THE PATTERN OF ATTENTIONAL DEFICITS IN HUNTINGTONS-DISEASE

Different aspects of attention, e.g. phasic alertness, vigilance, divi ded attention, response flexibility response inhibition and intermodal integration, were investigated with a computerized test-battery in a group of 20 patients with Huntington's disease and 27 healthy controls . Huntington's disease patients are not impaired in reacting to task-c ontingent external stimulation in the phasic alertness task but the se lf-generated maintenance of attention as measured by the vigilance tas k, is disturbed. The simultaneous monitoring of different input-channe ls in the divided attention task and the ability to operate with infor mation given to different modalities in the intermodal integration tas k are severely affected. The performance of Huntington's disease patie nts in the response flexibility task in which internal cued shifts are required, is impaired Huntington's disease patients are also impaired in reacting selectively to go/no-go stimuli in the response inhibitio n task. It is suggested that a number of 'higher' cognitive deficits d escribed in Huntington's disease might, at least partly, be due to bas ic attentional disturbances.