Hayling Sentence Completion Task Research Articles

Secondary language impairment in posterior cortical atrophy: insights from sentence repetition.

Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is a neurodegenerative syndrome characterized by progressive impairment in visuospatial and perceptual function linked to atrophy of the occipito-parietal cortex. Besides the salient visual impairment, several studies have documented subtle changes in language may also be present. Sentence repetition is a highly constrained linguistic task involving multiple linguistic and cognitive processes and have been shown to be impaired in other AD spectrum disorders, with little consensus on its relevance in PCA. This aim of this study was to further delineate the linguistic and cognitive features of impaired language in PCA using a sentence repetition task. Seven PCA patients and 16 healthy controls verbally repeated 16 sentences from the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination. Responses were transcribed orthographically and coded for accuracy (percentage accuracy; percentage Correct Information Units; Levenshtein Distance) and for temporal characteristics (preparation duration (ms); utterance duration (ms); silent pause duration (ms); speech duration (ms); dysfluency duration (ms)). The potential modulating effects of attentional control and working memory capacity were explored. PCA patients showed lower overall accuracy with retained semantic content of the sentences, and lower phonological accuracy. Temporal measures revealed longer preparation and utterance duration for PCA patients compared to controls, alongside longer speech duration but comparable dysfluency duration. PCA patients also showed comparable silent pause duration to controls. Attentional control, measured using the Hayling sentence completion task, predicted accuracy of sentence repetition. The findings suggest that sentence repetition is impaired in PCA and is characterized by phonological, response planning and execution difficulties, underpinned in part by attentional control mechanisms. The emerging profile of language impairment in PCA suggests vulnerability of similar cognitive systems to other Alzheimer's syndromes, with subtle differences in clinical presentation.

Verbal inhibition declines among older women with high FMR1 premutation expansions: A prospective study

The FMR1 premutation has been associated with difficulties in executive functioning, including verbal inhibition. However, little is known about the longitudinal profiles of verbal inhibition among FMR1 premutation carriers, particularly in women, and how individual factors such as aging and CGG repeat length may contribute to changes in verbal inhibition over time. The present study examined verbal inhibition performance (i.e., inhibition errors) on the Hayling Sentence Completion Task in a cohort of 92 women with the FMR1 premutation across two timepoints approximately three years apart. We examined the effects of age, CGG repeat length, and their interactions on verbal inhibition over time. We also evaluated whether response latency affected verbal inhibition errors. We found no significant change in verbal inhibition in the full cohort during the three-year study period. However, a subset of FMR1 premutation carriers, namely older participants with higher CGG repeats, evidenced greater declines in verbal inhibition over time. Longer response latencies did not compensate for verbal inhibition errors. The findings suggest that a subset of women with the FMR1 premutation may be at earlier, increased risk for changes in executive functioning, which if confirmed, should be considered as part of the clinical profile associated with the premutation.

What about lexical competition? Exploring the locus of lexical retrieval deficits in adults with developmental dyslexia.

Individuals with dyslexia do not only show deficits with reading but are also less accurate in naming pictures. This has mainly been linked to prevalent phonological deficits. However, deficits in lexical retrieval of picture names could also be due to increased lexical-semantic competition. The present study tested whether adults with dyslexia (AwDs) are more affected by a competitive lexical-semantic context than control participants. Twenty-seven AwD and 34 control participants completed the blocked-cyclic picture-naming paradigm and the Hayling sentence completion task. In the blocked-cyclic naming task, AwDs showed a larger semantic interference effect than controls in terms of errors, especially producing competitor errors. In the Hayling sentence completion task, AwDs made more errors than controls when asked to complete sentences with semantically unrelated words, that is, in the competitive condition. They especially produced semantically related words or antonyms to target words. We found that AwDs experience difficulties with resolving lexical competition that go beyond their phonological deficits. Future studies will need to establish the mechanisms behind the increased lexical competition that AwDs exhibit. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

The influence of contextual constraint on verbal selection mechanisms and its neural correlates in Parkinson's disease.

A small number of studies have described verbal selection deficits in Parkinson's disease (PD) when selection must occur among competing alternatives. However, these studies have largely focused on single-word processing, or have utilised sentence stems that carry high contextual constraint, thus reducing selection demands. The present study aimed to determine the influence of variable contextual constraint on the selection of a verbal response in PD. This was achieved using an adaption of the Hayling Sentence Completion Task whereby PD participants and matched controls were required to provide a single word to complete a cloze probability sentence stem that carried a low, medium, or high degree of contextual constraint. Results revealed no main effect of group in terms of response time or accuracy, though a group-by-condition interaction in accuracy was noted. This was characterised by a significant difference in accuracy between low and medium levels of constraint for control participants, but no significant difference for the PD group. Functional MRI data revealed marked between-group differences in underlying neural activity. The control group showed increased recruitment of the dorsal striatum and the vlPFC under conditions that placed greater demands upon selection (i.e. low and medium constraint), and greater activity overall in the left dlPFC and right vlPFC. However, in the PD group, behavioural performance appeared to be maintained despite underlying decreases in frontostriatal activity, suggesting other compensatory mechanisms that may include changes in functional connectivity or an over-medication effect in frontal networks in response to loss of signalling in cortico-subcortical pathways.

Inhibitory control in poker: Do experienced non-pathological poker gamblers exhibit better performance than healthy controls on motor, verbal and emotional expression inhibition?

Background and aimsStrategic games, such as poker, require gamblers to develop several skills to perform better than others and to expect a potential gain. Players must remain as unpredictable and unreadable as possible by inhibiting the expression of their emotions in response to both good and bad poker events. The aim of the present study was to compare several aspects of the inhibition process in experienced poker gamblers and controls to better understand how inhibitory control is involved in poker performance.MethodsThirty experienced non-pathological poker gamblers (EG) and thirty healthy controls with no or limited poker experience (HC) completed 3 cognitive tasks. Each task measured a specific type of inhibition: motor inhibition [Go/No-Go task], verbal inhibition [Hayling Sentence Completion Task] and expressive inhibition [expressive suppression task, which combines subjective, expressive (facial EMG) and physiological (skin conductance, heart interbeat interval, cardiovascular and respiratory activation) measures of emotional experience]. Linear mixed models with random effects were performed.ResultsInhibitory control skills were similar between the two groups, regardless of the form of inhibition tested. The only difference observed in EG was a higher ability to partially suppress the physiological expression of emotion. However, this difference was only present for negative and positive emotional induction and was not maintained for emotional induction related to poker situations.Discussion and conclusionsThe development of specific inhibition skills in experienced poker gamblers was not supported and raises questions about the transferability of poker skills previously discussed in the literature.

Remédiation cognitive et fonctionnement scolaire chez les enfants avec trouble du spectre autistique

IntroductionAutism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is known to be associated with Cognitive impairment, especially executive dysfunction. Cognitive Remediation Therapy (CRT) is a rehabilitation method aiming to produce improvement in cognitive processes by teaching information processing strategies through guided mental exercises. CRT has been used in patients with schizophrenia. Taking into account the overlap between ASD and schizophrenia, we aimed in this study to examine the effectiveness of CRT for cognitive flexibility, inhibition and school results in children with ASD. MethodsChildren meeting the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-5) criteria for ASD were recruited from a clinical population at the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department in Razi University Hospital, Manouba, Tunisia. The CRT program was conducted at the rate of one session per week of 45minutes each. The outcome measures were cognitive flexibility (by the mean of phonemic and semantic fluency), inhibition (using either Hayling Sentence Completion Task or Colors and Animals Attention Test [CAAT]), and school performance (assessed by school results). These outcomes were measured at baseline and one week after completion of the treatment. ResultsOf the 25 patients included, 16 achieved assessments tests after CRT, thus constituting our final sample. Their average age was 10.87 years. The average number of the performed sessions was 22.38. For semantic fluency, the mean score in “animals” category was 13.94 before CRT and 17 after it (P=0.045). Concerning the “clothes” category, the mean score increased from 10.47 to 12 after completion of the program. As for phonemic fluency scores, patients displayed significant improvement (P=0.032). Patients committed more repetitive and intrusive errors, an increase significant only on the “clothes” category. After achievement of the CRT program, a significant improvement was also shown on school results (P=0.001). Concerning inhibition tests, patients showed no significant improvement. ConclusionThe findings provide support for the effectiveness of CRT for enhancing executive functions in children and adolescents with ASD. Further studies are required to examine the durability of CRT effects in these children.

Perfectionism and cognitive rigidity in anorexia nervosa: Is there an association?

Little is known about the relationship between neuropsychology, personality, and eating psychopathology in anorexia nervosa (AN). We aimed to investigate the interaction between set shifting and perfectionism in AN and to ascertain the role of perfectionism as a mediator between set shifting and eating psychopathology. Eighty-five patients with AN and 71 healthy controls completed Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (using 8 as a cut-off for generating groups with high vs. low perfectionism), Beck Depression Inventory, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Trail Making Task, and Hayling Sentence Completion Task. Our findings support heightened cognitive inflexibility in individuals with AN, particularly in those with high perfectionism. Perfectionism resulted to be a mediator of the relationship between a measure of set shifting and drive for thinness, but this finding did not remain significant when including in the model only those with AN. Taken together, these data suggest a complex and nonexclusive association between set shifting, eating psychopathology, and perfectionism.

The application of nonlinear Dynamic Causal Modelling for fMRI in subjects at high genetic risk of schizophrenia

Nonlinear Dynamic Causal Modelling (DCM) for fMRI provides computational modelling of gating mechanisms at the neuronal population level. It allows for estimations of connection strengths with nonlinear modulation within task-dependent networks. This paper presents an application of nonlinear DCM in subjects at high familial risk of schizophrenia performing the Hayling Sentence Completion Task (HSCT). We analysed scans of 19 healthy controls and 46 subjects at high familial risk of schizophrenia, which included 26 high risk subjects without psychotic symptoms and 20 subjects with psychotic symptoms. The activity-dependent network consists of the intra parietal cortex (IPS), inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), middle temporal gyrus (MTG), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the mediodorsal (MD) thalamus. The connections between the MD thalamus and the IFG were gated by the MD thalamus. We used DCM to investigate altered connection strength of these connections. Bayesian Model Selection (BMS) at the group and family level was used to compare the optimal bilinear and nonlinear models. Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) was used to assess the connection strengths with the gating from the MD thalamus and the IFG. The nonlinear models provided the better explanation of the data. Furthermore, the BMA analysis showed significantly lower connection strength of the thalamocortical connection with nonlinear modulation from the MD thalamus in high risk subjects with psychotic symptoms and those who subsequently developed schizophrenia. These findings demonstrate that nonlinear DCM provides a method to investigate altered connectivity at the level of neural circuits. The reduced connection strength with thalamic gating may be a neurobiomarker implicated in the development of psychotic symptoms. This study suggests that nonlinear DCM could lead to new insights into functional and effective dysconnection at the network level in subjects at high familial risk.

Cognitive flexibility in verbal and nonverbal domains and decision making in anorexia nervosa patients: a pilot study

BackgroundThis paper aimed to investigate cognitive rigidity and decision making impairments in patients diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa Restrictive type (AN-R), assessing also verbal components.MethodsThirty patients with AN-R were compared with thirty age-matched healthy controls (HC). All participants completed a comprehensive neuropsychological battery comprised of the Trail Making Test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Hayling Sentence Completion Task, and the Iowa Gambling Task. The Beck Depression Inventory was administered to evaluate depressive symptomatology. The influence of both illness duration and neuropsychological variables was considered. Body Mass Index (BMI), years of education, and depression severity were considered as covariates in statistical analyses.ResultsThe AN-R group showed poorer performance on all neuropsychological tests. There was a positive correlation between illness duration and the Hayling Sentence Completion Task Net score, and number of completion answers in part B. There was a partial effect of years of education and BMI on neuropsychological test performance. Response inhibition processes and verbal fluency impairment were not associated with BMI and years of education, but were associated with depression severity.ConclusionsThese data provide evidence that patients with AN-R have cognitive rigidity in both verbal and non-verbal domains. The role of the impairment on verbal domains should be considered in treatment. Further research is warranted to better understand the relationship between illness state and cognitive rigidity and impaired decision-making.

The effects of DISC1 risk variants on brain activation in controls, patients with bipolar disorder and patients with schizophrenia

Three risk variants (rs1538979, rs821577, and rs821633) in the Disrupted-in-Schizophrenia-1 (DISC1) gene have previously been associated with both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in a recent collaborative analysis of European cohorts. In this study we examined the effects of these risk variants on brain activation during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the Hayling Sentence Completion Task (HSCT) in healthy volunteers ( n = 33), patients with schizophrenia ( n = 20) and patients with bipolar disorder ( n = 36). In the healthy controls the risk associated allele carriers of SNPs rs1538979 and rs821633 demonstrated decreased activation of the cuneus. Moreover, there was an effect of SNP rs1538979 in the pre/postcentral gyrus with decreased activation in healthy controls and increased activation in patients with schizophrenia. In the bipolar group there was decreased activation in the risk carriers of SNP rs821633 in the inferior parietal lobule and left cingulate cortex. Clusters in the precentral gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus and left cerebellum were found to be significant on examining the group × genotype interactions. These findings may provide a better understanding of the neural effects of DISC1 variants and on the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Effects of the BDNF val66met polymorphism on prefrontal brain function in a population at high genetic risk of schizophrenia

A single nucleotide polymorphism (val66met) in the brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene has been shown to be a risk factor for a number of psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia. This polymorphism has also been shown to have effects on prefrontal brain morphology and function. This study aims to clarify the effects of the val66met polymorphism on prefrontal brain function in a population at high genetic risk for schizophrenia. The Edinburgh High Risk Study has followed young individuals who had one first- or second-degree relative with schizophrenia and a minimum of one further genetic relative with the illness. A sample of 62 individuals provided both genetic and functional imaging data using the Hayling sentence completion task. Individuals with the BDNF ValVal (presumed risk) genotype (n = 41) showed relatively increased activation of the anterior cingulate cortex in relation to Met carrier individuals (n = 21) during sentence completion conditions versus baseline, against a background of similar levels of task performance. It appeared from further investigation that this relatively increased activation was attributable to a failure to disengage or suppress activation in the high risk ValVal group during the task condition, suggesting that BDNF may contribute to the abnormal default network reported in schizophrenia. These results suggest that this gene affects prefrontal brain function in those at high genetic risk for the disorder, unconfounded by medication effects. BDNF may therefore be one of the heritable factors involved in the development of abnormal prefrontal function in schizophrenia. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

P.1.e.009 The disrupted-in-schizophrenia-1 ser704cys polymorphism and brain morphology in schizophrenia

Three risk variants (rs1538979, rs821577, and rs821633) in the Disrupted-in-Schizophrenia-1 (DISC1) gene have previously been associated with both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in a recent collaborative analysis of European cohorts. In this study we examined the effects of these risk variants on brain activation during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the Hayling Sentence Completion Task (HSCT) in healthy volunteers (n = 33), patients with schizophrenia (n = 20) and patients with bipolar disorder (n = 36). In the healthy controls the risk associated allele carriers of SNPs rs1538979 and rs821633 demonstrated decreased activation of the cuneus. Moreover, there was an effect of SNP rs1538979 in the pre/postcentral gyrus with decreased activation in healthy controls and increased activation in patients with schizophrenia. In the bipolar group there was decreased activation in the risk carriers of SNP rs821633 in the inferior parietal lobule and left cingulate cortex. Clusters in the precentral gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus and left cerebellum were found to be significant on examining the group × genotype interactions. These findings may provide a better understanding of the neural effects of DISC1 variants and on the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Cingulate activity and fronto-temporal connectivity in people with prodromal signs of psychosis

Schizophrenia is associated with fronto-temporal dysconnectivity, but it is not clear whether this is a risk factor for the disorder or is a consequence of the established illness. The aim of the present study was to use fMRI to investigate fronto-temporal connectivity in subjects with prodromal signs of schizophrenia using the Hayling Sentence Completion Task (HSCT). Thirty participants, 15 with an at risk mental state (ARMS) and 15 healthy controls were scanned whilst completing 80 sentence stems. The congruency and constraint of sentences varied across trials. Dynamic causal modelling (DCM) and Bayesian model selection (BMS) were used to compare alternative models of connectivity in a task related network. During the HSCT ARMS subjects did not differ from Healthy Controls in terms of fronto-temporal activation, i.e. there was neither a main effect of group nor a group-by-task interaction. However, there was both a significant main effect of group and a significant interaction in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), with greater ACC activity in the ARMS subjects. A systematic BMS procedure among 14 alternative DCMs including the ACC, middle frontal, and middle temporal gyri revealed intact task-dependent modulation of fronto-temporal effective connectivity in the ARMS group. However, ARMS subjects showed increased endogenous connection strength between the ACC and the middle temporal gyrus relative to healthy controls. Although task related fronto-temporal integration in the ARMS was intact, this may depend on increased engagement of the ACC which was not observed in healthy control subjects.

No differential effect of age on brain matter volume and cognition in bipolar patients and healthy individuals

Bipolar disorder (BD) is associated with brain structural and cognitive abnormalities. There is a paucity of evidence regarding the evolution of these deficits over time. This study examined the relationship between age and brain morphology and cognition in patients with BD type I. Brain structural magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired using a 1.5T scanner from 71 BD patients and 82 age- and gender-matched controls and analysed using Statistical Parametric Mapping. In addition, participants were evaluated using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Revised; the Wechsler Memory Scale, third edition; the Hayling Sentence Completion Task, a measure of response inhibition; and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, which reflects rule discovery and perseveration. We found a significant effect of age but not of diagnosis and no age-by-diagnosis interaction in global gray and white matter and cerebrospinal fluid volumes. There was no differential effect of age on the two diagnostic groups with respect to cognitive task performance. Our findings do not support differential age-related changes in brain structure and cognition in patients with bipolar disorder compared to healthy individuals. Cross-sectional studies are, however, limited and longitudinal data will be required to further explore this issue.

Comparison of Cognitive Vulnerability Indicators in Bipolar disorder (BD) and Schizophrenia (SZ)

Event Abstract Back to Event Comparison of Cognitive Vulnerability Indicators in Bipolar disorder (BD) and Schizophrenia (SZ) Anastasia-Tessa Christodoulou1* 1 Institute of Psychiatry, United Kingdom Background:Investigation of cognitive deficits in healthy individuals (No Axis I or II disorders) at high genetic risk for BD and SZ. Materials and Methods: 17 and 15 (BD-R and SZ-R) and 23 controls. They underwent assessment of Full Scale IQ (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Revised, WAIS-R), verbal memory and learning (California Verbal Learning test, CVLT), working memory (N-back), inhibition and initiation (Hayling Sentence Completion Task, HSCT), verbal fluency (Controlled Oral Word Association, COWA) and tasks requiring switching between stimulus independent and orientated conditions. The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) confirmed the lack of Axis I and II disorders. Level of symptomatology was assessed with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS). Results: No difference was found in the IQ. Loss of inhibition was found for both SZ-R and BD-R (HSCT) who also underperformed compared to controls in short and long delay recall in the verbal learning and memory (CVLT). SZ-R made more intrusions and perseverations (CVLT). Both produced fewer words compared to controls whereas the SZ-R made more errors (COWA). The SZ-R had fewer correct responses (n-back) and failed to inhibit relatively fast erroneous responses, leading to errors but not reaction times (switching). Conclusions: Genetic predisposition to SZ may be mediated by dysfunction in the anterior and Ventral Prefrontal Cortex (VPFC) (BA45/47), Dorsal Prefrontal Cortex (DPFC) and posterior (BA9, 44, 46) areas of the inferior frontal gyrus, the right rostrolateral PFC (BA 10), right DPFC and bilateral superior parietal cortex and temporal networks. In BD-R impairment was limited in the VPFC (BA45/47) whereas the DPFC (BA9, 46) and related functions were preserved. SZ and BD share inhibition deficits associated with the VPFC whereas impairments in the frontotemporal networks and the DPFC may be associated with genetic predisposition to SZ. Conference: 41st European Brain and Behaviour Society Meeting, Rhodes Island, Greece, 13 Sep - 18 Sep, 2009. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Poster presentations Citation: Christodoulou A (2009). Comparison of Cognitive Vulnerability Indicators in Bipolar disorder (BD) and Schizophrenia (SZ). Conference Abstract: 41st European Brain and Behaviour Society Meeting. doi: 10.3389/conf.neuro.08.2009.09.114 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 08 Jun 2009; Published Online: 08 Jun 2009. * Correspondence: Anastasia-Tessa Christodoulou, Institute of Psychiatry, London, United Kingdom, tessa_christodoulou@hotmail.com Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Anastasia-Tessa Christodoulou Google Anastasia-Tessa Christodoulou Google Scholar Anastasia-Tessa Christodoulou PubMed Anastasia-Tessa Christodoulou Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

The Dorsolateral (DLPFC) and Ventrolateral (VLPFC) Prefrontal function in healthy first degree relatives of Bipolar I (BD I) patients: evidence from offline testing

Event Abstract Back to Event The Dorsolateral (DLPFC) and Ventrolateral (VLPFC) Prefrontal function in healthy first degree relatives of Bipolar I (BD I) patients: evidence from offline testing Anastasia-Tessa Christodoulou1* 1 Institute of Psychiatry, United Kingdom Background: Trait cognitive dysfunction in BD I may be an expression of genetic vulnerability. The aim of this study was to investigate the DLPFC and VLPFC function in BD I patients and their first degree relatives compared to healthy controls. Methods: 47 euthymic BD I patients, 59 healthy (No lifetime Axis I or II diagnosis) and 96 controls were matched for age, gender and level of education and assessed on measures of response inhibition and initiation (Hayling Sentence Completion task), rule discovery and cognitive set shifting (Wisconsin Card Sorting test), verbal working memory (N-back sequential letter task) and current Full Scale IQ (WAIS-R; FSIQ). Level of symptomatology was measured with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS). Results: No difference was found in FSIQ. BD I patients underperformed both their healthy first degree relatives as well as the controls on both initiation and response inhibition measures, verbal working memory and cognitive set shifting. Healthy first degree relatives were impaired in measures of response inhibition but not cognitive set shifting, rule discovery or verbal working memory. Conclusions:BD I patients and their first degree relatives were both impaired on tests of response inhibition mediated by the VPFC (BA45/47) suggesting a possible shared genetic predisposition. Regarding deficits found in BD I patients mediated by the DLPFC, during rule discovery (BA 9/46) and VLPFC for set shifting (BA 47/12) in addition to verbal working memory (BA9, 46) associated with the manipulation of information and increased memory load activating parietal cortices (BA 40) they may relate specifically to the clinical expression of the illness. Absence of those deficits in their healthy first degree relatives may explain both the lack of any lifetime Axis I diagnosis and BD. Conference: 41st European Brain and Behaviour Society Meeting, Rhodes Island, Greece, 13 Sep - 18 Sep, 2009. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Poster presentations Citation: Christodoulou A (2009). The Dorsolateral (DLPFC) and Ventrolateral (VLPFC) Prefrontal function in healthy first degree relatives of Bipolar I (BD I) patients: evidence from offline testing. Conference Abstract: 41st European Brain and Behaviour Society Meeting. doi: 10.3389/conf.neuro.08.2009.09.115 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 08 Jun 2009; Published Online: 08 Jun 2009. * Correspondence: Anastasia-Tessa Christodoulou, Institute of Psychiatry, London, United Kingdom, tessa_christodoulou@hotmail.com Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Anastasia-Tessa Christodoulou Google Anastasia-Tessa Christodoulou Google Scholar Anastasia-Tessa Christodoulou PubMed Anastasia-Tessa Christodoulou Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

Fronto-temporal Interactions during Overt Verbal Initiation and Suppression

The Hayling Sentence Completion Task (HSCT) is known to activate left hemisphere frontal and temporal language regions. However, the effective connectivity between frontal and temporal language regions associated with the task has yet to be examined. The aims of the study were to examine activation and effective connectivity during the HSCT using a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigm in which participants made overt verbal responses. We predicted that producing an incongruent response (response suppression), compared to a congruent one (response initiation), would be associated with greater activation in the left prefrontal cortex and an increase in the effective connectivity between temporal and frontal regions. Fifteen participants were scanned while completing 80 sentence stems. The congruency and constraint of sentences varied across trials. Dynamic Causal Modeling (DCM) and Bayesian Model Selection (BMS) were used to compare a set of alternative DCMs of fronto-temporal connectivity. The HSCT activated regions in the left temporal and prefrontal cortices, and the cuneus. Response suppression was associated with greater activation in the left middle and orbital frontal gyri and the bilateral precuneus than response initiation. Left middle temporal and frontal regions identified by the conventional fMRI analyses were entered into the DCM analysis. Using a systematic BMS procedure, the optimal DCM showed that the connection from the left middle temporal gyrus, which was driven by verbal stimuli per se, was significantly increased in strength during response suppression compared to initiation. Greater effective connectivity between left temporal and prefrontal regions during response suppression may reflect the transfer of information from posterior temporal regions where semantic and lexical information is stored to prefrontal regions where it is manipulated in preparation for an appropriate response.

Genetic Variation in the DAOA (G72) Gene Modulates Hippocampal Function in Subjects at High Risk of Schizophrenia

Strong evidence exists for an association between genetic variation in the gene DAOA (D-amino acid oxidase activator, also known as G72) and risk for schizophrenia. Preliminary evidence in healthy control subjects has implicated genetic variation in the DAOA gene in the modulation of hippocampal complex and prefrontal cortex activation. Assessment was performed on 61 subjects at high genetic risk of schizophrenia for familial reasons. All subjects were genotyped for two closely linked single nucleotide polymorphisms in the DAOA gene complex, M23 (rs3918342) and M24 (rs1421292), that have previously shown association with schizophrenia. The effect of genotype on brain activation was assessed with functional magnetic resonance imaging data gathered during performance of the verbal initiation section of the Hayling Sentence Completion Task. Differences between DAOA genotype groups were seen in the activation of the left hippocampus and parahippocampus in the contrast of sentence completion versus rest. In addition the DAOA genotype groups differed in their recruitment of right inferior prefrontal cortex in relation to increasing task difficulty. The effects of genotype on brain activation could not be explained in terms of differences in grey matter density. These results support the view that genetic variation in the DAOA gene influences hippocampal complex and prefrontal cortex function, an effect that might be particularly prominent in the context of enhanced genetic risk for schizophrenia.

Cognitive vulnerability indicators in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia

Materials and methods Participants were 17 BD and 15 SZ relatives (BD-R and SZR) respectively and 23 controls. All participants underwent assessment of Full Scale IQ (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Revised, WAIS-R), verbal memory and learning (California Verbal Learning test, CVLT), working memory (N-back), inhibition (Hayling Sentence Completion Task, HSCT), verbal fluency (Controlled Oral Word Association, COWA), working memory and inhibition (alphabet and number words tasks). Lack of lifetime Axis I and II disorders was screened using Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-I/II) and symptomatology was assessed with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS).

Hypofrontality in subjects at high genetic risk of schizophrenia with depressive symptoms

Background Subjects at high risk of schizophrenia for genetic reasons were found to demonstrate increased levels of depressive symptoms compared to controls. The current study sought to investigate the neural correlates of depression in these subjects. We hypothesised abnormal activation of dorsolateral prefrontal regions in those at high risk with depression. Methods Depression was rated according to DSM-IV criteria. FMRI data was available from 90 high risk subjects, comprising 78 not depressed (HRD−) and 12 depressed (HRD+) subjects. Activation during the Hayling Sentence Completion Task was compared to 25 healthy control subjects without depression. Results The HRD+ group demonstrated reduced activation of the right middle/superior frontal gyrus compared to both healthy controls and the HRD− group. Increased left superior temporal gyrus activation was also found in the HRD+ group versus the HRD− group. These results survived controlling for the presence of positive psychotic symptoms at the time of the scan. Conclusion Reduced activation of dorsolateral prefrontal regions, widely reported in established schizophrenia and seen here in people at high familial risk with depressive features, may be related to the presence of affective symptoms of the disorder rather than to the presence of positive psychotic symptoms. Since studies have indicated that depressive symptoms antecede illness, these findings may be relevant to the early features of developing psychosis.