Assessment Of Inhibitory Control Research Articles

Executive dysfunction in affective disorders: differences in bipolar affective disorder and depressive episode

Aim. To identify the differences in executive function (inhibitory control, working memory, cognitive flexibility) between patients with bipolar affective disorder and depressive episode.Materials and methods. A total of 72 patients with affective disorders aged 20–40 years were examined. Of them, 30 patients had bipolar affective disorder, a current episode of mild or moderate depression, and 42 patients had a mild, moderate, and severe depressive episode without symptoms of psychosis. The executive function was evaluated using PsyToolkit, a set of software tools for programming psychological experiments. Computerized Go/ No–go tasks (assessment of inhibitory control and psychomotor functions), the Corsi block-tapping test (assessment of visual and spatial working memory capacities), and the Stroop Color and Word Test (assessment of cognitive flexibility) were used.Results. An intergroup comparison of patients revealed that patients with bipolar disorder significantly more often demonstrated false button press in the Go/No–go task (p = 0.043); however, they exhibited a greater working memory capacity in the Corsi block-tapping test (p = 0.049) compared with patients with a depressive episode.Conclusion. Important data were obtained regarding the specifics of executive dysfunction depending on the type of affective disorder. The presented data expand and supplement available information about the cognitive characteristics of patients with bipolar affective disorder and depressive episode, which may be useful in clinical practice and serve a focus of future research.

Specific features of inhibition processes in junior schoolchildren with the handedness of the different type

Within the present paper, we attempted to study specific features of inhibitory control in junior schoolchildren with the handedness of the different types. assessment of inhibitory control was fulfilled with the help of the method of recurrent biological feedback. The assessment of the type of handedness was performed through the set of tasks. resistance of inhibitory processes and stress resistance were identified in the right-handed children compared to the left-handed and mixed-handed children. This study might be useful in the area of psychophysiology of individual differences in children. Despite the abundance of literature on the study of executive functions, there is still no understanding of how inhibitory processes develop in the ontogenesis of children with different lateral preferences.

Longitudinal behavioral and fMRI-based assessment of inhibitory control in heroin addicts on methadone maintenance treatment.

The objective of the present study was to determine whether methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) in heroin-dependent patients affects inhibitory control, whether any MMT-induced changes correlate with methadone dose and MMT duration, and whether these changes depend on the psychological characteristics of patients, such as depression, anxiety and impulsivity. Response inhibition in the GO/NO-GO test was combined with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning data to examine whether MMT affects inhibitory control in 21 heroin-addicted patients who had already undergone at least three months of MMT. Patients were evaluated one year prior to and after the MMT period. Participants exhibited no difference in their GO/NO-GO reaction time and accuracy rate, or in their false alarm rate under NO-GO conditions. However, increased activation was detected in numerous brain regions in their 12-month fMRI scans, although these were not in the frontal-striatal loop. Increased fMRI activation in the left precentral gyrus and superior temporal gyrus were negatively correlated with the daily methadone dose and total methadone dose during the one-year study period. In conclusion, these results suggested that MMT over one year does not significantly change the behavioral indicators of inhibitory control function in heroin-dependent patients. The increase in activation leads to the hypothesis that MMT over one year may increase cognitive inhibitory control, which may be the result of the combined negative effect of methadone and the positive effect of functional recovery after withdrawal of heroin.

The role of cardiac vagal tone and inhibitory control in pre-schoolers' listening comprehension.

This study investigated the role of basal cardiac activity and inhibitory control at the beginning of the school year in predicting oral comprehension at the end of the year in pre-schoolers. Forty-three, 4-year-olds participated in the study. At the beginning of the school year children's electrocardiogram at rest was registered followed by the assessment of inhibitory control as well as verbal working memory and verbal ability. At the end of the year all children were administered a listening comprehension ability measure. A stepwise regression showed a significant effect of basal cardiac vagal tone in predicting listening comprehension together with inhibitory control and verbal ability. These results are among the first to show the predictive role of basal cardiac vagal tone and inhibitory control in pre-schoolers' oral text comprehension, and offer new insight into the association between autonomic regulation of the heart, inhibitory control, and cognitive activity at a young age.

O153 Prepulse inhibition is deficient in hemifacial spasm

Objective Hemifacial spasm (HFS) is characterized by spasms of facial muscles on one side of face. There are two hypothesis in the pathogenesis: a peripheral nerve hypothesis or hyperexcitability of the facial nucleus. Blink reflex (BR) excitability is increased in HFS. Here, we aimed to analyze the changes of BR-prepulse inhibition (PPI) which provides assessment of inhibitory control on facial circuitry. Patients and method We included 13 patients with HFS and 13 healthy subjects. Baseline BR, BR recovery at ISI of 300 ms and BR-PPI at ISI of 100 ms were performed on the right sides of healthy subjects and on the asymptomatic and symptomatic sides of patients. Latency, amplitude and area of R1 and R2 were measured in all tests and compared among two groups using Mann-Whitney U test and t-test for paired groups when appropriate. Results Baseline values of R1 and R2 were normal and similar among groups. The mean recovery of R2 area was the higher on both symptomatic side of HFS (77.5%) compared to asymptomatic side of HFS (46.5%) and compared to healthy subjects (27.2%, p = 0.007). All groups had inhibition during BR-PPI. However, PPI was low on both sides of HFS compared to healthy subjects (p = 0.010). There was no correlation between disease duration and recovery of BR or BR-PPI. Conclusions HFS patients in this study had increased recovery of BR indicating increased excitability of BR circuit which was bilateral but more prominent on the symptomatic side. Similarly, inhibitory control upon BR circuit was prominently reduced on bilateral sides in HFS group. Significance This study discloses the central changes in HFS.

The Relationship between Symbolic Play and Executive Function in Young Children

THE ROLE OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTION, specifically inhibitory control and generativity, in symbolic play was investigated in 20 children aged 48–89 months. Assessment of inhibitory control was via the Sun-Moon Stroop task, and generativity was assessed with the Semantic Fluency task, as well as a new object substitution task which required children to generate as many uses of toys as possible. Symbolic play ability was assessed under both structured conditions, using the Test of Pretend Play (Lewis & Boucher, 1997), and during free play. The results indicated that the ability to inhibit prepotent responses was associated with children's symbolic play skills, even after controlling for mental age. In contrast, generativity scores on both tasks were not correlated with symbolic play, indicating that only some aspects of executive function are implicated in symbolic play. The validity of the tasks used to measure executive function is discussed.

Analyses of response patterns clarify lead effects in olfactory reversal and extradimensional shift tasks: Assessment of inhibitory control, associative ability, and memory.

Analyses of response patterns clarify lead effects in olfactory reversal and extradimensional shift tasks: Assessment of inhibitory control, associative ability, and memory.

Prenatal cocaine exposure alters performance in reversal learning and delayed spatial alternation (DSA) tasks: Assessment of inhibitory control, proactive interference, and memory

Prenatal cocaine exposure alters performance in reversal learning and delayed spatial alternation (DSA) tasks: Assessment of inhibitory control, proactive interference, and memory

Analyses of response patterns clarify lead effects in olfactory reversal and extradimensional shift tasks: assessment of inhibitory control, associative ability, and memory.

Rats exposed to lead (Pb) chronically from conception were tested on (a) an olfactory serial reversal task and (b) an extradimensional shift (EDS) task. Pb exposure did not impair learning of the original olfactory discrimination but did impair learning of the 5 reversals and the EDS task. In the reversals, Pb exposure tended to shorten the initial period of persistent responding to the previously correct cue, but significantly prolonged the postperseverative learning phase (both the "chance" and "greater-than-chance" components). These effects are similar to those produced by lesions of the amygdala, a structure implicated in the process by which stimuli acquire incentive value. This similarity, coupled with the pattern of findings, suggests that Pb-induced impairment of reversal learning is due to a deficiency in learning the new contingencies of the task (an associative deficit), not inflexibility or deficient inhibitory control. These findings also illustrate the importance of analyzing the types of errors committed, rather than focusing solely on learning rate.