Correlation between errors on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and the availability of striatal dopamine transporters in healthy volunteers.
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.
Hsieh
Pei Chun
PC
Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital and Dou-liou Branch, Tainan, Taiwan.
Yeh
Tzung Lieh
TL
Lee
I Hui
IH
Huang
Hui Chun
HC
Chen
Po See
PS
Yang
Yen Kuang
YK
Chiu
Nan Tsing
NT
Lu
Ru Band
RB
Liao
Mei-Hsiu
MH
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
D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D015609:Organotechnetium Compounds; D014326:Tropanes; C104196:technetium Tc 99m TRODAT-1