Year: 2012
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Set-shifting has been described as the ability to alternate attention between simultaneous goals.The Trail Making Test (TMT) from the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) measures set-shifting.This test is complex and demands different perceptual, cognitive, and motor skills, i.e. component processes, in addition to set-shifting.The first aim of this study is to explore the contribution of component processes in set-shifting in patients experiencing cognitive difficulties.The second aim is to evaluate the relationship between setshifting and white matter hyperintensities (WMH) in the frontal and parietal lobes.The third aim is to evaluate the relationship between set-shifting and gray matter volume in the frontal and parietal cortices.WMH and gray matter volume were assessed using data from magnetic resonance imaging.Sixty-two patients were included, aged 60-80 years.All component processes showed a significant association with the set-shifting task, but only visual scanning and letter sequencing contributed significantly in predicting the unique variance in setshifting.No relationships between set-shifting and WMH in the frontal and parietal lobes were found.Set-shifting was significantly associated with the volume of the right rostral middle frontal gyrus.However, after controlling for component processes no significant associations were found between set-shifting and gray matter volumes.
Author: Elisabeth Höst
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1912737482