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Toba MN, Malkinson TS, Howells H, Mackie MA, Spagna A. Same, Same but Different? A Multi-Method Review of the Processes Underlying Executive Control. Neuropsychol Rev 2024; 34:418-454. [PMID: 36967445 DOI: 10.1007/s11065-023-09577-4] [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: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 03/29/2023]
Abstract
Attention, working memory, and executive control are commonly considered distinct cognitive functions with important reciprocal interactions. Yet, longstanding evidence from lesion studies has demonstrated both overlap and dissociation in their behavioural expression and anatomical underpinnings, suggesting that a lower dimensional framework could be employed to further identify processes supporting goal-directed behaviour. Here, we describe the anatomical and functional correspondence between attention, working memory, and executive control by providing an overview of cognitive models, as well as recent data from lesion studies, invasive and non-invasive multimodal neuroimaging and brain stimulation. We emphasize the benefits of considering converging evidence from multiple methodologies centred on the identification of brain mechanisms supporting goal-driven behaviour. We propose that expanding on this approach should enable the construction of a comprehensive anatomo-functional framework with testable new hypotheses, and aid clinical neuroscience to intervene on impairments of executive functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica N Toba
- Laboratory of Functional Neurosciences (UR UPJV 4559), University Hospital of Amiens and University of Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens, France.
- CHU Amiens Picardie - Site Sud, Centre Universitaire de Recherche en Santé, Avenue René Laënnec, 80054, Amiens Cedex 1, France.
| | - Tal Seidel Malkinson
- Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Hôpital de La Pitié-Salpêtrière, Sorbonne Université, Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, 75013, Paris, France
- Université de Lorraine, CRAN, F-54000, Nancy, France
| | - Henrietta Howells
- Laboratory of Motor Control, Department of Medical Biotechnologies and Translational Medicine, Humanitas Research Hospital, IRCCS, Università Degli Studi Di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Melissa-Ann Mackie
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Alfredo Spagna
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10025, USA.
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Li Z, Wu TT, Xiong YT, Zhang XY, Bao YP, Guo LB, Han BJ, Li SX, Wang YF, Lu L, Wang XQ. A pilot study on improvements in attention function in major depressive disorder after 12 weeks of escitalopram monotherapy or combined treatment with agomelatine. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1188175. [PMID: 37426111 PMCID: PMC10325661 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1188175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2023] [Accepted: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective This study aimed to explore both impairments in attention function in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and the efficacy of escitalopram monotherapy or combination therapy with agomelatine. Methods A total of 54 patients with MDD and 46 healthy controls (HCs) were included. Patients were treated with escitalopram for 12 weeks; those who presented with severe sleep impairments were also given agomelatine. Participants were evaluated using the Attention Network Test (ANT), which included tests of alerting, orienting, and executive control networks. Concentration, instantaneous memory, and resistance to information interference were tested using the digit span test, and the logical memory test (LMT) was used to evaluate abstract logical thinking. The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-17 items, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index were used to assess depression, anxiety, and sleep quality, respectively. Patients with MDD were assessed at the end of weeks 0, 4, 8, and 12. HCs were assessed once at baseline. Results Compared with HCs, patients with MDD showed significantly different alerting, orienting, and executive control functions of attention networks. Treatment with escitalopram alone or combined with agomelatine significantly improved LMT scores at the end of weeks 4, 8, and 12 and restored scores to the level of HCs at the end of week 8. Total Toronto Hospital Test of Alertness scores in patients with MDD increased significantly after 4 weeks of treatment. The ANT executive control reaction time in patients with MDD decreased significantly after 4 weeks of treatment, with this decrease lasting until the end of week 12, but scores did not return to the levels of HCs. Combined treatment with escitalopram and agomelatine led to more improvement in ANT orienting reaction time and was accompanied by a greater reduction of total scores on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-17 items and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale compared with escitalopram monotherapy. Conclusions Patients with MDD showed overall impairments in three domains of attention networks as well as the LMT and a test of subjective alertness. Escitalopram monotherapy significantly improved the LMT scores and the executive control function scores in the ANT at the end of the fourth week of treatment, and the improvement was more extensive with combined escitalopram and agomelatine treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhe Li
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Ting-Ting Wu
- Beijing Key Lab of Learning and Cognition, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Yi-Ting Xiong
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Xin-Yang Zhang
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Yan-Ping Bao
- National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence Research, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Li-Bo Guo
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Bao-Jie Han
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Su-Xia Li
- National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence Research, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Yu-Feng Wang
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Lin Lu
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing, China
- Peking-Tsinghua Centre for Life Sciences and Peking University-International Development Group, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Xue-Qin Wang
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing, China
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The Impact of One-Time Relaxation Training on Attention Efficiency Measured by Continuous Performance Test in Depressive Disorders. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:ijerph19116473. [PMID: 35682056 PMCID: PMC9179998 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19116473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2022] [Revised: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2022]
Abstract
Introduction: People with depression often complain of dysfunction in cognitive processes, particularly attention. Pharmacotherapy is one of the most commonly used methods of treating depressive disorders and related attention difficulties. Patients also benefit from various forms of psychotherapy and frequently support themselves with alternative therapeutic methods. The purpose of this study was to examine whether a 15-min-long relaxation training session could improve the efficiency of attention and perceptiveness in individuals diagnosed with depressive disorders. Methods: Forty-two individuals participated in the study, including 20 individuals diagnosed with recurrent depressive disorder (rDD) and 22 healthy subjects (comparison group, CG). The so-called continuous performance test in the Polish version (Attention and Perceptiveness Test, APT) was applied in the study. In the first stage, the participants completed the 6/9 version of the APT test and then took part in a 15-min relaxation training session (autogenic training developed by the German psychiatrist Johannes Heinrich Schultz). The next step of the study was to perform APT again (parallel version—3/8). Results: The analyses showed statistically significant differences (p < 0.001) in the results obtained in the two versions of APT between the studied groups (rDD versus CG) in terms of the perceptual speed index. These differences were seen both before and after the introduction of the relaxation training. There was a statistically significant difference in the value of the perceptual speed index before and after the applied relaxation training for the subjects with depression (p = 0.004) and for the whole study group (p = 0.008). A significant correlation of illness symptom severity with decreased attentional efficiency was observed in the rDD group (perceptual speed index)—both before (r = −0.864; p < 0.001) and after the relaxation training (r = −0.785; p < 0.001). Conclusions: The continuous performance test (APT) is a reliable indicator of impaired attention efficiency among patients with depressive symptoms compared to healthy subjects. 15-min-long one-time relaxation exercise has a beneficial effect on attention efficiency measured by APT in people with depression.
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