Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and Brain Perfusion Imaging in Early Dementia

• Published in: Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders 2010-01, Vol.29 (1), p.21-27
• Main Authors: Takeda, Naoya, Terada, Seishi, Sato, Shuhei, Honda, Hajime, Yoshida, Hidenori, Kishimoto, Yuki, Kamata, Gosuke, Oshima, Etsuko, Ishihara, Takeshi, Kuroda, Shigetoshi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alzheimer Disease - diagnostic imaging; Alzheimer Disease - physiopathology; Alzheimer Disease - psychology; Biological and medical sciences; Cerebrovascular Circulation - physiology; Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases; Dementia; Dementia - diagnostic imaging; Dementia - physiopathology; Dementia - psychology; Education; Executive Function - physiology; Female; Humans; Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects); Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Nervous system; Neurology; Neuropsychological Tests; Original Research Article; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Regression Analysis; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; Ultrasonic investigative techniques
• ISSN: 1420-8008; 1421-9824
• DOI: 10.1159/000261645

Background/Aims: The presence of frontal or executive deficits in patients even at early stages of dementia is now widely recognized. We investigated the relationship between the scores of the Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST) and brain perfusion in patients with early dementia. Methods: A total of 77 subjects participated in this study. They underwent the WCST and brain single photon emission computed tomography with 99mTc-ethylcisteinate dimer. We analyzed the data using a regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) quantification software program, 3DSRT. Results: The number of categories achieved (CA) scores of the WCST had a weakly positive correlation with regional cerebral blood flow in the bilateral precentral, bilateral callosomarginal, bilateral pericallosal, right thalamus, left central and left parietal segments. The number of perseverative errors of the Nelson type (PEN) scores had a weakly negative correlation with rCBF in the right thalamus. Conclusion: The results in this study suggest that CA scores mainly reflect the function of the precentral segments, especially the left side, and that PEN scores correlate with rCBF in the right thalamus. The results suggest that CA scores and PEN scores should be differentially estimated in the WCST.