SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Executive function”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 901 records · Page 50Linked to original sources

PubMed2006

Improving cognition and function through exercise intervention in Alzheimer's disease.

PURPOSE: To analyze the effects of cognition on function and to explore the potential of aerobic exercise for promoting cognitive and functional capacities. DESIGN: Integrative review of literature. METHODS: Studies were selected based on an extensive search of electronic databases and manual cross-referencing for 1980 to 2006, using the combination of key words: Alzheimer's disease (AD), dementia, or cognitive impairment with function or activities of daily living. FINDINGS: Three broad themes were identified from the literature analysis. First, global cognition has mainly been used to examine the effect of cognition on function, indicating an assumption that functional decline progresses in a hierarchical manner in AD. Second, specific cognitive domains affect functional decline in different ways. Executive functioning might have more effect on function than does memory. Third, aerobic exercise might promote cognitive and functional capacities in people with AD by modifying neuropathological changes in the brain. CONCLUSIONS: Specific cognitive domains such as executive functioning are important for understanding function in people with AD and are potentially modifiable by aerobic exercise.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2006

Processing abilities associated with math skills in adult learning disability.

This study evaluated college adults (N = 138) referred for learning problems using a Cattell-Horn-Carroll based intelligence measure (Woodcock Johnson-Revised: WJ-R) and spatial and executive function neuropsychological measures to determine processing abilities underlying math skills. Auditory and visual perceptual (WJ-R Ga and Gv), long- and short-memory (WJ-R Glr and Gsm), crystallized and fluid intellectual (WJ-R Gc and Gf), and spatial and executive function (Judgment of Line Orientation [JLO] and Category Test) measures differentiated those with and without math deficits. Multiple regression revealed selective processing abilities (Gf, JLO, and Category) predicting about 16% of the variance in math skills after variance associated with general intelligence (also about 16%) was removed. Cluster analysis found evidence for a selective spatial deficit group, a selective executive function deficit group and a double deficit (spatial and executive function) group. Results were discussed in relation to a double deficit hypothesis associated with developmental dyscalculia.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

The Penn Conditional Exclusion Test (PCET): relationship to the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and work function in patients with schizophrenia.

Performance on the Penn Conditional Exclusion Test (PCET), a new computerized measure of executive function with alternate forms, was compared with performance on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) in a sample of 32 patients with schizophrenia. In Analysis 1, the PCET and WCST were administered with several other standard neuropsychological measures to assess convergent and divergent validity. Results revealed that categories achieved and total errors on the PCET were closely related to analogous measures from the WCST. Divergent validity was supported through nonsignificant correlations between the PCET and measures of speeded visual sequencing, verbal learning and psychomotor speed. In Analysis 2, the relationship between the PCET, WCST and a detailed measure of vocational function, the Work Behavior Inventory (WBI), was compared. Results revealed that both executive-function measures were related to specific dimensions of work function as measured in a vocational setting. More specifically, categories achieved and total errors on both the WCST and PCET were related to measures of cooperativeness on the job. Errors on the PCET were also related to measurements of work quality and general impressions of work. These results provide the first evidence of criterion-related validity for the PCET and are part of a growing literature suggesting a relationship between performance on measures of executive function and work skills.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Effects of white matter lesions and lacunes on cortical function.

BACKGROUND: Subcortical ischemic vascular dementia has been ascribed to prominent frontal lobe dysfunction secondary to ischemic lesions in frontothalamic circuits. Whether small-vessel disease in fact predominantly affects the frontal lobes is not well documented. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of subcortical lesions (lacunes and white matter lesions [WML]) on cortical function, as reflected in glucose metabolism and cognitive function, in elderly individuals. DESIGN: Cross-sectional analyses of case series. SETTING: Multicenter, university-based study of subcortical vascular dementia. PATIENTS: Persons with normal cognition, mild cognitive impairment, or dementia and with and without lacunes on magnetic resonance images. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Regional cerebral glucose metabolism, normalized regional metabolic activity, and neuropsychological test scores. Major hypotheses were that volume of lacunes and WML correlate selectively with hypometabolism of prefrontal cortex and failure of executive cognitive ability. RESULTS: Lacunes correlated with metabolic rates in dorsolateral frontal cortex (DLF); WML substantially reduced metabolic rates throughout cortex, most strongly so in DLF. When regional metabolic activity was normalized to whole brain activity, lacunes remained correlated with DLF activity, whereas the WML effect was no longer found, probably because of its general distribution. Regional cerebral glucose metabolism and normalized activity in DLF also correlated with cortical atrophy. Metabolic activity in DLF correlated with executive function, memory, and global cognitive function, while activity in middle temporal gyrus correlated with memory and global function but not executive function. CONCLUSIONS: The metabolic effects of lacunes and WML are most apparent in DLF, but the effects of WML are generalized and frontal hypometabolism correlates with memory and global impairment, cognitive as well as executive function. The effects of subcortical cerebrovascular disease appear to converge on the frontal lobes but are diffuse, complex, and of modest magnitude.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

Cognitive impairment related to apathy in early Huntington's disease.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationships between cognitive impairment and apathy in patients with early Huntington's disease (HD) and to further explore the influence of depression on the outcome of cognitive changes associated with apathy. METHODS: We included 36 early HD patients, among them 20 were apathetic (HDA) and 16 were not (HDnA). The two groups were matched by age, education and severity of disease. Cognitive functions were evaluated by a comprehensive neuropsychological battery that measures memory, attention, executive function, language and visuospatial abilities. RESULTS: The HDA patients had significantly lower scores on memory, attention and executive function tests when compared with the HDnA patients (p values <0.05). We compared the performance of patients with (50%) and without depression on cognitive tasks and showed that depression per se did not influence performance. Finally, the results demonstrate that interactions between apathy and motor disturbance have a significant effect on cognitive impairment in HD. DISCUSSION: The presence of apathy is associated with more severe deficits of attention, executive function and episodic memory in early HD patients. Furthermore, the findings suggest that depression has little or no effect on cognitive deficits. Finally, apathy increased in parallel with both motor and cognitive dysfunction.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Poor response inhibition as a predictor of problem drinking and illicit drug use in adolescents at risk for alcoholism and other substance use disorders.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the predictive power of executive functions, in particular, response inhibition, in relation to alcohol-related problems and illicit drug use in adolescence. METHOD: A total of 498 children from 275 families from a longitudinal high-risk study completed executive function measures in early and late adolescence and lifetime drinking and drug-related ratings at multiple time points including late adolescence (ages 15-17). Multi-informant measures of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and conduct disorder were obtained in early childhood (ages 3-5), middle childhood, and adolescence. RESULTS: In multilevel models, poor response inhibition predicted aggregate alcohol-related problems, the number of illicit drugs used, and comorbid alcohol and drug use (but not the number of drug-related problems), independently of IQ, parental alcoholism and antisocial personality disorder, child attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and conduct symptoms, or age. Multivariate models explained 8% to 20% of residual variance in outcome scores. The incremental predictive power of response inhibition was modest, explaining about 1% of the variance in most outcomes, but more than 9% of the residual variance in problem outcomes within the highest risk families. Other measured executive functions did not independently predict substance use onset. CONCLUSION: Models of alcoholism and other drug risks that invoke executive functions may benefit from specifying response inhibition as an incremental component.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Comparison of cognitive functions between first- and multi-episode bipolar affective disorders.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive impairment has been commonly found in euthymic patients with bipolar affective disorder (BPAD). Information about onset and course of cognitive deficits is, however, scarce. This study examined the cognitive profile of patients following their first episode of BPAD to determine whether cognitive problems are present at such an early stage. METHODS: Executive functions, memory, IQ, attention-concentration and perceptuomotor function were assessed in 16 euthymic patients with BPAD following their first episodes, and compared with a group of 30 euthymic patients with multiple episodes of BPAD and 20 normal controls. Comparisons were controlled for educational status, current IQ and residual symptoms. RESULTS: First-episode patients were significantly impaired, compared to normal controls, on tests of executive function, sustained attention, perceptuomotor function and IQ. Additionally, their performance was significantly worse than patients with multi-episode BPAD on tests of executive functions, sustained attention and perceptuomotor function. Multi-episode patients had impaired memory, compared to normal controls, and performed poorly on a subtest of executive functions compared to first-episode patients. LIMITATIONS: Sample sizes were small, assessments cross-sectional; all confounds could not be controlled for. CONCLUSIONS: Widespread cognitive disturbances following the first episode of BPAD were found in this study. Whether these disturbances progress following repeated episodes was not entirely clear. Since cognitive impairment can have several adverse consequences for patients of BPAD in terms of disability, quality of life, outcome etc., this must remain a priority area for future research.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Executive-cognitive functioning in the development of antisocial personality disorder.

The present study examined the association of cognitive-executive abilities to two risk factors for alcoholism, i.e., antisocial behaviors and a family history (FH+) of alcohol dependence. A sample of 91 right-handed, non-substance-dependent, young male adults recruited from the community were classified into three groups: (1) a control group of n=32 men with no history of DSM-III-R childhood conduct disorder (CD) or antisocial personality disorder (ASPD); (2) n=25 men who met criteria for a DSM-III-R childhood CD diagnosis, but did not meet diagnostic criteria for ASPD (i.e., CD/ASPD-); and (3) n=34 men who met DSM-III-R criteria for ASPD. They were further divided into those with and without a positive family history of alcoholism. A two-way (Antisocial Profile (3)x Family History of Alcoholism (2)) ANOVA was used to compare several neuropsychological measures of executive-cognitive functioning (ECF) ability. Verbal abstraction ability was found to be significantly lower in ASPD subjects compared with controls and CD-only subjects, inversely related to antisocial behavior severity (as measured by symptom count). CD-only and control subjects' abstraction ability were statistically indistinguishable. FH+ was associated with increased errors in planning performance on the Porteus Maze Test and diminished performance on Luria's simple alternate-tapping motor tasks. The effect was more pronounced when inhibition of prepotent motor planning was required. Results are consistent with previous work examining ECF ability in antisocial samples that find subtle differences in ECF ability compared to controls. The findings suggest that normal versus abnormal behavioral outcome for children with conduct problems may be influenced by cognitive ability profile, perhaps because of varying maturational processes.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Maturation of brain function associated with response inhibition.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the developmental trajectory of response inhibition and, more specifically, whether there is a dissociation of function in the prefrontal cortex over the course of development of executive function and associated response inhibition abilities. METHOD: Nineteen typically developing subjects, ranging in age from 8 to 20, performed a Go/NoGo task while behavioral and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were collected. RESULTS: All subjects performed the task with few errors of omission and commission. No relationship between accuracy and age emerged, but the ability to inhibit responses significantly improved with age. Analyses of fMRI data revealed a positive correlation between activation and age in the left inferior frontal gyrus/insula/orbitofrontal gyrus, and a negative correlation between activation and age in the left middle/superior frontal gyri. CONCLUSION: These data provide the first evidence of dissociable processes occurring in the prefrontal cortex during development of executive functions associated with response inhibition: (1) Younger subjects activate more extensively than older subjects in discrete regions of the prefrontal cortex, presumably due to increased demands and inefficient recruitment of brain regions subserving executive functions including working memory. (2) Older subjects show increasingly focal activation in specific regions thought to play a more critical role in response inhibition.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Working memory and literacy as predictors of performance on algebraic word problems.

Previous studies on individual differences in mathematical abilities have shown that working memory contributes to early arithmetic performance. In this study, we extended the investigation to algebraic word problem solving. A total of 151 10-year-olds were administered algebraic word problems and measures of working memory, intelligence quotient (IQ), and reading ability. Regression results were consistent with findings from the arithmetic literature showing that a literacy composite measure provided greater contribution than did executive function capacity. However, a series of path analyses showed that the overall contribution of executive function was comparable to that of literacy; the effect of executive function was mediated by that of literacy. Both the phonological loop and the visual spatial sketchpad failed to contribute directly; they contributed only indirectly by way of literacy and performance IQ, respectively.

Child↗

PubMed2002

Schizophrenic subjects show deficient inhibition but intact task switching on saccadic tasks.

BACKGROUND: Schizophrenic patients have executive function deficits, presumably on the basis of prefrontal cortex dysfunction. Although they consistently show impaired inhibition, the evidence of a task switching deficit is less consistent and is often based on performance of neuropsychological tests that require several cognitive processes (e.g., the Wisconsin Card Sort Test [WCST]). We investigated inhibition and task switching using saccadic tasks to determine whether schizophrenic patients have selective impairments of these executive functions. METHODS: Sixteen normal and 21 schizophrenic subjects performed blocks of randomly mixed prosaccade and antisaccade trials. This gave rise to four trial types: prosaccades and antisaccades that were either repeated or switched. Response accuracy and latency were measured. Schizophrenic subjects also performed the WCST. RESULTS: Schizophrenic subjects showed abnormal antisaccade and WCST performance. In contrast, task switching was normal and unrelated to either antisaccade or WCST performance. CONCLUSIONS: The finding of intact task switching performance that is unrelated to other measures of executive function demonstrates selective rather than general impairments of executive functions in schizophrenia. The findings also suggest that abnormal WCST performance is unlikely to be a consequence of deficient task switching. We hypothesize that inhibition and task switching are mediated by distinct neural networks, only one of which is dysfunctional in schizophrenia.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

A six-year prospective study of pathways toward drug use in adolescent boys with and without a family history of a substance use disorder.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to test a developmental model of drug use in male adolescents. The model postulates that low executive functioning and a difficult temperament are related to aggression and affiliations with delinquent peers which, in turn, are related to elevated drug use. METHOD: Boys (N = 187) with and without a family history of a substance use disorder (SUD) were followed over a 6-year period. Executive functioning and temperament were measured at age 10-12, aggression and affiliations with delinquent peers were assessed at age 12-14 and drug use was measured at age 16. RESULTS: Low executive functioning and a difficult temperament were related to increased aggression and affiliations with delinquent peers. These latter variables were related to increased drug use. Furthermore, the relation between difficult temperament and drug use was fully mediated by aggression and affiliations with delinquent peers. CONCLUSIONS: Drug abuse prevention efforts may benefit from clinical interventions aimed at strengthening executive functioning, regulating temperament and improving socialization strategies in antisocial children.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Neuropsychological implications of Crouzon syndrome: a case report].

INTRODUCTION: Crouzon syndrome (CS) has traditionally been associated with moderated mental retardation. However, very few studies have quantified in these patients the degree of this mental retardation, and even less research has been carried out to evidenciate the typical neuropsychological profile, including affective, cognitive and executive functions. CLINICAL CASE: We present a single case-study of a 16 year-old, right-handed female affected of CS. Neuropsychological functions assessed included attention, concentration, memory, visual perception, language, arithmetic processes, praxis, executive functions, reasoning and general intelligence. Deficient results have been obtained in learning and memory, attention, language, graphic praxis, comprehension of social situations and executive functions (frontal lobes). Nevertheless, the patient kept within normal limits her spatial and temporal orientation, visual perception, visual-spatial and manipulative abilities and arithmetic processes. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that the intellectual defect in CS is not general and uniform and that some intellectual abilities are preserved, while others are affected in different degrees. The importance of carrying out a thorough neuropsychological assessment in these cases is emphasized.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Executive cognitive functions as mediators of alcohol-related aggression.

A large body of literature has documented a relation between executive cognitive functioning (ECF) and aggression. ECF encompasses 'higher-order' mental abilities such as attention, planning, organization, abstract reasoning, and self-monitoring. ECF has been defined as the ability to utilize these functions to self-regulate goal-directed behaviour. The prefrontal cortex represents the primary neurological substrate that subserves ECF. Acute alcohol consumption has been shown to disrupt ECF/prefrontal cortical functioning. Literature is reviewed linking ECF/prefrontal cortical functioning, alcohol consumption, and aggressive behaviour. A hypothetical model, based on empirical data, is presented, suggesting that ECF/prefrontal cortical functioning is an underlying aetiological mechanism for the relation between acute alcohol consumption and aggressive behaviour.

Aggression↗

PubMed2004

The Tower of London and neuropsychological assessment of ADHD in adults.

Executive function refers to a variety of behaviors and abilities related to planning and strategy use, as well as the maintenance of attention and behavior in the pursuit of some goal; these behaviors are generally deficient in individuals with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The Tower of London (TOL) is one task used in the assessment of executive function. For adults with ADHD, there is minimal research on the extent to which they demonstrate impaired performance on tower tasks. With a sample of 102 individuals between the ages of 16 and 33 years, the extent to which performance on the TOL-Drexel Edition (TOL(DX)) was related to performance on other measures of executive function and diagnostic grouping was investigated. Results indicated that TOL(DX) variables are not correlated significantly with age or Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF). Of the TOL(DX) variables, only Rule Violations correlated with multiple other executive function variables. Rule Violations correlated minimally, but significantly, with cognitive ability, perceptual skills, Matrix Reasoning, Processing Speed, and immediate memory. As might be expected, Processing Speed also significantly correlated with Total Time and Time Violations. Notably, scores on the TOL(DX) did not correlate significantly with behavioral self-report; no between-group (ADHD, Clinical Control, No Diagnosis) differences emerged for any of the TOL(DX) variables. Further, with this sample, mean scores across the TOL(DX) variables were well within the average range. Taken together, these results suggest that while the TOL(DX) measures aspects of ability not tapped by other measures, and may therefore provide additional information on individual functioning, results should not be interpreted as indicative of the presence or absence of a disorder.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Cognitive function in unaffected twins discordant for affective disorder.

BACKGROUND: Patients may present with cognitive impairment in the euthymic phase of affective disorder, but it is unclear whether the impairment is prevalent before onset of the illness. The aim of the present study was to examine the hypothesis that genetic liability to affective disorder is associated with cognitive impairment. METHOD: In a cross-sectional high-risk case-control study, healthy monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins with (High-Risk twins) and without (the control group/Low-Risk twins) a co-twin history of affective disorder were identified through nationwide registers. Cognitive performance of 203 High-Risk and Low-Risk twins was compared. RESULTS: Healthy twins discordant for unipolar disorder showed lower performance on almost all measures of cognitive function: selective and sustained attention, executive function, language processing and working and declarative memory, and also after adjustment for demographic variables, subclinical symptoms and minor psychopathology. Healthy twins discordant for bipolar disorder showed lower performance on tests measuring episodic and working memory, also after adjustment for the above-mentioned covariables. The discrete cognitive impairment found seemed to be related to genetic liability, as the MZ High-Risk twins showed significant impairment on selective and sustained attention, executive function, language processing and working and declarative memory, whereas the DZ High-Risk twins presented with significantly lower scores only on language processing and episodic memory. CONCLUSIONS: The hypothesis that discrete cognitive impairment is present before the onset of the affective disorder and is genetically transmitted was supported. Thus, cognitive function may be a candidate endophenotype for affective disorders.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Neurocognitive function and progression in patients with brain metastases treated with whole-brain radiation and motexafin gadolinium: results of a randomized phase III trial.

PURPOSE: To report the neurocognitive findings in a phase III randomized trial evaluating survival and neurologic and neurocognitive function in patients with brain metastases from solid tumors receiving whole-brain radiation therapy (WBRT) with or without motexafin gadolinium (MGd). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients were randomly assigned to receive WBRT 30 Gy in 10 fractions with or without MGd 5 mg/kg/d. Monthly neurocognitive testing for memory, executive function, and fine motor skill was performed. RESULTS: Four hundred one patients were enrolled (251 with non-small-cell lung cancer, 75 with breast cancer, and 75 with other cancers); 90.5% patients had impairment of one or more neurocognitive tests at baseline. Neurocognitive test scores of memory, fine motor speed, executive function, and global neurocognitive impairment at baseline were correlated with brain tumor volume and predictive of survival. There was no statistically significant difference between treatment arms in time to neurocognitive progression. Patients with lung cancer (but not other types of cancer) who were treated with MGd tended to have improved memory and executive function (P =.062) and improved neurologic function as assessed by a blinded events review committee (P =.048). CONCLUSION: Neurocognitive tests are a relatively sensitive measure of brain functioning; a combination of tumor prognostic variables and brain function assessments seems to predict survival better than tumor variables alone. Although the addition of MGd to WBRT did not produce a significant overall improvement between treatment arms, MGd may improve memory and executive function and prolong time to neurocognitive and neurologic progression in patients with brain metastases from lung cancer.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Educational level and age influence spatial working memory and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test performance differently: a controlled study in schizophrenic patients.

The influence of educational level and age on executive function, as evaluated by the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), and 'working memory,' as evaluated by means of a visual-manual delayed-response task, has been investigated in 25 schizophrenic patients and 35 healthy controls matched for age. Different patterns of correlations between educational level, age and cognitive variables were seen for the 'working memory' task but not for the WCST. No significant correlations between the WCST and the 'working memory' task indexes have been observed. Based on multivariate analyses, poor performance of schizophrenic patients on working memory and executive function tasks was observed; after covarying for the educational level, group differences were no longer significant for executive functions, but the difference in 'working memory' performance persisted. The implications of sociodemographic variables as well as the role of statistical manipulation are evaluated and their differential impact on 'working memory' and executive functions is proposed in further support of these neurocognitive constructs that may be dissociable.

Adolescent↗