Development of a Tactile Wisconsin Card Sorting Test.

Objective: To evaluate the construct validity of a tactile adaptation of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (TWCST) for use with individuals with visual impairment. Study Design: Static-group comparison (1-factor design with 3 levels). Setting: A VA Healthcare System residential rehabilitation center for persons with visual impairment. Participants: Fourteen persons who were both neurologically and visually impaired (NVI), 14 persons who were visually impaired but neurologically healthy (VI), and 15 healthy controls (HC). Measures: TWCST and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (3rd ed.) Verbal scale (Psychological Corporation, 1997). Results: The TWCST accurately discriminated the NVI group from both the VI and HC samples. Conclusions: Findings provide preliminary support for the construct validity of the TWCST for use with persons with visual impairment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Examination of age-related deficits on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test.

Adult age differences in Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) measures were examined before and after statistical control of age-related differences in measures of feedback usage, working memory, and perceptual-comparison speed. The proportion of age-related variance associated with a summary measure of WCST performance was greatly reduced after controlling for measures of feedback usage, working memory, and perceptual-comparison speed. Furthermore, the age-related variance associated with the feedback-usage measure was reduced after controlling for working memory and perceptual-comparison speed measures. These results are consistent with the idea that age-related performance differences in the WCST are partially mediated by adult age differences in feedback usage and that age differences in feedback usage are mediated by age differences in working memory, which are in turn mediated by age-related reductions in processing speed, indexed by measures of perceptual-comparison speed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aneurysm clips: evaluation of MR imaging artifacts at 1.5 T

PURPOSE: Endothelin-1 (ET-1), a peptide produced by the vascular endothelium, causes profound renal vasoconstriction by binding to ET-A receptors. The present study examined the renal actions of ET-1 after ET-A receptors were blocked by BE-18257B to unmask the functions of ET-B receptors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Renal hemodynamics and clearance measurements were obtained in anesthetized dogs after intrarenal infusion of BE-18257B at 100 ng./kg./min. (Group 1), after intrarenal infusion of ET-1 at 2 ng./kg./min. (Group 2), or after intrarenal infusion of ET-1 superimposed on BE-18257B (Group 3). RESULTS: In Group 1, BE-18257B infusion did not alter arterial pressure, renal blood flow (RBF), GFR or tubular function. In Group 2, ET-1 infusion led to a significant decrease in RBF and GFR (37 and 40%, respectively) without altering arterial pressure. Urinary volume and sodium excretion were not changed but osmolality decreased significantly. In Group 3, BE-18257B infusion significantly attenuated the decrease in RBF caused by ET-1 and increased GFR by 40% without altering arterial pressure, associated with significant diuresis and natriuresis. CONCLUSION: Renal vasoconstriction caused by ET-1 is attenuated by ET-A receptor blockade with BE-18257B, which unmasks the hemodynamic and tubular actions of ET-B receptors. As a result, it limits the ET-1 induced decrease in RBF and raises GFR, and leads to a diuresis and natriuresis.     

Differential aspects of conceptual processing in the Category Test and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test

Ninety-six veterans from neuropsychiatric wards were administered the Category Test (CT), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), and a series of concept formation tests assessing attribute identification and rule learning. The CT and WCST shared only 30% common variance, and related to different facets of concept formation. The WCST was associated with attribute identification, which entails discrimination of relevant features, while the CT was more related to rule learning, which assesses the deduction of classification rules. The CT and WCST should not be regarded as similar measures of one construct such as "abstraction." Use of discrete scores from each test can help assess different aspects of concept formation.     

Assessing declarative memory in schizophrenia using Wisconsin Card Sorting Test stimuli: the Paired Associate Recognition Test

The Paired Associate Recognition Test (PART) was developed to measure declarative memory using Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) stimuli, so that both tasks could be administered during functional neuroimaging to differentiate memory and executive function, and associated frontal and temporal lobe activation in schizophrenia. The current study was designed to compare PART and WCST performance in schizophrenic patients and to examine effects of medication and symptomatology. The PART, WCST, and standard declarative memory tasks were administered to 30 chronic schizophrenic patients and 30 matched healthy control subjects. Supporting task validity was the finding that patients were equally impaired on the PART and the WCST. Neuroleptics did not appear to affect performance. The effect of anticholinergic medication correlated negatively with WCST performance in a small subsample. Severity of schizophrenia-specific symptoms measured at intake on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale correlated negatively with performance on the WCST. These results support the application of the PART and WCST in future functional neuroimaging studies.     

Age-Related Differences in Performance on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test: A Meta-Analytic Review.

Two meta-analyses investigating age-related differences in performance on a popular measure of executive function, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), are reported. The 1st meta-analysis examined age-related changes in performance for the number of categories achieved, and the 2nd meta-analysis examined performance for the number of perseverative errors committed. Results indicated that robust age differences were present on both measures. Further analysis of moderator variables revealed reliable effects of education and test version on both measures, whereas test modality led to marginally significant differences in effect sizes obtained only for the number of categories achieved. Findings are discussed along with current accounts of age differences in performance of the WCST. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factor structure of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test: Dimensions of deficit in schizophrenia.

The aim of this study was to explore the factorial structure of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and to identify the dimensions of deficit in schizophrenia. WCST scores in patients with schizophrenia and schizophrenia-related psychosis (n?=?292), 1st degree relatives of schizophrenic patients (n?=?91), and normal controls (n?=?141) were subjected to a principal factor analysis followed by orthogonal rotation. This led to 3 factors, perseveration, failure to maintain set, and idiosyncratic sorting. The detected factor structure was found to be invariant across the schizophrenic and control subsamples. Moreover, it replicated previous findings from 2 smaller samples. Only perseverations and, to a lesser degree, idiosyncratic sorting appeared to differentiate schizophrenic patients from comparisons. Only perseveration had good sensitivity and specificity, as well as the most robust significant correlations with estimates of IQ, attention, and other measures of executive functioning. Thus, perseveration appears to be the most diagnostically useful and characteristic WCST feature of schizophrenia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Wisconsin Card Sorting Test performance in relapsing-remitting and chronic-progressive multiple sclerosis.

The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), a measure of concept formation and set-shifting capacity, was administered to two groups of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients defined by relapsing-remitting (n?=?36) or chronic-progressive (n?=?33) clinical courses. The performance of each group was compared with an age and education-matched control group of chronic back pain patients. The chronic-progressive patients achieved fewer conceptual categories due to a significantly greater number of perseverative responses than control patients, whereas the relapsing-remitting group was unimpaired on the WCST relative to the control group. A stepwise multiple regression analysis suggested that these performance differences were related to clinical course and not to length of illness or degree of physical disability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reliability and validity of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test in studies of autism.

Three studies were conducted with the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) with autistic individuals. In Study 1, it was found that the traditional WCST is a highly reliable test for use with both autistic children and children with learning disabilities over time. In Study 2, the equivalence of the standard and computerized versions of the WCST was examined. Low-to-moderate alternate format reliability for both autistic and nonautistic samples was revealed. Study 3 dealt with group differences in performance as a function of WCST format. Although autistic children were significantly impaired relative to controls on the standard WCST, group differences on the computerized version of the test were attenuated. Autistic children tended to perform better on the computer than with the traditional format, suggesting that alternative forms of the test are not equivalent for this group. The potential contribution of social-motivational factors to this finding is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) performance in normal subjects: a twin study

The clinical medical students on the Cambridge Community-Based Clinical Course (CCBCC) derive part of their training by taking part in consultations between patients and their general practitioners. Patients' attitudes to this arrangement and their support for student training in a general practice setting are an important factor in the development of community-based education. A postal questionnaire seeking information from patients achieved an 84% response rate. Both the numerical results and the patients' comments are presented. Patients proved generally supportive of the community-based course and some identified positive benefits to themselves from this provision. The large majority of patients did not mind the presence of medical students during consultations, although there are some areas in which patients are less willing to involve students.     

Effects of cigarette smoking and smoking deprivation on Wisconsin Card Sorting Test performance.

Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) performance was assessed in 24 heavy smokers and 12 nonsmokers recruited from universities in the US and Japan. Half of the smokers performed the WCST after abstaining from tobacco for 12 hrs, whereas the remaining smokers smoked a cigarette of their preferred brand immediately before the test. Nonsmokers did not smoke. The WCST was administered by computer, first with standard instructions and then a 2nd time with abbreviated instructions that specified the 3 sorting criteria. Results from the 2nd run indicated that abstinent smokers made significantly more perseverative responses and errors than did nonsmokers or smoking smokers. Results expand on previous findings of effects of smoking deprivation on human cognitive performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Accounting for age differences on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test: Decreased working memory, not inflexibility.

Two experiments examined the role of cognitive inflexibility and reduced working memory in age-related declines on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Ss for the first experiment were 85 younger adults (mean age 19.7 yrs) and 76 older adults (mean age 70.3 yrs). For the second experiment, Ss were 48 younger and 48 older adults (mean ages 20.3 yrs and 69.8 yrs, respectively). Both standard scoring procedures and newly developed scores were used to measure each construct, and modifications of the test further evaluated the role of working memory. Results indicated that age differences are not due to cognitive inflexibility but that for a subset of older adults errors are associated with a reduction in the amount of information that can be stored or processed in working memory. These age differences disappear, however, when visual cues provide information about the immediately preceding sort. The authors conclude by proposing a decline in updating working memory as the explanation that can best account for the entire pattern of age differences on this test. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of wavelength on performance of attention-disordered and normal children on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test.

Recent neuropsychological models of attention predict that the wavelength (color) of a stimulus will affect processing in the dorsal neural stream, which is believed to mediate key attentional operations. The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test was administered to attention-disordered and normal children. The test was administered in four color conditions: blue, red, gray, and white. Short wavelength (blue) stimuli and gray stimuli enhanced attentional operations in both subject groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reliability and construct validity of the Paired-Associate Recognition Test: A test of declarative memory using Wisconsin Card Sorting stimuli.

The Paired-Associate Recognition Test (PART) was developed to test declarative memory using Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) stimuli, for use in physiologic neuroimaging studies of memory and executive function in schizophrenia. PART was administered to 55 healthy adults (30 male, 25 female) to establish reliability and construct validity. Reliability results indicate that PART performance was stable across trials and internally consistent. Convergent validity was confirmed by significant correlations between PART and standard measures of visual recall, and by PART loading on a memory factor. Divergent validity was established through low correlations between PART and WCST, and by a loading of WCST on a separate factor. Overall results indicate that PART can be administered reliably and that it requires declarative memory processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A meta-analytic review of the sensitivity of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test to frontal and lateralized frontal brain damage.

The author conducted 2 meta-analyses on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). The 1st compared participants with frontal lobe damage to those with posterior brain damage, whereas the 2nd compared participants with left and right frontal damage. Effect sizes based on the difference between groups were calculated for WCST variables and a composite measure. Effect sizes for these variables, except nonperseverative errors, indicated significantly poorer performance for participants with frontal damage. There were no significant differences for the left versus right comparisons. Moderator analyses using the composite measure for the frontal versus nonfrontal analyses indicated that the largest effect size was for dorsolateral damage. Though this study indicates that the WCST is sensitive to frontal lobe damage, caveats are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of the performance of normal individuals and survivors of traumatic brain injury on repeat administrations of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test

Despite convincing evidence that T cells are critical for both cellular and humoral immunity against haemoprotozoan parasites, the difficulty of performing meaningful experiments in cattle that would define the role of T cells in immunity to Babesia spp. has impeded research in this area. However, experiments performed ex vivo with immune T cells can reflect in-vivo events, and provide valuable insight into the nature of immunogenic proteins and the responding lymphocytes. The progress made towards identification of the immunogenic proteins and epitopes that stimulate anamnestic CD4+ type-1 (interferon-gamma-producing) T-cell responses in cattle immune to challenge with Babesia bovis or B. bigemina is the subject of the present review.     

Comparison of functional MR-venography and EPI-BOLD fMRI at 1.5 T

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the brain using blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) contrast relies on the changes of paramagnetic deoxyhemoglobin concentration, which affects brain parenchyma and draining venous vessels. These changes in deoxyhemoglobin concentration in venous vessels can also be monitored using a high-resolution susceptibility-based MR-venography technique. Four volunteers participated in the study in which functional MR-venograms were compared with conventional echo-planar imaging (EPI)-BOLD-fMRI. In all cases, small venous vessels could be identified close to the areas of activation detected by conventional fMRI. In the venograms, task performance (finger tapping) resulted in a loss of venous vessel contrast compared to the resting state, which is consistent with a local decrease of deoxyhemoglobin concentration. MR-venography allows a direct visualization of the BOLD-effect at high spatial resolution. In combination with conventional fMRI, this technique may help to separate the contribution of brain parenchyma and venous vessels in fMRI studies.     

Problem solving by schizophrenic and schizoaffective patients on the Wisconsin and California Card Sorting Tests.

The performance of patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective illness was compared with that of age- and education-matched normal controls on the Wisconsin and California Card Sorting Tests (WCST and CCST). On the WCST, both groups of patients achieved fewer than the normal number of categories and made more perseverative responses and errors. On the complete and short versions of the CCST, both patient groups generated, identified, and executed fewer than the normal number of concepts; provided less accurate and less complete verbal explanations for the correct concepts they did generate; and made more verbal and nonverbal perseverative responses than did the controls. There were no differences between patient groups on either test. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)