Association between set shifting in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and NRXN1 gene / 中国心理卫生杂志

Objective:To study the association between set shifting in ADHD and NRXN1 gene.Methods:According to the diagnostic standard of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,Fourth Edition (DSM-Ⅳ).Totally 756 Han Chinese ADHD children and 133 Han Chinese unaffected children were involved in the analysis.Set shifting,including number connection time (NOTIM),number connection error times (NOERR),number and letter alternant connection time (LETIM),number and letter altemant error times (LEERR),and shifting time(each value was the difference between LETIM and NOTIM),was recorded by trail making test (TMT).Two SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms) of NRXN1 gene,rs1592728 and rs4971652,were chose to detect genotype using Sequenom Mass ARRAY system by real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction.Linear regression analysis was applied to explore the influence of set shifting,then,stratified analysis was used to study the association between set shifting and rs1592728 as well as rs4971652 in ADHD cases and controls separately.Results:Linear regression analysis showed that there was a negative correlation between set shifting and month (β =0.42,P ＜0.001),IQ (β =0.34,P ＜ 0.001),group (β =0.08,P =0.004),GG genotype of rs4971652 (β =0.06,P =0.039).Among ADHD children,there was a negative relationship between set shifting and month (β =0.46,P ＜0.001),IQ (β =0.32,P ＜ 0.001),GG genotype of rs4971652 (β =0.07,P =0.018),a positive association was found between set shifting and ADHDSUB (β =0.06,P =0.033),set shifting damaged higher with ADHD-Ⅰ children than ADHD-C children.While,in controls,set shifting was in inverse relation with month (β =0.25,P =0.002) and IQ (β =0.40,P ＜ 0.001).Conclusion:It suggests that the association between shift in ADHD children and polymorphism of NRXN1 gene is existed,set shifting deficit less seriously in GG genotype.

Research progress of the attentional set-shifting task in rodents / 中国实验动物学报

Attentional set-shifting tasks are used as a measure of human fronto-executive function.the cognitive processes involved in forming an attentional set,maintaining an attentional set and shifting an attentional set are vulnerable to dysfunction arising from a number of human neurological disorders (such as attentional deficit/hyperactivity disorder,depression,schizophrenia) and neurodegenerative diseases (such as Parkinson's,Huntington's,Alzheimer's diseases).Recently,researches on rodents mainly continue to illustrate normal rats which are caused by different operating different performance in the attentional set-shifting tasks.And also there are few studies committed to observe the adaptability of the rats in attentional set-shifting tasks as well as different performance between species of rodents in attentional set shifting tasks.In addition,these results have elucidated the roles of multiple neurotransmitters in the manifestation of cognitive processes.This review focuses on the methodology of the attentional set-shifting tasks and the role of the neurotransmitter in cognitive processes.

Disproportionate Decline of Executive Functions in Early Mild Cognitive Impairment, Late Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Mild Alzheimer's Disease

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Many literatures indicate that executive dysfunction exists in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) as well as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, there are few studies that found how early the deficits of the executive function (EF) exist in MCI. The present study investigated the presence of executive dysfunctions in the earliest stage of MCI, and the sub-domains of EF which are disproportionately impaired earlier than others. METHODS: The participants were 41 normal elderly (NE), 86 with amnestic multi-domain MCI, and 41 with mild AD. The MCI group was further sub-divided into two groups: Early MCI (EMCI, n=45) and late MCI (n=41), based on the Clinical Dementia Rating-Sum of Boxes. All participants were given neuropsychological tests to assess the sub-domains of EF, such as verbal fluency, psychomotor speed, inhibitory control, and mental set-shifting. RESULTS: Impairment of semantic fluency was observed in EMCI, with gradual worsening as cases approached mild AD. Phonemic fluency and psychomotor speed were also impaired at the early stage of MCI relative to the NE, but maintained at the same level up to mild AD. EMCI exhibited the same degree of performance with NE for inhibitory control and mental set-shifting; however, they progressively worsened from EMCI to mild AD. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that impairments of EF exist even in the earliest stage of the MCI, with a disproportionate decline in the sub-domains of EF.

Impaired sustained attention function of heroin abusers in attention switching / 中国神经精神疾病杂志

Objective To investigate the effect of heroin abuse on attention switching. Methods Thirty-six Heroin abusers (33 males, 3 females) and 36 controls (32 males, 4 females) were enrolled in the study. Their cognitive function was tested by using the Switching Task, including Sustained Attention trials and Switching Attention trials. The reaction time and accuracy were recorded separately by the computer. Results The accuracy or reaction times were not signifi-cantly different between Switching Attention trial and Sustained Attention trial in heroin abusers, suggesting a lower Switch Costs value compared to the healthy controls [(19.7 ± 66.8) ms vs. (85.1 ± 92.4) ms]. The healthy controls showed faster reaction speed [Sustained Attention trial (695.3 ± 95.9) ms vs. Switching Attention trial (780.3 ± 93.3) ms, P<0.05] and higher accuracy [Sustained Attention trial (98.0%±2.2%) vs. Switching Attention trial (93.8%±5.0%), P<0.05] under the Sustained Attention trial. Compared with the healthy controls, the heroin abusers showed slower reaction speed [(791.6 ± 74.3) ms vs. (695.3±95.9) ms, P<0.05] and lower accuracy [(92.5%±8.4%) vs. (98.0%±2.2%), P<0.05] in Sus-tained Attention trial, but not in Switching Attention trial. Conclusions The present study has revealed absence of Switch Costs in heroin abusers, which may be related to the damage of heroin abusers in their Sustained Attention function.

Impaired Set-Shifting Ability in Patients with Eating Disorders, Which Is Not Moderated by Their Catechol-O-Methyltransferase Val158Met Genotype

The aim of this study was to examine the set-shifting ability in women with both anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) and to investigate whether it is contributed by the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met genotype. A total of 102 Korean participants-40 women with lifetime AN, 28 women with lifetime BN, and 34 healthy women of comparable age and intelligence quotient- were examined. A neuropsychological battery of tests was applied and blood samples were obtained for COMT Val158Met genotyping. Set-shifting impairments Trail Making Test (TMT, Part B) were found in patients with AN and BN, respectively. Furthermore, the eating disorders were also linked to deficits in attentional mechanisms (TMT, Part A) and motor skills (Finger Tapping Test). Finally, set-shifting and its link to eating disorders were not moderated by COMT Val158Met genotype.

Executive Functions of the Top Soldiers with Excellent Military Skills / 中国临床心理学杂志

Objective: To study the executive functions of the top soldiers with excellent military skills.Methods: One group of top soldiers with excellent military skills and one group of common soldiers were tested by the Stroop task,the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test(WCST),and the Trail Making Test.Results: The top soldiers get significantly fewer errors in Stroop task,and spent significantly less time in Trail Making-A,Trail Making-B,and showed significantly fewer perservative responses(PR),and lower percent of perservative errors(PE%) than the common soldiers.Conclusion: The top soldiers with excellent military skills had higher level of executive functions,such as inhibitory control,and mental flexibility.