Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society

Table of Contents - 2007 - Volume 13, Issue 04  


BRIEF COMMUNICATION

D-KEFS Trail Making Test performance in patients with lateral prefrontal cortex lesions

BRIAN  YOCHIM  a1 c1 , JULIANA  BALDO  a2 , ADAM  NELSON  a3 and DEAN C.  DELIS  a4
a1 Department of Psychology, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, Colorado
a2 Center for Aphasia and Related Disorders, VA Northern California Health Care System, Martinez, California
a3 Department of Neuropsychology, VA Northern California Health Care System, Martinez, California
a4 Department of Psychiatry, University of California at San Diego, San Diego, California, and Psychology Service, VA San Diego Health Care System, San Diego, California

Article author query
yochim b   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 
baldo j   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 
nelson a   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 
delis dc   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 

Abstract

This study evaluated cognitive set-shifting in 12 patients with focal lesions in the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPC) by examining their performance on the Trail Making Test from the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS). Patients with LPC lesions performed significantly worse than controls on the D-KEFS Trail Making Test on the Letter Sequencing, Number-Letter Switching (set-shifting), and Motor Speed conditions. Patients with LPC lesions performed significantly more slowly on the Number-Letter Switching condition even after controlling for performance on the four baseline conditions of the test. In addition, patients with LPC lesions exhibited significantly elevated error rates on the Number-Letter Switching condition. Results suggest that LPC lesions can lead to impaired cognitive set-shifting on a visual-motor sequencing task. (JINS, 2007, 13, 704–709.)

(Received October 2 2006)
(Revised February 13 2007)
(Accepted February 14 2007)


Key Words: Executive; Frontal; Set-shifting; D-KEFS; Trail making; Lesion.

Correspondence:
c1 Correspondence and reprint requests to: Brian Yochim, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, 1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway, Colorado Springs, CO 80933-7150. E-mail: byochim@uccs.edu

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