang Pang
- Department of Epidemiology, Qingdao Municipal Central for Disease Control and Prevention Qingdao, China
| | - Yuchun Tang
- Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Department of Anatomy and Histology Embryology, Shandong University School of Medicine Jinan, China
| | - Baolin Liu
- Department of Computer Information and Technology, School of Computer Science and Technology, Tianjin University Tianjin, China
| | - Shuwei Liu
- Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Department of Anatomy and Histology Embryology, Shandong University School of Medicine Jinan, China
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Snyder HR, Miyake A, Hankin BL. Advancing understanding of executive function impairments and psychopathology: bridging the gap between clinical and cognitive approaches. Front Psychol 2015; 6:328. [PMID: 25859234 PMCID: PMC4374537 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 516] [Impact Index Per Article: 57.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2014] [Accepted: 03/07/2015] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Executive function (EF) is essential for successfully navigating nearly all of our daily activities. Of critical importance for clinical psychological science, EF impairments are associated with most forms of psychopathology. However, despite the proliferation of research on EF in clinical populations, with notable exceptions clinical and cognitive approaches to EF have remained largely independent, leading to failures to apply theoretical and methodological advances in one field to the other field and hindering progress. First, we review the current state of knowledge of EF impairments associated with psychopathology and limitations to the previous research in light of recent advances in understanding and measuring EF. Next, we offer concrete suggestions for improving EF assessment. Last, we suggest future directions, including integrating modern models of EF with state of the art, hierarchical models of dimensional psychopathology as well as translational implications of EF-informed research on clinical science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah R Snyder
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver CO, USA
| | - Akira Miyake
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder CO, USA
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Yadon CA, Kisley MA, Davalos DB. The Effects of Vigilance and Visual Distraction on the P50 Mid-Latency Auditory Evoked Potential. J PSYCHOPHYSIOL 2015. [DOI: 10.1027/0269-8803/a000132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Sensory gating function has been investigated through measurement of the P50 evoked potential. However, the susceptibility of auditory P50 sensory gating to attentional modulation remains unclear. We sought to investigate the effects of vigilance (sustaining alertness across multiple recording blocks) and visual distraction (watching a muted movie versus a static fixation cross). We specifically chose a movie as the distracting stimulus because investigators sometimes show muted movies during P50 paradigms and the effects of this method were previously unknown. We recorded evoked potentials in a standard paired-click paradigm from groups watching a movie or static fixation cross; both groups completed four identical blocks of recording. Ratings of fatigue were recorded throughout the experiment. P50 and N100 amplitude showed signs of habituation, although N100’s amplitude reduction was more prominent than P50. P50 suppression did not change over the course of the recording session, despite increasing fatigue ratings. P50 suppression was significantly stronger for the participants who watched a movie during the recording. When comparing P50 gating results across studies, care should be taken to consider differing methodologies.
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González-Hernández JA, Pita-Alcorta C, Padrón A, Finalé A, Galán L, Martínez E, Díaz-Comas L, Samper-González JA, Lencer R, Marot M. Basic visual dysfunction allows classification of patients with schizophrenia with exceptional accuracy. Schizophr Res 2014; 159:226-33. [PMID: 25176497 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2014.07.052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2013] [Revised: 07/28/2014] [Accepted: 07/31/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Basic visual dysfunctions are commonly reported in schizophrenia; however their value as diagnostic tools remains uncertain. This study reports a novel electrophysiological approach using checkerboard visual evoked potentials (VEP). Sources of spectral resolution VEP-components C1, P1 and N1 were estimated by LORETA, and the band-effects (BSE) on these estimated sources were explored in each subject. BSEs were Z-transformed for each component and relationships with clinical variables were assessed. Clinical effects were evaluated by ROC-curves and predictive values. Forty-eight patients with schizophrenia (SZ) and 55 healthy controls participated in the study. For each of the 48 patients, the three VEP components were localized to both dorsal and ventral brain areas and also deviated from a normal distribution. P1 and N1 deviations were independent of treatment, illness chronicity or gender. Results from LORETA also suggest that deficits in thalamus, posterior cingulum, precuneus, superior parietal and medial occipitotemporal areas were associated with symptom severity. While positive symptoms were more strongly related to sensory processing deficits (P1), negative symptoms were more strongly related to perceptual processing dysfunction (N1). Clinical validation revealed positive and negative predictive values for correctly classifying SZ of 100% and 77%, respectively. Classification in an additional independent sample of 30 SZ corroborated these results. In summary, this novel approach revealed basic visual dysfunctions in all patients with schizophrenia, suggesting these visual dysfunctions represent a promising candidate as a biomarker for schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- J A González-Hernández
- Departments of Neurophysiology and Psychiatry, "Hermanos-Ameijeiras" Hospital, University of Medical Science of Havana, Cuba; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Münster, Germany.
| | - C Pita-Alcorta
- Department of Psychiatry, "Manuel Fajardo" Hospital, University of Medical Science of Havana, Cuba
| | - A Padrón
- Departments of Neurophysiology and Psychiatry, "Hermanos-Ameijeiras" Hospital, University of Medical Science of Havana, Cuba
| | - A Finalé
- Departments of Neurophysiology and Psychiatry, "Hermanos-Ameijeiras" Hospital, University of Medical Science of Havana, Cuba
| | - L Galán
- Departments of Neurostatistics and Neuroinformatics, Cuban Neuroscience Center, Havana, Cuba
| | - E Martínez
- Departments of Neurostatistics and Neuroinformatics, Cuban Neuroscience Center, Havana, Cuba
| | - L Díaz-Comas
- Departments of Neurostatistics and Neuroinformatics, Cuban Neuroscience Center, Havana, Cuba
| | | | - R Lencer
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Münster, Germany
| | - M Marot
- Departments of Neurophysiology and Psychiatry, "Hermanos-Ameijeiras" Hospital, University of Medical Science of Havana, Cuba
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20
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Batty RA, Francis AJP, Innes-Brown H, Joshua NR, Rossell SL. Neurophysiological correlates of configural face processing in schizotypy. Front Psychiatry 2014; 5:101. [PMID: 25161628 PMCID: PMC4129627 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2014] [Accepted: 07/28/2014] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Face processing impairment in schizophrenia appears to be underpinned by poor configural (as opposed to feature-based) processing; however, few studies have sought to characterize this impairment electrophysiologically. Given the sensitivity of event-related potentials to antipsychotic medications, and the potential for neurophysiological abnormalities to serve as vulnerability markers for schizophrenia, a handful of studies have investigated early visual P100 and face-selective N170 in "at risk" populations. However, this is the first known neurophysiological investigation of configural face processing in a non-clinical schizotypal sample. METHODS Using stimuli designed to engage configural processing in face perception (upright and inverted Mooney and photographic faces), P100 and N170 components were recorded in healthy individuals characterized by high (N = 14) and low (N = 14) schizotypal traits according to the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences. RESULTS High schizotypes showed significantly reduced N170 amplitudes to inverted photographic faces. Typical N170 latency and amplitude inversion effects (delayed and enhanced N170 to inverted relative to upright photographic faces, and enhanced amplitude to upright versus inverted Mooney faces), were demonstrated by low, but not high, schizotypes. No group differences were shown for P100 analyses. CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest that neurophysiological deficits in processing facial configurations (N170) are apparent in schizotypy, while the early sensory processing (P100) of faces appears intact. This work adds to the mounting evidence for analogous neural processing anomalies at the healthy end of the psychosis continuum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel A Batty
- Brain and Psychological Sciences Research Centre (BPsyC), Faculty of Health, Arts and Design, Swinburne University of Technology , Melbourne, VIC , Australia ; School of Health Science, Psychology, RMIT University , Bundoora, VIC , Australia
| | - Andrew J P Francis
- School of Health Science, Psychology, RMIT University , Bundoora, VIC , Australia
| | | | | | - Susan L Rossell
- Brain and Psychological Sciences Research Centre (BPsyC), Faculty of Health, Arts and Design, Swinburne University of Technology , Melbourne, VIC , Australia ; Cognitive Neuropsychiatry Laboratory, Monash-Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre (MAPrc), The Alfred Hospital and Central Clinical School Monash University , Melbourne, VIC , Australia ; Psychiatry, St. Vincents Hospital , Melbourne, VIC , Australia
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21
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Abstract
BACKGROUND We compared the attention abilities of a group of first-episode schizophrenia (FES) patients and a group of healthy participants using the Attention Network Test (ANT), a standard procedure that estimates the functional state of three neural networks controlling the efficiency of three different attentional behaviors, i.e., alerting (achieving and maintaining a state of high sensitivity to incoming stimuli), orienting (ability to select information from sensory input), and executive attention (mechanisms for resolving conflict among thoughts, feelings, and actions). METHODS We evaluated 22 FES patients from 17 to 29 years of age with a recent history of a single psychotic episode treated only with atypical neuroleptics, and 20 healthy persons matched with FES patients by sex, age, and educational level as the control group. Attention was estimated using the ANT in which participants indicate whether a central horizontal arrow is pointing to the left or the right. The central arrow may be preceded by spatial or temporal cues denoting where and when the arrow will appear, and may be flanked by other arrows (hereafter, flankers) pointing in the same or the opposite direction. RESULTS The efficiency of the alerting, orienting, and executive networks was estimated by measuring how reaction time was influenced by congruency between temporal, spatial, and flanker cues. We found that the control group only demonstrated significantly greater attention efficiency than FES patients in the executive attention network. CONCLUSIONS FES patients are impaired in executive attention but not in alerting or orienting attention, suggesting that executive attention deficit may be a primary impairment during the progression of the disease.
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22
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Impaired executive control of emotional information in social anhedonia. Psychiatry Res 2012; 197:29-35. [PMID: 22425470 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2011.12.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2011] [Revised: 08/20/2011] [Accepted: 12/12/2011] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
We examined the executive control of emotional information and its relationship to social functioning in individuals at risk for schizophrenia, defined by high social anhedonia (SA). Using the same structure as the Attentional Network Test (ANT), we developed a measure of executive control of emotional information (ANT-Emotion) in which subjects identify the direction of an arrow flanked by irrelevant angry or neutral faces. Subjects completed the ANT, ANT-Emotion, and the Social Adjustment Scale, Self-Report (SAS-SR), a measure of social functioning. While there were no group differences in the alerting, orienting, and executive control networks assessed by the ANT, high SA individuals exhibited a specific impairment in the executive control of emotional information. High SA individuals also reported poorer social functioning. However, executive control of emotional information did not mediate the relationship between SA and social functioning. These findings indicate that, in high-risk populations, the impaired ability to inhibit emotional information allows negative affective stimuli to exert inappropriate influence on cognitive processes. These results are consistent with studies indicating similar findings in schizophrenia patients, suggesting that impaired inhibition of negative emotion may be part of the liability for the disorder.
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N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor 2B subunit (GRIN2B) gene variation is associated with alerting, but not with orienting and conflicting in the Attention Network Test. Neuropharmacology 2012; 63:259-65. [PMID: 22484476 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2012.02.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2011] [Revised: 02/22/2012] [Accepted: 02/23/2012] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Appropriate attention levels are pivotal for cognitive processes, and individual differences in attentional functioning are related to variations in the interplay of neurotransmitters. The attention network theory reflects attention as a non-homogenous set of separate neural networks: alerting, orienting and conflicting. In the present study, the role of variations in GRIN2B, which encodes the NR2B subunit of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, was explored with regard to the regulation of arousal and attention by comparing the efficiency of the three attentional networks as measured with the Attention Network Test (ANT). Two synonymous SNPs in GRIN2B, rs1806201 (T888T) and rs1806191 (H1178H) were genotyped in 324 young Caucasian adults. Results revealed a highly specific modulatory influence of SNP rs1806201 on alerting processes with subjects homozygous for the frequent C allele displaying higher alerting network scores as compared to the other two genotype groups (CT and TT). This effect is due to the fact that in the no cue condition faster reaction times were evident in participants carrying at least one of the rare T alleles, possibly as a result of more effective glutamatergic neurotransmission. The results might be further explained by a dissociation between tonic and phasic alertness modulated by the GRIN2B genotype and by a ceiling effect, meaning that subjects cannot be phasicly alert in excess to a certain level. Altogether, the results show that variations in GRIN2B have to be taken into consideration when examining attentional processes.
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Hahn E, Ta TMT, Hahn C, Kuehl LK, Ruehl C, Neuhaus AH, Dettling M. Test-retest reliability of Attention Network Test measures in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 2011; 133:218-22. [PMID: 22000937 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2011.09.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2011] [Revised: 09/10/2011] [Accepted: 09/18/2011] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The Attention Network Test (ANT) is a well established behavioral measure in neuropsychological research to assess three different facets of selective attention, i.e., alerting, orienting, and conflict processing. Although the ANT has been applied in healthy individuals and various clinical populations, data on retest reliability are scarce in healthy samples and lacking for clinical populations. The objective of the present study was a longitudinal assessment of relevant ANT network measures in healthy controls and schizophrenic patients. METHODS Forty-five schizophrenic patients and 55 healthy controls were tested with ANT in a test-retest design with an average interval of 7.4 months between test sessions. Test-retest reliability was analyzed with Pearson and Intra-class correlations. RESULTS Healthy controls revealed moderate to high test-retest correlations for mean reaction time, mean accuracy, conflict effect, and conflict error rates. In schizophrenic patients, moderate test-retest correlations for mean reaction time, orienting effect, and conflict effect were found. The analysis of error rates in schizophrenic patients revealed very low test-retest correlations. CONCLUSIONS The current study provides converging statistical evidence that the conflict effect and mean reaction time of ANT yield acceptable test-retest reliabilities in healthy controls and, investigated longitudinally for the first time, also in schizophrenia. Obtained differences of alerting and orienting effects in schizophrenia case-control studies should be considered more carefully. The analysis of error rates revealed heterogeneous results and therefore is not recommended for case control studies in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Hahn
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité University Medicine, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Berlin, Germany.
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25
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Yin X, Han Y, Ge H, Xu W, Huang R, Zhang D, Xu J, Fan L, Pang Z, Liu S. Inferior frontal white matter asymmetry correlates with executive control of attention. Hum Brain Mapp 2011; 34:796-813. [PMID: 22110013 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.21477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2011] [Revised: 08/11/2011] [Accepted: 09/02/2011] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
White matter (WM) asymmetries of the human brain have been well documented using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). However, the relationship between WM asymmetry pattern and cognitive performance is poorly understood. By means of tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) and voxel-based analyses of whole brain, this study examined the WM asymmetries and the correlations between WM integrity/asymmetries and three distinct components of attention, namely alerting, orienting, and executive control (EC), which were assessed by attention network test (ANT). We revealed a number of WM anisotropy asymmetries, including leftward asymmetry of cingulum, corticospinal tract and cerebral peduncle, rightward asymmetry of internal capsule, superior longitudinal fasciculus and posterior corona radiata, as well as heterogeneous asymmetries in anterior corpus callosum and anterior corona radiata (ACR). Moreover, specific correlation was found between asymmetric pattern of inferior frontal ACR and EC performance. Additionally, this study also proposed that there were no significant relationships of WM anisotropy asymmetries to alerting and orienting functions. Further clusters of interest analyses and probabilistic fiber tracking validated our findings. In conclusion, there are a number of differences in WM integrity between human brain hemispheres. Specially, the anisotropy asymmetry in inferior frontal ACR plays a crucial role in EC function. Our finding is supportive of the functional studies of inferior frontal regions and in keeping with the theory of the brain lateralization on human ventral attention system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuntao Yin
- Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Shandong University School of Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, China
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de Fockert JW, Caparos S, Linnell KJ, Davidoff J. Reduced distractibility in a remote culture. PLoS One 2011; 6:e26337. [PMID: 22046275 PMCID: PMC3198475 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0026337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2011] [Accepted: 09/25/2011] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background In visual processing, there are marked cultural differences in the tendency to adopt either a global or local processing style. A remote culture (the Himba) has recently been reported to have a greater local bias in visual processing than Westerners. Here we give the first evidence that a greater, and remarkable, attentional selectivity provides the basis for this local bias. Methodology/Principal Findings In Experiment 1, Eriksen-type flanker interference was measured in the Himba and in Western controls. In both groups, responses to the direction of a task-relevant target arrow were affected by the compatibility of task-irrelevant distractor arrows. However, the Himba showed a marked reduction in overall flanker interference compared to Westerners. The smaller interference effect in the Himba occurred despite their overall slower performance than Westerners, and was evident even at a low level of perceptual load of the displays. In Experiment 2, the attentional selectivity of the Himba was further demonstrated by showing that their attention was not even captured by a moving singleton distractor. Conclusions/Significance We argue that the reduced distractibility in the Himba is clearly consistent with their tendency to prioritize the analysis of local details in visual processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan W de Fockert
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, United Kingdom.
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27
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Şevik AE, Anıl Yağcıoğlu AE, Yağcıoğlu S, Karahan S, Gürses N, Yıldız M. Neuropsychological performance and auditory event related potentials in schizophrenia patients and their siblings: a family study. Schizophr Res 2011; 130:195-202. [PMID: 21592733 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2011.04.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2011] [Revised: 04/10/2011] [Accepted: 04/17/2011] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Various neuropsychological domains, and P300 auditory event-related potentials (ERP) and mismatch negativity (MMN) exhibit abnormalities in schizophrenia patients and their first-degree relatives. The aims of this study were to compare cognitive and P300/MMN measurements in schizophrenia patients, their siblings, and controls, and to identify the degree of familial influence on each measure. METHODS Thirty patients diagnosed with schizophrenia according to DSM-IV, 20 unaffected siblings and 25 healthy controls were able to complete all neuropsyhological and neurophysiological assessments. All participants were administered SCID-I and the patients were also evaluated regarding symptom severity and functioning. Neuropsychological battery testing results and P300/MMN measurements were obtained for all the participants. RESULTS Both schizophrenia patients and their siblings had lower working memory, as measured by the Auditory Consonant Trigram Test (ACT), and lower MMN amplitude scores than the controls. In addition, the patients had lower attention, verbal memory, executive function, visuomotor speed, and figural memory scores than both the siblings and controls, and lower verbal fluency scores than controls. MMN and P300 amplitudes were lower and P300 latency longer in the schizophrenia patients, as compared to controls. P300 latency was also longer in the schizophrenia patients as compared to siblings and, MMN amplitudes were significantly lower in the siblings compared to controls. Working memory performance measured by ACT significantly predicted inclusion in both the patient and sibling groups and showed significant familial influence. MMN amplitude significantly predicted inclusion only to the patient group and did not show significant familial influence. CONCLUSION The schizophrenia patients exhibited impairment in various cognitive domains and P300/MMN measurements, versus impairment only in working memory and MMN amplitude in their siblings. Working memory seems to have a relatively strong familial influence among all the neuropsychological and neurophysiological parameters evaluated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Emre Şevik
- Başkent University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Ankara, Turkey
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Alertness can be improved by an interaction between orienting attention and alerting attention in schizophrenia. Behav Brain Funct 2011; 7:24. [PMID: 21729299 PMCID: PMC3156722 DOI: 10.1186/1744-9081-7-24] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2010] [Accepted: 07/05/2011] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Attention is impaired in schizophrenia. Early attention components include orienting and alerting, as well as executive control networks. Previous studies have shown mainly executive control deficits, while few of them found orienting and alerting abnormalities. Here we explore the different attentive networks, their modulation and interactions in patients with schizophrenia. METHODS Twenty-one schizophrenic patients (DSMIV), compared to 21 controls, performed a modified version of the Attention Network Task, in which an orienting paradigm (with valid, invalid and no cues) was combined with a flanker task (congruent/incongruent) and an alerting signal (tone/no tone), to assess orienting, executive control and alerting networks independently. RESULTS Patients showed an abnormal alerting effect and slower overall reaction time compared to controls. Moreover, there was an interaction between orienting and alerting: patients are helped more than controls by the alerting signal in a valid orientation to solve the incongruent condition. CONCLUSION These results suggest that patients with schizophrenia have altered alerting abilities. However, the orienting and alerting cues interact to improve their attention performance in the resolution of conflict, creating possibilities for cognitive remediation strategies.
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Thimm M, Kircher T, Kellermann T, Markov V, Krach S, Jansen A, Zerres K, Eggermann T, Stöcker T, Shah NJ, Nöthen MM, Rietschel M, Witt SH, Mathiak K, Krug A. Effects of a CACNA1C genotype on attention networks in healthy individuals. Psychol Med 2011; 41:1551-1561. [PMID: 21078228 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291710002217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Recent genetic studies found the A allele of the variant rs1006737 in the alpha 1C subunit of the L-type voltage-gated calcium channel (CACNA1C) gene to be over-represented in patients with psychosis, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder. In these disorders, attention deficits are among the main cognitive symptoms and have been related to altered neural activity in cerebral attention networks. The particular effect of CACNA1C on neural function, such as attention networks, remains to be elucidated. METHOD The current event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study investigated the effect of the CACNA1C gene on brain activity in 80 subjects while performing a scanner-adapted version of the Attention Network Test (ANT). Three domains of attention were probed simultaneously: alerting, orienting and executive control of attention. RESULTS Risk allele carriers showed impaired performance in alerting and orienting in addition to reduced neural activity in the right inferior parietal lobule [Brodmann area (BA) 40] during orienting and in the medial frontal gyrus (BA 8) during executive control of attention. These areas belong to networks that have been related to impaired orienting and executive control mechanisms in neuropsychiatric disorders. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that CACNA1C plays a role in the development of specific attention deficits in psychiatric disorders by modulation of neural attention networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Thimm
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, RWTH Aachen University, Germany.
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Balog Z, Kiss I, Kéri S. ZNF804A may be associated with executive control of attention. GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR 2010; 10:223-7. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1601-183x.2010.00657.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Thimm M, Krug A, Kellermann T, Markov V, Krach S, Jansen A, Zerres K, Eggermann T, Stöcker T, Shah NJ, Nöthen MM, Rietschel M, Kircher T. The effects of a DTNBP1 gene variant on attention networks: an fMRI study. Behav Brain Funct 2010; 6:54. [PMID: 20846375 PMCID: PMC2949706 DOI: 10.1186/1744-9081-6-54] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2010] [Accepted: 09/16/2010] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Attention deficits belong to the main cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia and come along with altered neural activity in previously described cerebral networks. Given the high heritability of schizophrenia the question arises if impaired function of these networks is modulated by susceptibility genes and detectable in healthy risk allele carriers. METHODS The present event-related fMRI study investigated the effect of the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs1018381 of the DTNBP1 (dystrobrevin-binding protein 1) gene on brain activity in 80 subjects while performing the attention network test (ANT). In this reaction time task three domains of attention are probed simultaneously: alerting, orienting and executive control of attention. RESULTS Risk allele carriers showed impaired performance in the executive control condition associated with reduced neural activity in the left superior frontal gyrus [Brodmann area (BA) 9]. Risk allele carriers did not show alterations in the alerting and orienting networks. CONCLUSIONS BA 9 is a key region of schizophrenia pathology and belongs to a network that has been shown previously to be involved in impaired executive control mechanisms in schizophrenia. Our results identified the impact of DTNBP1 on the development of a specific attention deficit via modulation of a left prefrontal network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus Thimm
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
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P50 sensory gating is related to performance on select tasks of cognitive inhibition. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2009; 9:448-58. [PMID: 19897797 DOI: 10.3758/cabn.9.4.448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
P50 suppression deficits have been documented in clinical and nonclinical populations, but the behavioral correlates of impaired auditory sensory gating remain poorly understood. In the present study, we examined the relationship between P50 gating and healthy adults' performance on cognitive inhibition tasks. On the basis of load theory (Lavie, Hirst, de Fockert, & Viding, 2004), we predicted that a high perceptual load, a possible consequence of poor auditory P50 sensory gating, would have differential (i.e., positive vs. negative) effects on performance of cognitive inhibition tasks. A dissociation was observed such that P50 gating was negatively related to interference resolution on a Stroop task and positively related to response inhibition on a go/no-go task. Our findings support the idea that a high perceptual load may be beneficial to Stroop performance because of the reduced processing of distractors but detrimental to performance on the go/no-go task because of interference with stimulus discrimination.
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Urbanek C, Weinges-Evers N, Bellmann-Strobl J, Bock M, Dörr J, Hahn E, Neuhaus AH, Opgen-Rhein C, Thi Minh Tam Ta, Herges K, Pfueller CF, Radbruch H, Wernecke KD, Ohlraun S, Zipp F, Dettling M, Paul F. Attention Network Test reveals alerting network dysfunction in multiple sclerosis. Mult Scler 2009; 16:93-9. [DOI: 10.1177/1352458509350308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Attention is one of the cognitive domains typically affected in multiple sclerosis. The Attention Network Test was developed to measure the function of the three distinct attentional networks, alerting, orienting, and executive control. The Attention Network Test has been performed in various neuropsychiatric conditions, but not in multiple sclerosis. Our objective was to investigate functions of attentional networks in multiple sclerosis by means of the Attention Network Test. Patients with relapsing—remitting multiple sclerosis (n = 57) and healthy controls (n = 57) matched for age, sex, and education performed the Attention Network Test. Significant differences between patients and controls were detected in the alerting network (p = 0.003), in contrast to the orienting (p = 0.696) and the conflict (p = 0.114) network of visual attention. Mean reaction time in the Attention Network Test was significantly longer in multiple sclerosis patients than in controls (p = 0.032), Multiple sclerosis patients benefited less from alerting cues for conflict resolution compared with healthy controls. The Attention Network Test revealed specific alterations of the attention network in multiple sclerosis patients which were not explained by an overall cognitive slowing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carsten Urbanek
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Nicholetta Weinges-Evers
- Cecilie Vogt Clinic, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany, NeuroCure Clinical Research Center, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Judith Bellmann-Strobl
- Cecilie Vogt Clinic, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany, NeuroCure Clinical Research Center, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Markus Bock
- Cecilie Vogt Clinic, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany, NeuroCure Clinical Research Center, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jan Dörr
- Cecilie Vogt Clinic, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany, NeuroCure Clinical Research Center, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Eric Hahn
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Andres H Neuhaus
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Carolin Opgen-Rhein
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Thi Minh Tam Ta
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Katja Herges
- Cecilie Vogt Clinic, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Caspar F Pfueller
- Cecilie Vogt Clinic, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany, NeuroCure Clinical Research Center, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Helena Radbruch
- Cecilie Vogt Clinic, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Klaus D Wernecke
- Sostana GmbH and Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Stephanie Ohlraun
- NeuroCure Clinical Research Center, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Frauke Zipp
- Cecilie Vogt Clinic, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Michael Dettling
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Friedemann Paul
- Cecilie Vogt Clinic, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany, , NeuroCure Clinical Research Center, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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Abstract
Impairments in intentional-but not unintentional-inhibition have been found in schizophrenia, and are thought to contribute to the presence of psychotic symptoms. However, it was previously unknown whether this intentional cognitive control impairment extends to intentional resistance to interference-another form of cognitive control. The current study resolved this issue through administering two cognitive control measures: one with a high intentional resistance to interference demand and the other with a high unintentional inhibition demand, to schizophrenia (n = 61) and healthy control (n = 34) participants. Consistent with previous findings, schizophrenia participants' performance on the measures with a high unintentional inhibition demand was intact; however, they were impaired on the task with high intentional resistance to interference demands compared with controls. This latter finding suggests that intentional cognitive control impairments previously found in schizophrenia are not specific to inhibition, but instead are more general, including both processes requiring inhibition (as consistently reported in the literature) and resistance to interference (as found in the current study).
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Urbanek C, Neuhaus AHM, Opgen-Rhein C, Strathmann S, Wieseke N, Schaub R, Hahn E, Dettling M. Attention network test (ANT) reveals gender-specific alterations of executive function in schizophrenia. Psychiatry Res 2009; 168:102-9. [PMID: 19464736 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2008.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2007] [Revised: 04/02/2008] [Accepted: 04/05/2008] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The Attention Network Test (ANT) provides measures for three different components of visual attention: executive control (=conflict inhibition), orienting, and alerting. There is reasonable evidence that alterations of attention-mainly in the executive/conflict domain-are associated with susceptibility to psychiatric illness. Specific impairments may be a characteristic for a medical condition such as schizophrenia and thus shift our understanding from a neuropsychological endophenotype to a more precise genetic understanding of this disorder. Study subjects comprised 35 schizophrenic patients and 35 healthy controls (13 female and 22 male in both groups). The ANT was administered to all participants and rated individual responses for the three factors (alerting, orienting, and conflict) and their respective ratios relative to mean reaction times. With regard to gender differences, group comparisons were performed for schizophrenic patients vs. healthy controls. Significant differences between patients and controls could be detected for mean reaction time (639 vs. 538 ms) and for conflict ratio (0.158 vs. 0.191). The latter difference mainly resulted from gender-specific variances of the conflict network in opposite directions. The executive function as represented by the conflict network of visual attention of the ANT is affected in schizophrenia. We have detected hitherto unreported gender-specific differences between healthy controls and schizophrenic patients. Especially as regards the conflict network, the ANT offers a promising methodology to detect a neuropsychological endophenotype of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carsten Urbanek
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Campus Benjamin Franklin, University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
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Weaver B, Bédard M, McAuliffe J, Parkkari M. Using the Attention Network Test to predict driving test scores. ACCIDENT; ANALYSIS AND PREVENTION 2009; 41:76-83. [PMID: 19114140 DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2008.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2008] [Revised: 08/21/2008] [Accepted: 09/12/2008] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Driving is a complex multi-factorial task that taps underlying mechanisms of cognition and attention. Not surprisingly, therefore, many tests of cognition and attention are significantly associated with driving outcomes. In this article, we introduce driving researchers and clinicians with an interest in driving to the Attention Network Test (ANT), which to our knowledge has not previously been used in driving research. It is a recently developed test that is based on a neural network model of the human attention system. It combines elements of Posner's cuing paradigm [Posner, M.I., 1980. Orienting of attention. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 32, 3-25.] with the Eriksen & Eriksen flanker task [Eriksen, B.A., Eriksen, C.W., 1974. Effects of noise letters upon the identification of a target letter in a nonsearch task. Perception & Psychophysics 16, 143-149.], and provides measures of three distinct functions of attention: alerting, orienting, and executive function. Our results demonstrate that the ANT has very good concurrent validity with the Useful Field of View (UFOV), and that it is comparable to UFOV in its ability to predict road test scores for a simulated drive. These findings suggest that further investigation of the usefulness of the ANT as a tool for driving researchers and clinicians is merited.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruce Weaver
- Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Road, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.
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Bove EA. Cognitive performance and basic symptoms in first-degree relatives of schizophrenic patients. Compr Psychiatry 2008; 49:321-9. [PMID: 18555050 DOI: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2008.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2007] [Revised: 01/05/2008] [Accepted: 01/08/2008] [Indexed: 10/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to examine cognitive performance and basic symptoms (BS) in the relatives of schizophrenic patients. The experimental sample comprised 24 first-degree relatives of patients. Each relative was matched to one control. Cognitive tests were: Continuous Performance Test (CPT), N-Back Working Memory Test (N-BACK), Negative Priming Test (NPT), and Span of Apprehension Test (SPAN). The Basic Symptoms Questionnaire (FBF) was used to measure subjective disturbances. The relatives showed only slightly worse cognitive performance than the controls, especially in the tasks with greater cognitive processing load. The relatives also revealed more BS than the controls in the domain of thought, attention, memory, language, and visual representation. Only CPT performance was hardly associated with BS. The negative correlation between FBF and CPT was strongly evident in the relatives with poorer processing capacity. This finding suggests that the BS are associated with sustained attention performance. Future research is needed to clarify whether BS are related to other cognitive domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Egidio A Bove
- Istituto di Psicologia, Università degli Studi di Urbino, 61029 Urbino, Italy.
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38
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AhnAllen CG, Nestor PG, Shenton ME, McCarley RW, Niznikiewicz MA. Early nicotine withdrawal and transdermal nicotine effects on neurocognitive performance in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 2008; 100:261-9. [PMID: 17884348 PMCID: PMC2365510 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2007.07.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2007] [Revised: 07/30/2007] [Accepted: 07/31/2007] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
As cigarette smoking prevalence rates approach 90% in schizophrenia, an important emerging question is the role of nicotine in the disease-related disturbance in cognition. We therefore tested a total of 38 male cigarette smokers (22 schizophrenia, 16 normal control), matched on nicotine dependence, on the Attention Network Test (ANT) at three nicotine conditions (baseline, 8 h overnight withdrawal, 3 h 21 mg nicotine patch). The results indicated that the groups did not differ in performance on either of three ANT measures (alertness, orienting, and executive) across baseline, patch, and withdrawal conditions. However, in comparison to the controls, the participants with schizophrenia showed faster ANT reaction time (RT) for the nicotine patch in relation to the baseline condition. In comparison to controls, the participants with schizophrenia also showed reduced ANT accuracy at withdrawal but not at patch condition. These results suggest that overall processing speed and accuracy are affected differently by nicotine levels in participants with schizophrenia, with evidence supporting greater impairment from withdrawal and greater improvement from nicotine administration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher G AhnAllen
- Center for Alcohol and Addictions Studies, Brown University, 121 South Main St., Providence, RI, 02912, USA.
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