title: Correlation between errors on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and the availability of striatal dopamine transporters in healthy volunteers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although studies have indicated that the frontal lobe plays an important role in performance on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and that basal ganglia play a specific role in frontal lobe function, the role of striatal dopamine (DA) activity in performance on the WCST remains unclear.
  
  
  METHODS
  We assessed the relation between the availability of striatal dopamine transporters (DATs) and performance on the WCST as a measure of executive function in healthy individuals. We approximated the availability of DATs in 53 healthy volunteers aged 19-61 years by use of single photon emission computed tomography with technetium-99m (99mTc)-TRODAT-1 as the ligand. The WCST was administered to all participants.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The availability of DAT was significantly negatively correlated with perseverative errors on the WCST, both before and after adjustment for body mass index (r(before) = -0.39, p = 0.004; r(after) = -0.39, p = 0.005).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This was an association study; thus, a causal relation between DAT availability and performance cannot be confirmed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that striatal DAT availability may play a role in executive function as measured by the WCST.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital and Dou-liou Branch, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Pei Chun
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.forename: Tzung Lieh
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.forename: I Hui
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hui Chun
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Po See
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yen Kuang
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Nan Tsing
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.forename: Ru Band
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Mei-Hsiu
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Liao
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism*; D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D015609:Organotechnetium Compounds; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D014326:Tropanes; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D015609:Organotechnetium Compounds; D014326:Tropanes; C104196:technetium Tc 99m TRODAT-1