title: [Mechanism of impaired attention network in patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the influences of stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) on attention functions.
  
  
  METHODS
  The research objects came from the Hospital Affiliated to Anhui Medical University from February to September in 2011. Attention network test (ANT) was employed to compare stable COPD patients (n = 38) with healthy controls (n = 36) in the efficiencies of anatomically defined attentional networks: alertness, orientation and executive attention.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant group differences were found in orientation ((27 ± 8) ms vs (57 ± 4) ms, P = 0.001), but not in alertness ((19 ± 7) ms vs (32 ± 4) ms, P = 0.115) or executive attention network ((94 ± 15) ms vs (119 ± 11) ms, P = 0.196). The accuracy of attention network test was significantly slower in the COPD group than in the healthy controls (90.2% ± 1.6% vs 96.3% ± 1.7%, P = 0.011). The score of verbal fluency test was significantly lower in COPD patients than in healthy controls (18.2 ± 0.5 vs 21.4 ± 0.6, P = 0.000).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The attention functions of COPD patients are impaired, especially oriental network efficiency. It is probably due to chronic hypoxia, hypoxia-related low blood flow of temporal or parietal lobe or long-term anticholinergic drug use.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.
authors.forename: Zhi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lü
authors.forename: Pan-pan
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Xian-wei
authors.initials: XW
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jie-gui
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Hu
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001288:Attention; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*