Executive and attention functioning among children in the PANDAS subgroup

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Pediatrics

Background:

• Adults and children with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Tourette syndrome (TS) often exhibit subtle neuropsychological deficits.
• Neuropsychological functioning in children with Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infection (PANDAS), a subgroup of OCD and tics, is less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the neuropsychological functioning of children and adolescents with PANDAS.
• To compare the performance of PANDAS subjects with healthy volunteers (HV).

Main Methods:

• 67 children and adolescents (ages 5-16) diagnosed with OCD/tics and PANDAS symptoms were assessed using attention control and executive function tests.
• 98 healthy volunteers (HV) matched for age, sex, and IQ served as controls.
• Paired comparisons and two-step linear regression analyses were employed.

Main Results:

• PANDAS subjects were less accurate than HV in response suppression.
• IQ predicted performance in response suppression tasks.
• ADHD diagnosis and age predicted response time in a continuous performance task.
• Subjects with TS or OCD with tics showed longer response times than those with OCD only.

Conclusions:

• Children with PANDAS exhibit neuropsychological profiles mirroring those associated with their primary psychiatric diagnosis (TS or OCD).
• Findings highlight specific attention and executive function challenges in pediatric neuropsychiatric disorders.