Attention network test (ANT) reveals gender-specific alterations of executive function in schizophrenia

Cognition and Global Assessment of Functioning in Male and Female Outpatients With Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders

“…Furthermore, our results indicate that executive functioning may have a greater impact on the symptom and function profiles of men with schizophrenia spectrum disorders than on those of women. A recent study by Urbanek et al (2009) found an aspect of executive functioning (conflict inhibition) to differ significantly between patients and controls. This difference mainly resulted from a sexspecific reduction of the conflict effect and the conflict ratio in schizophrenic men.…”

A systematic review comparing sex differences in cognitive function in schizophrenia and in rodent models for schizophrenia, implications for improved therapeutic strategies

“…It is important to note that, despite the large number of studies demonstrating sexual dimorphism in cognitive function in schizophrenia, several studies have shown no difference between the performance of men and women in FE and SP groups, or in HC groups (Halari et al, 2004;Kao et al, 2013;Karilampi et al, 2011;Moriarity et al, 2001;Urbanek et al, 2009) (See Table 1c for details of these studies).…”

Alterations of the attentional networks in patients with anxiety disorders

“…Specifically the use of ANT and other variants has shown a selective impairment of the executive control network in Alzheimer's Disease (AD; Fernández-Duque & Black, 2006), Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD; Klein, 2003;Posner et al, 2002), Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD; Leskin & White, 2007), fibromyalgia patients (Miró et al, 2011), and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; Mullane, Corkum, Klein, McLaughlin, & Lawrence, 2011). Other studies had found alterations of the executive control network together with orienting in squizophrenia (Urbanek et al, 2009;Wang et al, 2005). By contrast, affective disorders such as depression have not revealed any deficit in the functioning of the attentional networks (Murphy & Alexopoulos, 2006;Preiss, Kramska, Dockalova, Holubova, & Kucerova, 2010); although a sadness state has been related to reduced intrinsic alertness (Finucane, Whiteman, & Power, 2010).…”