It is significant, however, that the results obtained with the magnetic resonance correspond to the results of the neuropsychological examination.
The asymmetry of inhibitory processes (which are needed for correct executive control) is reflected in poor performance in neuropsychological tests.
Verbal perseverations, both in VFT and in CVLT, point to verbal inhibition disorders.
On the other hand, a high value of the CTT 's near-miss index implies delayed nonverbal inhibition (in this case: graphomotor inhibition). …show more content…
This asymmetry in HTN patients was also connected with a greater number of the near-misses in the sequence of numbers.
Disorders in suppressing verbal and motor reactions were diagnosed in patients with a history of cerebral stroke (Jodzio et al., 2011).
In those studies, patients were asked to perform conflicting motor reactions (the go/no-go task) and to complete the SCWT test.
A significant majority of the participants failed to complete at least one of the tasks.
In our study, however, more than 90% of patients demonstrated deficits in control, especially in its verbal (numerous perseverations in verbal tests) and graphomotor aspect.
On the other hand, all participants did well on the Stroop Color and Word Test.
The only differences were found in the fMRI scanner and revealed that different brain regions were activated.
SCWT checks everyday activities such as reading and color recognition.
Going against the automatic responses (verbal perseverations) or impulsive graphomotor actions (CTT 's near-miss errors) requires mental discipline and learning new ways of …show more content…
In other words, both kinds of inhibition disorders are a sign of progressing executive disorders. As the condition advances, these disorders may become more pronounced.
In the initial stages of HTN, however, they can be detected with a set of selected neuropsychological tests.
Visible cognitive impairments among HTN patients prove the condition 's detrimental effect on one 's CNS.
Effective executive control, inhibition included, requires both of the brain 's hemispheres to work together—as evidenced by the fMRI results showing left asymmetry in HTN patients (cf. Figure 1), high values of inhibition indeces obtained in neuropsychological tests (cf. Table 2), and correlation coefficients (cf. Table 4).
For further examinations, we plan to include more patients with the following conditions in the criterion group: arterial hypertension, resistant arterial hypertension, transient ischemic attack, and obstructive sleep apnea. We plan to include individuals with normal and high-normal blood pressure in the control