Background: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) was traditionally believed to spare cognitive functions, but subtle executive deficits have been recently reported in patients with sporadic ALS. Aims: To investigate the attentional processing related to both the involuntary attention and the sustained attention with executive control in ALS using Event-related Potentials (ERPs). Methods: 33 non-demented patients with sporadic ALS (22 spinal-onset, 11 bulbar-onset) and 32 age and sex-matched controls underwent an EEG recording. Mismatch Negativity (MMN) and Contingent Negative Variation (CNV) components were obtained. MMN latency, CNV amplitude (measured as total area and as three temporal windows of interest) were evaluated. Reaction times in the CNV paradigm were also obtained. Results: No differences emerged between ALS patients and controls as regards MMN latency and CNV characteristics. Total CNV area (Fz p<0.01) and W1-CNV area were significantly reduced (Fz p=0.07 – Cz p<0.05 – Pz p<0,05) in bALS vs controls, while no differences were found between sALS and controls. Discussion: The normal MMN latency, even when the two clinical subtypes are analyzed individually, may indicate that the disease process does not interfere with the automatic pre-attentive processing of the stimuli. However, b-ALS patients showed a difficulty in giving start and sustaining attention during a complex task of associative learning, suggesting the assumption of an abnormal integration of associative functions, as demonstrated by the decreased amplitude of CNV in frontal area and in early orienting windows. These results are in line with the hypothesis of a degeneration of the attentional networks probably due to the interneuronal pathological involvement. Conclusions: ALS patients with bulbar onset presented selective cognitive dysfunction with difficulty in sustained attention. The involuntary attention, instead, seems to be preserved, irrespective of the disease subtype.
Attentional processing in sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: the role of ERPs / Mannarelli, Daniela; Pauletti, Caterina; Locuratolo, Nicoletta; N., Vanacore; Inghilleri, Maurizio; Fattapposta, Francesco. - In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY. - ISSN 0167-8760. - STAMPA. - 85:3(2012), pp. 388-388. (Intervento presentato al convegno 16th World Congress of Psychophysiology-IOP tenutosi a Pisa; Italy) [10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2012.07.069].
Attentional processing in sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: the role of ERPs
MANNARELLI, DANIELA;PAULETTI, CATERINA;LOCURATOLO, NICOLETTA;INGHILLERI, Maurizio;FATTAPPOSTA, FRANCESCO
2012
Abstract
Background: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) was traditionally believed to spare cognitive functions, but subtle executive deficits have been recently reported in patients with sporadic ALS. Aims: To investigate the attentional processing related to both the involuntary attention and the sustained attention with executive control in ALS using Event-related Potentials (ERPs). Methods: 33 non-demented patients with sporadic ALS (22 spinal-onset, 11 bulbar-onset) and 32 age and sex-matched controls underwent an EEG recording. Mismatch Negativity (MMN) and Contingent Negative Variation (CNV) components were obtained. MMN latency, CNV amplitude (measured as total area and as three temporal windows of interest) were evaluated. Reaction times in the CNV paradigm were also obtained. Results: No differences emerged between ALS patients and controls as regards MMN latency and CNV characteristics. Total CNV area (Fz p<0.01) and W1-CNV area were significantly reduced (Fz p=0.07 – Cz p<0.05 – Pz p<0,05) in bALS vs controls, while no differences were found between sALS and controls. Discussion: The normal MMN latency, even when the two clinical subtypes are analyzed individually, may indicate that the disease process does not interfere with the automatic pre-attentive processing of the stimuli. However, b-ALS patients showed a difficulty in giving start and sustaining attention during a complex task of associative learning, suggesting the assumption of an abnormal integration of associative functions, as demonstrated by the decreased amplitude of CNV in frontal area and in early orienting windows. These results are in line with the hypothesis of a degeneration of the attentional networks probably due to the interneuronal pathological involvement. Conclusions: ALS patients with bulbar onset presented selective cognitive dysfunction with difficulty in sustained attention. The involuntary attention, instead, seems to be preserved, irrespective of the disease subtype.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
