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Selective impairments of alerting and executive control in HIV-infected patients: evidence from attention network
Yi-Quan Wang1,2, Yang Pan3, Sheng Zhu4
1Department of Brain Functioning Research, The Seventh Hospital of Hangzhou, 305 Tianmushan Road, Hangzhou, 310013, Zhejiang, China.
Background:
Attention ability can be subdivided into three functionally independent networks, i.e., alerting network, orienting network, and executive network. Previous literature has documented that deficits in attention are a common consequence of HIV infection. However, the precise nature of deficits of attention in HIV-infected patients is poorly understood. Accordingly, the aim of the study was to identify whether the HIV-infected patients showed a specific attention network deficit or a general attentional impairment.
Methods:
We investigated 27 HIV-infected patients and 31 normal controls with the Attention Network Test (ANT).
Results:
The patients exhibited less efficient alerting network and executive network than controls. No significant difference was found in orienting network effect between groups. Our results also indicate a tendency for poorer efficiency on alerting attention and executive attention in patients with CD4 ≤ 200.
Conclusions:
Our findings suggest that HIV-infected patients exhibited selective impairments of attention network of alerting and executive control. The link between lower CD4 T cell count and poorer attention network function imply the importance of starting antiretroviral therapy earlier to avoid irreversible neurocognitive impairment.
