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Card sorting performance in Parkinson's Disease: a comparison between acquisition and shifting performance
K P van Spaendonck1, H J Berger, M W Horstink
1Department of Medical Psychology, University of Nijmegen, Netherlands.
Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology
|December 1, 1995
Summary
Learned irrelevance does not explain Parkinson's disease (PD) patients' poor card sorting performance. While PD patients initially performed better, their deficits in shifting phases were temporary, suggesting other cognitive factors are at play.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Clinical Neurology
Background:
- Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with cognitive deficits, particularly in executive functions.
- Poor performance on card sorting tests is a common observation in PD patients.
- Learned irrelevance has been proposed as a potential explanation for these deficits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the hypothesis that learned irrelevance underlies poor card sorting performance in Parkinson's disease (PD).
- To investigate differences in acquisition and shifting phases of card sorting between PD patients and controls.
Main Methods:
- Fifty-one PD patients and 24 control subjects (CS) completed three card sorting tests.
- Performance was assessed during acquisition and two subsequent shifting phases.
- Intelligence, memory, and attention were controlled for between groups.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in intelligence, memory, or attention were found.
- PD patients showed slightly superior performance in the acquisition phase.
- PD patients exhibited significantly poorer performance in the first shifting phase, but this difference vanished in the second shifting phase.
Conclusions:
- Learned irrelevance does not account for the observed deficits in card sorting tasks in PD patients.
- The findings suggest that self-generated problem-solving strategies may be more relevant to understanding PD cognitive performance.