Journal
NEUROPSYCHOLOGY
Volume 25, Issue 5, Pages 655-665Publisher
AMER PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOC
DOI: 10.1037/a0023863
Keywords
Stroop; disinhibition; MRI; frontal; neuropsychological
Categories
Funding
- National Institute on Aging (NIA) [1 R01 AG022983-01A1, 5 P01 AG019724, 3 P50 AG023501]
- Alzheimer's Disease Research Center of California [01-154-20]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Objective: The Stroop (Stroop. 1935) is a frequently used neuropsychological test, with poor performance typically interpreted as indicative of disinhibition and frontal lobe damage. This study tested those interpretations by examining relationships between Stroop performance, behavioral disinhibition, and frontal lobe atrophy. Method: Participants were 112 patients with mild cognitive impairment or dementia, recruited through UCSF's Memory and Aging Center. Participants received comprehensive dementia evaluations including structural MRI, neuropsychological testing, and informant interviews. Freesurfer, a semiautomated parcellation program. was used to analyze 1.5T MRI scans: Behavioral disinhibition was measured using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (Cummings, 1997; Cummings et al., 1994) Disinhibition Scale. The sample (n = 112) mean age was 65.40 (SD = 8.60) years. education was 16.64 (SD = 2.54) years. and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE; Folstein et al., 1975) was 26.63 (SD = 3.32). Hierarchical linear regressions were used for data analysis. Results: Controlling for age, MMSE, and color naming. Stroop performance was not significantly associated with disinhibition (beta = 0.01, Delta R(2) = 0.01, p = .29). Hierarchical regressions controlling for age, MMSE, color naming, intracranial volume, and temporal and parietal lobes, examined whether left or right hemisphere regions predict Stroop performance. Bilaterally, parietal lobe atrophy best predicted poorer Stroop (left: beta = 0.0004, Delta R(2) = 0.02, p = .002; right: beta = 0.0004. Delta R(2) = 0.02, p = .002). Of frontal regions, only dorsolateral prefrontal cortex atrophy predicted poorer Snoop (beta = 0.001, Delta R(2) = 0.01, p = .03); left and right anterior cingulate cortex atrophy predicted better Stroop (left: beta = -0.003, Delta R(2) = 0.01, p = .02; right: beta = -0.004, Delta R(2) = 0.01, p = .02). Conclusion: These findings suggest Stroop performance is a poor measure of behavioral disinhibition and frontal lobe atrophy even among a relatively high-risk population.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available