Biomaterial Database

Neural correlates of task switching in paternal 15q11-q13 deletion Prader-Willi syndrome. 2010

Kate A Woodcock, and Glyn W Humphreys, and Chris Oliver, and Peter C Hansen

Cerebra Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT UK. papers@katewoodcock.com

We report a first study of brain activity linked to task switching in individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). PWS individuals show a specific cognitive deficit in task switching which may be associated with the display of temper outbursts and repetitive questioning. The performance of participants with PWS and typically developing controls was matched in a cued task switching procedure, and brain activity was contrasted on switching and non-switching blocks using fMRI. Individuals with PWS did not show the typical frontal-parietal pattern of neural activity associated with switching blocks, with significantly reduced activation in regions of the posterior parietal and ventromedial prefrontal cortices. We suggest that this is linked to a difficulty in PWS in setting appropriate attentional weights to enable task-set reconfiguration. In addition to this, PWS individuals did not show the typical pattern of deactivation, with significantly less deactivation in an anterior region of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. One plausible explanation for this is that individuals with PWS show dysfunction within the default mode network, which has been linked to attentional control. The data point to functional changes in the neural circuitry supporting task switching in PWS even when behavioural performance is matched to controls and thus highlight neural mechanisms that may be involved in a specific pathway between genes, cognition and behaviour.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D009434	Neural Pathways	Neural tracts connecting one part of the nervous system with another.	Neural Interconnections,Interconnection, Neural,Interconnections, Neural,Neural Interconnection,Neural Pathway,Pathway, Neural,Pathways, Neural
D010296	Parietal Lobe	Upper central part of the cerebral hemisphere. It is located posterior to central sulcus, anterior to the OCCIPITAL LOBE, and superior to the TEMPORAL LOBES.	Brodmann Area 39,Brodmann Area 40,Brodmann Area 5,Brodmann Area 7,Brodmann's Area 39,Brodmann's Area 40,Brodmann's Area 5,Brodmann's Area 7,Inferior Parietal Cortex,Secondary Sensorimotor Cortex,Superior Parietal Lobule,Angular Gyrus,Gyrus Angularis,Gyrus Supramarginalis,Intraparietal Sulcus,Marginal Sulcus,Parietal Cortex,Parietal Lobule,Parietal Region,Posterior Paracentral Lobule,Posterior Parietal Cortex,Praecuneus,Precuneus,Precuneus Cortex,Prelunate Gyrus,Supramarginal Gyrus,Area 39, Brodmann,Area 39, Brodmann's,Area 40, Brodmann,Area 40, Brodmann's,Area 5, Brodmann,Area 5, Brodmann's,Area 7, Brodmann,Area 7, Brodmann's,Brodmanns Area 39,Brodmanns Area 40,Brodmanns Area 5,Brodmanns Area 7,Cortex, Inferior Parietal,Cortex, Parietal,Cortex, Posterior Parietal,Cortex, Precuneus,Cortex, Secondary Sensorimotor,Cortices, Inferior Parietal,Gyrus, Angular,Gyrus, Prelunate,Gyrus, Supramarginal,Inferior Parietal Cortices,Lobe, Parietal,Lobule, Parietal,Lobule, Posterior Paracentral,Lobule, Superior Parietal,Paracentral Lobule, Posterior,Paracentral Lobules, Posterior,Parietal Cortex, Inferior,Parietal Cortex, Posterior,Parietal Cortices,Parietal Cortices, Inferior,Parietal Cortices, Posterior,Parietal Lobes,Parietal Lobule, Superior,Parietal Lobules,Parietal Lobules, Superior,Parietal Regions,Posterior Paracentral Lobules,Posterior Parietal Cortices,Precuneus Cortices,Region, Parietal,Secondary Sensorimotor Cortices,Sensorimotor Cortex, Secondary,Superior Parietal Lobules
D011218	Prader-Willi Syndrome	An autosomal dominant disorder caused by deletion of the proximal long arm of the paternal chromosome 15 (15q11-q13) or by inheritance of both of the pair of chromosomes 15 from the mother (UNIPARENTAL DISOMY) which are imprinted (GENETIC IMPRINTING) and hence silenced. Clinical manifestations include MENTAL RETARDATION; MUSCULAR HYPOTONIA; HYPERPHAGIA; OBESITY; short stature; HYPOGONADISM; STRABISMUS; and HYPERSOMNOLENCE. (Menkes, Textbook of Child Neurology, 5th ed, p229)	Labhart-Willi Syndrome,Royer Syndrome,Labhart-Willi-Prader-Fanconi Syndrome,Prader Labhart Willi Syndrome,Prader-Labhart-Willi Syndrome,Royer's Syndrome,Willi-Prader Syndrome,Labhart Willi Prader Fanconi Syndrome,Labhart Willi Syndrome,Prader Willi Syndrome,Royers Syndrome,Syndrome, Labhart-Willi,Syndrome, Labhart-Willi-Prader-Fanconi,Syndrome, Prader-Labhart-Willi,Syndrome, Prader-Willi,Syndrome, Royer,Syndrome, Royer's,Syndrome, Willi-Prader,Willi Prader Syndrome
D011597	Psychomotor Performance	The coordination of a sensory or ideational (cognitive) process and a motor activity.	Perceptual Motor Performance,Sensory Motor Performance,Visual Motor Coordination,Coordination, Visual Motor,Coordinations, Visual Motor,Motor Coordination, Visual,Motor Coordinations, Visual,Motor Performance, Perceptual,Motor Performance, Sensory,Motor Performances, Perceptual,Motor Performances, Sensory,Perceptual Motor Performances,Performance, Perceptual Motor,Performance, Psychomotor,Performance, Sensory Motor,Performances, Perceptual Motor,Performances, Psychomotor,Performances, Sensory Motor,Psychomotor Performances,Sensory Motor Performances,Visual Motor Coordinations
D002872	Chromosome Deletion	Actual loss of portion of a chromosome.	Monosomy, Partial,Partial Monosomy,Deletion, Chromosome,Deletions, Chromosome,Monosomies, Partial,Partial Monosomies
D002884	Chromosomes, Human, Pair 15	A specific pair of GROUP D CHROMOSOMES of the human chromosome classification.	Chromosome 15
D005260	Female		Females
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000293	Adolescent	A person 13 to 18 years of age.	Adolescence,Youth,Adolescents,Adolescents, Female,Adolescents, Male,Teenagers,Teens,Adolescent, Female,Adolescent, Male,Female Adolescent,Female Adolescents,Male Adolescent,Male Adolescents,Teen,Teenager,Youths