Abstract
Background Huntington’s Disease (HD) cognitive dysfunction may start before unequivocal motor signs become apparent. Main early cognitive abnormal domains may include deficits in psychomotor speed, negative emotion recognition and executive functioning. Previous studies have demonstrated an impaired performance in several frontal tasks in HD patients. Aim The present study aimed to investigate the executive control of cognition in pre-manifest (pre) HD subjects, by means of a task-switching protocol. Methods We enrolled 30 preHD subjects (DCL Results preHD subjects showed slower reaction times than HC in both switch (pre-HD2: 1201.133±19.99; pre-HD 1: 1099.7±15.76; HC: 755.61±12.63; p Conclusions The executive control is impaired before HD becomes manifest. Such abnormalities worsen in preHD subjects with first subtle motor features that are still insufficient and unspecific to document the onset. Considering that such abilities have obvious implication with behavior and independence, the beneficial effect of early rehabilitation programs focused on executive function should be tested.
Published Version
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