Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gvvz8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T15:19:24.819Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Is impairment in set-shifting specific to frontal-lobe dysfunction? Evidence from patients with frontal-lobe or temporal-lobe epilepsy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2005

CARRIE R. MCDONALD
Affiliation:
Veterans Administration San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, California Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, California
DEAN C. DELIS
Affiliation:
Veterans Administration San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, California Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, California
MARC A. NORMAN
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, California
EVELYN S. TECOMA
Affiliation:
Veterans Administration San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, California Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, California
VICENTE J. IRAGUI-MADOZ
Affiliation:
Veterans Administration San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, California Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, California

Abstract

Frontal-lobe epilepsy (FLE), temporal-lobe epilepsy (TLE), and matched-control subjects were administered the Trail Making Test (TMT) of the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS; Delis et al., 2001), which assesses set-shifting on a visuomotor sequencing task. Results indicated that patients with FLE were impaired in both speed and accuracy on the switching condition relative to patients with TLE and controls. The two patient groups did not differ from controls on the four baseline conditions of the test, which assess visual scanning, motor speed, number sequencing, and letter sequencing. In addition, seizure-related variables (i.e., age of seizure onset, duration of epilepsy, and seizure frequency) failed to correlate with set-shifting performance in patients with FLE. These results suggest that patients with FLE can be reliably distinguished from those with TLE and control subjects on set-shifting as measured by the DKEFS TMT. (JINS, 2005, 11, 477–481.)

Type
BRIEF COMMUNICATION
Copyright
© 2005 The International Neuropsychological Society

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Baillon, S., Muhommad, S., Marudkar, M., Suribhatla, S., Dennis, M., Spreadbury, C., Munro, D., & Lindesay, J. (2003). Neuropsychological performance in Alzheimer's disease and vascu-lar dementia: Comparisons in a memory clinic population. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 18(7), 602608.Google Scholar
Beck, A. (1996). Beck Depression Inventory (2nd ed.). San Antonio, Texas: The Psychological Corporation.
Cohen, J. (1992). A power primer. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 155159.Google Scholar
Delis, D.C., Kaplan, E., & Kramer, J.H. (2001). Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System: Examiner's Manual. San Antonio, Texas: The Psychological Corporation.
Eslinger, P.J. & Grattan, L.M. (1993). Frontal lobe and frontal-striatal substrates for different forms of human cognitive flexibility. Neuropsychologia, 31(1), 1728.Google Scholar
Ettlin, T.M., Kischka, U., Beckson, M., Gaggiotti, M., Rauchfleisch, U., & Benson, D.F. (2000). The frontal lobe score: Part 1: Construction of a mental status of frontal systems. Clinical Rehabilitation, 14, 260271.Google Scholar
Exner, C., Boucsein, K., Lange, C., Winter, H., Weniger, G., Steinhoff, B.J., & Irle, E. (2002). Neuropsychological performance in frontal lobe epilepsy. Seizure, 11, 2032.Google Scholar
Helmstaedter, C., Kemper, B., & Elger, C.E. (1996). Neuropsychological aspects of frontal lobe epilepsy. Neuropsychologia, 34, 399406.Google Scholar
Jokeit, H. & Schacher, M. (2004). Neuropsychological aspects of type of epilepsy and etiological factors in adults. Epilepsy and Behavior, 5, S14S20.Google Scholar
Lespinet, V., Bresson, C., N'Kaoua, B., Rougier, A., & Claverie, B. (2002). Effect of age of onset of temporal lobe epilepsy on the severity and the nature of preoperative memory deficits. Neuropsychologia, 40(9), 15911600.Google Scholar
Malm, J., Kristensen, B., Karlsson, T., Carlberg, B., Fagerlund, M., & Olsson, T. (1998). Cognitive impairment in young adults with infratentorial infarcts. Neurology, 51(2), 433440.Google Scholar
Moll, J., de Oliveira-Souza, R., Moll, F.T., Bramati, I.E., & Andreiuolo, P.A. (2002). The cerebral correlates of set-shifting: An fMRI study of the trail making test. Arq Neuropsiquiatr, 60(4), 900905.Google Scholar
Motamedi, G. & Meador, K. (2003). Epilepsy and cognition. Epilepsy and Behavior, 4, S25S38.Google Scholar
Posner, M.I., Walker, J.A., Friedrich, F.J., & Rafal, R.D. (1984). Effects of parietal injury on covert orienting of attention. Journal of Neuroscience, 4(7), 18631874.Google Scholar
Radant, A.D., Claypoole, K., Wingerson, D.K., Cowley, D.S., & Roy-Byrne, P.P. (1997). Relationships between neuropsychological and oculomotor measures in schizophrenia patients and normal controls. Biological Psychiatry, 42(9), 797805.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stuss, D.T., Bisschop, S.M., Alexander, M.P., Levine, B., Katz, D., & Izukawa, D. (2001). The trail making test: A study of focal lesion patients. Psychological Assessment, 13(2), 230239.Google Scholar
Tamura, I., Kikuchi, S., Otsukki, M., Kitagawa, M., & Tashiro, K. (2003). Deficits of working memory during mental calculations in patients with Parkinson's disease. Journal of Neurological Science, 209(1–2), 1923.Google Scholar
Upton, D. & Thompson, P.J. (1997). Age at the onset and neuropsychological function in frontal lobe epilepsy. Epilepsia, 38, 11031113.Google Scholar
Wechsler, D. (2001). Wechsler Test of Adult Reading. USA: Psychological Corporation.
Zalla, T., Joyce, C., Szoke, A., Schurhoff, F., Pillon, B., Komano, O., Perez-Diaz, F., Bellivier, F., Alter, C., Dubois, B., Rouillon, F., Houde, O., & Leboyer, M. (2004). Executive dysfunction as potential markers of familial vulnerability to bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Psychiatry Research, 121(3), 207217.Google Scholar