A Preliminary Evaluation of NeuroGuide and IVA + Plus as Diagnostic Tools for Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to investigate the usability of IVA + Plus (Continuous Performance Test) and NeuroGuide [Quantitative electroencephalography (EEG) normative database] as an auxiliary diagnostic tools for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). METHODS: The scores of IVA + Plus and resting EEG were obtained from 34 elementary school-aged children. Also, the Korean ADHD Rating Scale (K-ARS) and the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children version IV (DISC-IV) was done for the parent of them. From the result of the DISC-IV, we divided them into three groups, ADHD Not Otherwise Specified (NOS), and Normal Control (NC). Using NeuroGuide, the z-scores of relative power for delta (1-4 Hz), theta (4-8 Hz), alpha (8-12 Hz), and beta (12-25 Hz) were calculated. Then the correlation and variance analysis were done to investigate the differences between three groups. RESULTS: The scores of IVA + Plus were negatively correlated with the K-ARS. IVA + Plus have successfully discriminated the ADHD from NC and NOS. The z-scores of relative power of delta and theta were positively correlated with the K-ARS. The z-scores of relative power of alpha and beta were negatively correlated with the K-ARS. CONCLUSIONS: The IVA + Plus and NeuroGuide QEEG test are expected to be used as the valuable tools for diagnosing ADHD accurately.

Alexithymia and the Recognition of Facial Emotion in Schizophrenic Patients

OBJECTIVES: Schizophrenic patients have been shown to be impaired in both emotional self-awareness and recognition of others' facial emotions. Alexithymia refers to the deficits in emotional self-awareness. The relationship between alexithymia and recognition of others' facial emotions needs to be explored to better understand the characteristics of emotional deficits in schizophrenic patients. METHODS: Thirty control subjects and 31 schizophrenic patients completed the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20-Korean version (TAS-20K) and facial emotion recognition task. The stimuli in facial emotion recognition task consist of 6 emotions (happiness, sadness, anger, fear, disgust, and neutral). Recognition accuracy was calculated within each emotion category. Correlations between TAS-20K and recognition accuracy were analyzed. RESULTS: The schizophrenic patients showed higher TAS-20K scores and lower recognition accuracy compared with the control subjects. The schizophrenic patients did not demonstrate any significant correlations between TAS-20K and recognition accuracy, unlike the control subjects. CONCLUSIONS: The data suggest that, although schizophrenia may impair both emotional self-awareness and recognition of others' facial emotions, the degrees of deficit can be different between emotional self-awareness and recognition of others' facial emotions. This indicates that the emotional deficits in schizophrenia may assume more complex features.