OBJECTIVES To describe the executive function of patients with traumatic injury admitted to Rajaei hospital, Shiraz, Iran and to compare the executive function between normal individuals and those with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). METHODS This was a case control study being performed during a 6-month period during spring and summer of 2013 in Shiraz level I trauma center. ...

Planning, the decomposition of an ultimate goal into a number of sub-goals is critically dependent upon fronto-striatal dopamine (DA) levels. Here, we examined the extent to which the val158met polymorphism in the catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene, which is thought to primarily alter cortical DA levels, affects performance and fronto-parietal activity during a planning task (Tower of Lon...

Several studies indicate that school-age children with specific language impairment (SLI) have difficulties with tasks that rely on executive functions. Whether executive function deficits in children with SLI emerge during preschool age remains unclear. Our aim was to fill this gap by investigating executive function performances in two age groups of preschoolers with and without SLI. Children...

The Tower of London Test (TOL) used to assess executive functions was inspired in Artificial Intelligence tasks used to test problem-solving algorithms. In this study, we compare the performance of humans and of exploration algorithms. Instead of absolute execution times, we focus on how the execution time varies with the tasks and/or the number of moves. This approach used in Algorithmic Compl...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with progressive impairment of higher-level cognitive abilities. Previous research suggests that early impairment of executive functions occurs during the course of the disease, but few studies have specifically investigated planning ability in an AD population. Objective The purpose of the current study was to examine whether AD patients retain the abil...

A performer may undergo a task with varying difficulty level. It is important to know the mental state in order to maintain the optimum level of performance. The mental state of an individual varies according to their IQ levels, task difficulties or other psychological or environmental reasons. We have tried to measure the cognitive state of individuals, while they are performing tasks of vario...

Adaptive behavior frequently requires planning , or the ability to anticipate the consequences of actions and modify behavior accordingly. Situations that necessitate planning pervade our daily lives: engaging in strategic social interactions, determining the best route to an unfamiliar location, scheduling meetings in the midst of a hectic day, among many others. To succeed in these endeavors,...

Accepted clinical evidence suggests superior efficacy of novel antipsychotics in the treatment of cognitive symptoms in schizophrenia. Whether this constitutes a primary drug effect or a secondary effect due to easing extrapyramidal side-effects or improving positive symptoms when converting from a first- to a second-generation neuroleptic is still open to debate. Long-term efficacy as well as ...

Private speech (PS) and inner speech (IS) are thought to be functionally important for children's and adults' cognition, but they have not been studied systematically in children with specific language impairment (SLI). Participants were 21 children with SLI (7-11 years, expressive or receptive verbal IQ ≤ 75, nonverbal IQ ≥ 84) and 21 age- and nonverbal IQ-matched controls. Participants comple...