Continuous Performance Test Variables Research Articles

The link between personality dimensions, impulsivity, decision and coping style, and suicide attempts in affective patients.

Introduction Introduction: Affective patients, especially depressive, have an increased risk of suicidal behavior. Identifying individuals at increased risk remains a challenge. Among the correlates that may be crucial, the impact of personality is emphasized. Attention is paid to impulsivity, measured by subjective or objective tests.ObjectivesObjectives: Comparative analyses were carried out to capture the differences and relationship between personality dimensions, impulsivity, and the decision-making style and coping with stress strategies in suicide attempters and non-attempters in the course of an affective disorder.Methods Methods: Data were obtained from 276 individuals diagnosed with unipolar and bipolar affective disorder, both sexes. The study group was disaggregated into a subgroup of patients with (N=95) and without (N=181) suicide attempts in an individual’s history. The Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) was used to assess personality dimensions. The Barratt Impulsiveness Scale version 11 (BIS-11) was used to measure impulsivity subjectively, and the Simple Reaction Time (SRT) test and the Continuous Performance Test (CPT) were objective assessment methods. The Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (COPE) and Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) were applied to investigate coping and decision-making styles. Statistical analyses were performed in Statistica 13.3 StatSoft, Krakow, Poland.ResultsResults: In TCI, significant differences between suicide attempters and non-attempters concerned the following dimensions: harm avoidance (HA) (p=<0.0000), self-directedness (SD) (p=0.0001), and cooperativeness (C) (p=0.0186). In the CPT test, significant differences concerned correctly responded trials (p=0.0179) and Bias response (p=0.0230). In IGT, significant differences occurred in IGT block1_sum (p=0.0496) only (Table 1). We did not observe any significant differences in other tests applied. In the Spearman rank correlation analysis in the group of suicide attempters, the following correlations (p>0.05) with at least moderate strength rs>0.4 were revealed: Novelty seeking (NS), SD, and C correlated with several CPT parameters; Persistence (P) correlated with SRT variables; NS, HA and SD with BIS-11 variables.ConclusionsConclusions: Objective computerized tests (SRT; CPT; IGT) did not differentiate suicide attempters and non-attempters more clearly than self-reporting personality inventory TCI. Personality traits correlated with SRT and CPT variables. BIS-11 and COPE parameters did not enable to distinguish suicide attempters and non-attempters in the investigated group. This suggests that tests used complement each other, and using a single tool may be insufficient to indicate patients at increased risk of suicidal behavior.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Does the Continuous Performance Test Predict ADHD Symptoms Severity and ADHD Presentation in Adults?

Objective: Our study aimed to provide empirical evidence on the usefulness of one of the most popular neuropsychological tests, the Continuous Performance Test (CPT), as a marker of ADHD severity and presentations among adults. Method: ADHD participants were recruited in a specialized center for the diagnosis and treatment of adults suffering from ADHD (n = 201). Measures included the CPT3™ and ADHD symptoms using a clinical interview and self-reported measures. Results: Only 51.7% of the participants were classified as likely to have a disorder characterized by attention deficit, such as ADHD, by the CPT. The relationships between CPT variables and ADHD symptoms were small. The classification error was 80.3% for the inattentive presentation and 22.5% for the hyperactive presentation when using the CPT to identify ADHD presentations. Conclusion: There was no evidence of the clinical utility of the CPT to assess or monitor ADHD in adult populations diagnosed and treated for ADHD.

P.3.004 - Neuropsychological correlates of ADRA2A(rs1800544) and COMT(rs4680) polymorphisms in Turkish ADHD patients

Introduction The complex etiology of ADHD has a strong genetic component. ADRA2A (rs1800544) and COMT (rs4680) polymorphisms are two of the most studied gene polymorphisms in ADHD etiology. However, there is still debate about their indication ofcreating different neuropsychological phenotypes in ADHD.In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of these polymorphisms on neuropsychological traits among Turkish ADHD patients. Also, the relationship between ADHD symptoms, subtypes and neuropsychological test variables were studied. Methods To examine the phenotypic discrepencies of these genotypes, Continuous Performance Test(CPT) and Trail Making Tests (TMTA-TMTB) were conducted for 121 genotyped ADHD patients between 6-18 years old. Omission- commission errors and mean response time were used as CPT variables. Besides this, completing times, errors and corrections were the variables recorded for TMTA and TMTB. Mental retardation was excluded with Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-4 (WISC4)/Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children –Revised (WISC-R) in the study. Diagnosis and subtype discrimination were confirmed and comorbidities except learning and disruptive behaviour disorders were excluded by using the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS). Clinical Global Impression –Severity Scale (CGI-S) documented clinical severity, whereas Global Assesment of Functioning Scale (GAS) stated clinical functionality. Conners’ Parent (CPRS) and Teacher Rating Scales (CTRS) were used for determining ADHD symptoms and severity. The statistical analyses were conducted with SPSS 21.0. Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal–Wallis, Spearman correlation tests were used and p Results No relationship was detected between ADRA2A,COMT polymorphisms and CPT,TMT variables. CPT commission errors were found more frequent in the combined subtype, while TMTA corrections were more seen in the inattentive subtype.The learning problem subscale of CPRS and hyperactivity, behaviour problem subscales of CTRS were found associated with CPT commission errors. The hyperactivity, oppositional behaviour subscales of CPRS were related to TMTA errors and corrections whereas behaviour problem subscale of CPRS was only associated with TMTA corrections. The hyperactivity and behaviour problem subscales of CTRS were found correlated with TMTA completing time, errors and corrections. Only attention deficiency subscale of CTRS was found associated both with TMTA corrections and TMTB completing time and errors. CPT parameters were found associated with neither clinical severity nor functioning.However, low clinical functionality ( Conclusions ADRA2A and COMT polymorphisms were not found to be associated with a specific neuropsychological phenotype. While CPT did not predict clinical severity or functioning, longer TMT completing time and more TMT corrections were found associated with lower functionality. Although the results of neuropsychological tests were in accordance with ADHD subtypes, neuropsychological traits did not differ in a homogeneous manner in ADHD patients. Consequently, instead of using the neuropsychological traits in distinguishing groups, they may be helpfully used for supporting clinical evaluation in ADHD. In addition, further studies with whole genome sequencing technics are warrented to better understand the role of polymorphisms in ADHD etiology.

Interaction effects of GIT1 and DRD4 gene variants on continuous performance test variables in patients with ADHD.

IntroductionThe G protein‐coupled receptor kinase interacting protein 1 gene (GIT1) has been proposed to be a risk gene for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and it regulates the endocytosis of G protein‐coupled receptors like dopamine receptors. The purpose of this study was to investigate the interaction effects of GIT1 and dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) gene variants on variables of the continuous performance test (CPT).MethodsThis study recruited 255 ADHD patients and 98 healthy controls (HC) who underwent CPT and genetic analyses. The genotypes were classified into two groups (the C/C and C/T genotype groups for GIT1, 4R homozygotes and others for DRD4) and the genotype × genotype effects were examined using hierarchical multivariable linear regression analyses.ResultsThere were significant GIT1 × DRD4 effects for commission errors on the CPT in the ADHD group (p = .006). In contrast, there were no significant GIT1 × DRD4 effects on any CPT variables in the HC.ConclusionsThe present findings demonstrated that there were significant interaction effects of the GIT1 and DRD4 gene variants on impulsivity in ADHD. Replication studies with larger sample sizes that include patients from various ethnic backgrounds are warranted to confirm these findings.

The effects of maternal and children phthalate exposure on the neurocognitive function of 6-year-old children

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of phthalate exposure on the intelligence and attentional performance of 6-year old children when adjusting each other as covariates. We also investigated the differential effects of phthalate exposure on the intelligence and attention according to exposure period (maternal or children). Urine concentrations of mono-(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (MEHHP), mono-(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP), and mono-n-butyl phthalate (MBP) were analyzed. Multivariable linear regression models were used to investigate the relationship between exposure to various phthalates with IQ scores and continuous performance test (CPT) variables. There were robust associations between child MEHHP and MEOHP levels with full scale IQ (FSIQ) even after adjusting for demographic variables and CPT scores (MEHHP −9.27, 95% CI: −17.25, −1.29; MEOHP −9.83, 95% CI: −17.44, −2.21). Child MEHHP and MEHOP levels negatively affected omission errors (MEHHP −20.36, 95% CI: −34.17, −6.55; MEOHP −18.93, 95% CI: −32.58, −5.28) and the response time variability (MEHHP −21.07, 95% CI: −39.04, −3.10; MEOHP −20.41, 95% CI −38.14, −2.69) of the CPT after adjusting for demographic variables and IQ. Maternal phthalate exposure had no effects on IQ or CPT variables. These results suggest that children phthalate exposure, but not maternal exposure, has an adverse effect on IQ and attentional performance, and these associations were found to be independent of each other.

How can Continuous Performance Test help to assess inattention when mood and ADHD symptoms coexist?

Depression and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are prevalent, and often comorbid, disorders, with varying severity levels among patients. Inattention is a symptom present in both disorders, which often makes their differential diagnosis difficult in clinical practice (depression only versus comorbidity). This study aimed to investigate the influence of depressive symptoms on attention performance using one of the most common tasks in clinical practice, the continuous performance test (CPT). Ninety-three college students (60 men, 33 women) with a mean age of 24 years old were investigated with self-reports and semi-structured interviews for ADHD; the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was used for depression ratings. Attention measures were derived from the CPT. There was no correlation between depression and ADHD symptoms; in addition, depression was not correlated with any of the CPT scores; ADHD symptomatology was the only predictor of changes in those CPT variables (commission and omission errors and d prime). ADHD-associated impairment on the CPT was not augmented by the presence of depressive symptoms, making neuropsychological results on this test helpful for the differential diagnosis. When attention deficits are observed in individuals with mild or moderate depression, they are most likely not attributed to depression.

PM339A. The GRIN2B and GRIN2A genes are associated with continuous performance test variables in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

PM339A. The GRIN2B and GRIN2A genes are associated with continuous performance test variables in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

The GRIN2B and GRIN2A Gene Variants Are Associated With Continuous Performance Test Variables in ADHD

Objective: To examine the association between variants of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor subunit-encoding genes (GRIN2A and GRIN2B) and continuous performance test (CPT) variables in ADHD and healthy controls. Method: In all, 253 ADHD patients and 98 controls were recruited. The diagnosis, genotype, and diagnosis–genotype interaction effects for the CPT variables were examined. Results: Significant diagnosis effects were detected for all CPT variables. There were significant genotype and interaction effects on response time variability (RTV) by the GRIN2B variant. The C/C subgroup had higher RTV than the C/T + T/T subgroup in ADHD, but not in controls. There were significant genotype effects on omission errors by the GRIN2A variant. The G/G subgroup had more omission errors than the G/A + A/A subgroup in ADHD patients, but not in controls. Conclusion: These results suggest that the genetic variants of GRIN2B and GRIN2A confer an increased susceptibility to attentional impairment in ADHD patients.

Association between urine cotinine levels, continuous performance test variables, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and learning disability symptoms in school-aged children – CORRIGENDUM

Association between urine cotinine levels, continuous performance test variables, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and learning disability symptoms in school-aged children – CORRIGENDUM

Association between urine cotinine levels, continuous performance test variables, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and learning disability symptoms in school-aged children

We examined the cross-sectional relationship between environmental tobacco smoke exposure, continuous performance test (CPT) measures, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or learning disability symptoms in school-aged children. In total, 989 children (526 boys, mean age 9.1 ± 0.7 years), recruited from five South Korean cities participated in this study. We used urine cotinine as a biomarker for environmental tobacco smoke exposure, and obtained the children's scores on a CPT. Parents completed the Korean versions of the ADHD rating scale-IV (ADHD-RS) and learning disability evaluation scale (LDES). Using generalized linear mixed model (GLMM), we assessed the associations between urine cotinine concentrations, neuropsychological variables, and symptoms of ADHD and learning disabilities. Additionally, we conducted structural equation models to explore the effects' pathways. After adjusting for a range of relevant covariates, GLMM showed urinary cotinine levels were significantly and positively associated with CPT scores on omission errors, commission errors, response time, and response time variability, and with parent- and teacher-rated ADHD-RS scores. In addition, urine cotinine levels were negatively associated with LDES scores on spelling and mathematical calculations. The structural equation model revealed that CPT variables mediated the association between urine cotinine levels and parental reports of symptoms of ADHD and learning disabilities. Our data indicate that environmental exposure to tobacco smoke is associated with ADHD and learning disabilities in children, and that impairments in attention and inhibitory control probably mediate the effect.

Attention and Memory Functioning Among Pediatric Patients with Medulloblastoma

To test the hypotheses that memory and attention deficits are prevalent in survivors of childhood medulloblastoma (MB) and that these deficits are associated with problems with academic achievement. The medical charts of 38 child survivors of MB, who were administered the California Verbal Learning Test, Child Version (CVLT-C), Conners' Continuous Performance Test (CPT), and the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT) as part of a comprehensive neurocognitive test battery, were retrospectively reviewed. Although no significant verbal memory deficits were found, 8 of 11 CPT variables were significantly below the standardization mean (p < or = .01). Additionally, stepwise regression analyses found that increased omission errors were significantly associated with lower reading and math performance (p < or = .01). These findings confirm previous reports of attention deficits among survivors of MB and provide a better understanding of how the dysfunction of particular attentional substrates (e.g., perceptual sensitivity, response bias) may result in learning problems in this population.

Terra Cognita: Using Earth Observing Systems to Understand Our World

Who would believe that a butterfly, by flapping its wings in Peru, could set off a chain of events leading to a monsoon thousands of miles away? This familiar notion from chaos theory may seem absurd even as it raises a worthy point: Everything around us is intimately connected. And by studying how broad forces in nature interact, we can construct predictions that offer great benefits to society. Now a global effort is under way to revolutionize our understanding of the Earth as an interconnected whole. The effort aims to integrate Earth observing capabilities based on satellites and in situ or ground-based sensors into a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). By uniting these systems, scientists hope to take the pulse of the planet, and in so doing, generate a range of environmental, economic, and health benefits. For instance, should the effort yield even a 1°F improvement in weather forecasting, power utilities can plan their daily output needs more accurately, resulting in an annual $1 billion electricity savings for consumers in the United States alone, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Likewise, improved monitoring of air pollution, or better satellite mapping of habitats that harbor malaria, cholera, or West Nile virus, could save many lives by establishing warning systems for at-risk populations that might reduce exposure. A total of 54 countries, the European Union, and 33 international organizations have joined the GEOSS thus far, providing a welcome boost to the environmental reputation of its sponsor: the United States. The project is also the first project of its kind to get such high-level support, says Steve Goodman, chief of the Earth and Planetary Science Branch at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Marshall Space Flight Center. “I’ve never seen a program move at a pace like this with such a sustained effort,” says Gary Foley, who is director of the EPA National Exposure Research Laboratory. “It seems to be the right thing at the right time with the right leadership. It was what everyone seemed to be looking for.”

Relations between Continuous Performance Test performance measures and ADHD behaviors.

The Conners' Continuous Performance Test (CPT) is a neuropsychological task that has repeatedly been shown to differentiate ADHD from normal groups. Several variables may be derived from the Conners' CPT including errors of omission and commission, mean hit reaction time(RT), mean hit RT standard error, d', and beta. What each CPT parameter actually assesses has largely been based upon clinical assumptions and the face validity of each measure (e.g., omission errors measure inattention, commission errors measure impulsivity). This study attempts to examine relations between various CPT variables and phenotypic behaviors so as to better understand the various CPT variables. An epidemiological sample of 817 children was administered the Conners' CPT. Diagnostic interviews were conducted with parents to determine ADHD symptom profiles for all children. Children diagnosed with ADHD had more variable RTs, made more errors of commission and omission, and demonstrated poorer perceptual sensitivity than nondiagnosed children. Regarding specific symptoms, generalized estimating equations (GEE) and ANCOVAs were conducted to determine specific relationships between the 18 DSM-IV ADHD symptoms and 6 CPT parameters. CPT performance measures demonstrated significant relationships to ADHD symptoms but did not demonstrate symptom domain specificity according to a priori assumptions. Overall performance on the two signal detection measures, d' and beta, was highly related to all ADHD symptoms across symptom domains. Further, increased variability in RTs over time was related to most ADHD symptoms. Finally, it appears that at least 1 CPT variable, mean hit RT, is minimally related to ADHD symptoms as a whole, but does demonstrate some specificity in its link with symptoms of hyperactivity.