Executive functions represent a set of processes in goal-directed cognition that depend on integrated cortical-basal ganglia brain systems and form the basis flexible human behaviour. Several computational models have been proposed for studying cognitive flexibility as key executive function Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST) represents an important neuropsychological tool to investigate it. Th...

OBJECTIVES To explore the neural substrates corresponding to the perseverative errors in the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). METHODS The study examined the correlations between the WCST performances and the SPECT measurements of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in subjects with neurodegenerative dementia. Negative non-linear correlations between the rCBF and the two different types of ...

Children with either fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) display deficits in attention and executive function (EF) and differential diagnosis of these two clinical groups may be difficult, especially when information about prenatal alcohol exposure is unavailable. The current study compared EF performance of three groups: children with heavy...

This study compared patterns of frontal-lobe dysfunction in alcoholics with Korsakoff's syndrome (KS: n = 9), non-Korsakoff alcoholics (AL: n = 28), patients with Parkinson's disease (PD: n = 18), and patients with rupture and repair of the anterior communicating artery (ACoA: n = 4) relative to healthy non-neurological control (NC) participants (n = 70). The tests administered were sensitive t...

Primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease characterized by xerophthalmia, xerostomia, and potential peripheral or central neurological involvement. In pSS, the prevalence of cognitive disorders is generally sparse across literature and the impact of pain on cognitive profile is unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the relation between pain, cognitive com...

Executive functions (EF) are a group of high-level cognitive processes that control and direct lower-level abilities in order to produce goal-directed behavior. Because these functions are a multidimensional entity, they can be assessed using different tests. One of the tests often used to evaluate EF is the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). The WCST is a task that involves hypothesis testing...

It is a commonly held assumption that we humans have a unique thinking ability that distinguishes us from other animals. However, every time scientists have tested that assumption—whether testing for self-recognition in a mirror, the existence of language, problem-solving ability, knowing what another is thinking (or “theory of mind”), deception, self-awareness—there’s always been at least one ...

Individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) display frontal lobe deficits, but there are inconsistencies between various tests of frontal lobe functions and between the results from different studies. The objective of this work was to characterize frontal lobe dysfunctions in OCD patients. Fifteen patients and 17 control subjects matched for age, sex and intelligence were tested on cla...

This study tested the hypothesis that executive dysfunction, common in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), is associated with an abnormal frontostriatal network. Structural and diffusion tensor MR scans, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) targeting cognitive flexibility, and the Trail Making Test B examining parallel sequencing were obtained from 9 patients with left TLE and 17 healthy controls. ...

The purpose of this study was to test the transient hypofrontality theory (Dietrich, 2003) by examining the influence of exercise intensity on executive control processes during and following submaximal exercise. Thirty participants (13 female) exercised for 30 min at ventilatory threshold (VT) or at 75% of VT. The Contingent Continuous Performance Task (CPT) and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WC...