Volume 7, Issue 1 (Spring 2005)
Advances in Cognitive Sciences 2005, 7(1): 1-9 |
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Abstract: (2642 Views)
Objective: The Previous studies on early and continuously treated patients with phenylketonuria (PKU), even with normal intelligent quotient (IQ), have revealed executive dysfunction; this study is aiming at further evaluating the differences in executive functions of early treated PKU patients compared to normal subjects.
Method: Ten early treated children with PKU who had normal IQs were compared with 15 normal children matched for sex, age and IQ, using three neuropsychological tests: Tower of London test (TOL) (computerized version), Continuous Performance Test (CPT) and Stroop Test.
Results: Patients had poorer performance on TOL task than the control group. This difference was significant in the first three levels of the test. In CPT, the number of omission errors in the cases was significantly more than those in the control group. However, there was no significant difference in comission errors between the two groups. There was no correlation between concurrent serum phenylalanine and tests results.
Conclusion: This Study demonstrated the executive dysfunction of early treated PKU patients despite their normal IQs. The dysfunction was more obvious in the aspects of planning and attention.
Method: Ten early treated children with PKU who had normal IQs were compared with 15 normal children matched for sex, age and IQ, using three neuropsychological tests: Tower of London test (TOL) (computerized version), Continuous Performance Test (CPT) and Stroop Test.
Results: Patients had poorer performance on TOL task than the control group. This difference was significant in the first three levels of the test. In CPT, the number of omission errors in the cases was significantly more than those in the control group. However, there was no significant difference in comission errors between the two groups. There was no correlation between concurrent serum phenylalanine and tests results.
Conclusion: This Study demonstrated the executive dysfunction of early treated PKU patients despite their normal IQs. The dysfunction was more obvious in the aspects of planning and attention.
Keywords: Phenylketonuria, Executive Functions, Tower of London Test, Stroop Test, Continuous Performance Test
Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Special
Received: 2004/11/22 | Accepted: 2005/01/20 | Published: 2005/03/21
Received: 2004/11/22 | Accepted: 2005/01/20 | Published: 2005/03/21
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