Assessment of Attentional Functioning in Children With HIV-1 Infection

NCT ID: NCT00001497

Last Updated: 2008-03-04

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Total Enrollment: 90 participants
• Study Classification: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Start Date: 1995-12-31
• Study Completion Date: 2000-10-31

Brief Summary

Children with symptomatic HIV-1 (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) infection are at increased risk for developing severely disabling neurological and neuropsychological deficits. HIV-1 related CNS (Central Nervous System) disease is a clinical syndrome, manifested by varying and sometimes discordant degrees of cognitive, motor and behavioral impairment. A continuum of clinical presentations attributed to the effects of HIV-1 infection on the CNS, ranging from apparently normal development, decreases in the rate of new learning to the loss of acquired skills have been observed. Two domains of psychological functioning appear most susceptible to the effects of HIV infection on the central nervous system in children: expressive behavior and attentional processes (Brouwers, et al, 1994).

Attention deficits have been documented as a relative weakness on the "freedom from distractibility" subclass of IQ tests (Brouwers et al, 1989) and on behavior assessment (Moss et al, 1994). Attention, however, has many subcomponents such as focused attention, divided attention, vigilance, etc. Direct assessment of attentional functioning using reaction time has not yet been conducted and questions whether attentional components are differentially affected by the virus have not been addressed.

The proposed study would assess different components of attentional functioning in children with HIV-1 disease. A quantitative and systematic method is developed that could complement the existing standardized instruments used for measuring attention and neurocognitive function in this population. Simple alerted visual reaction time will be measured with varying preparatory intervals, a two-choice reaction time in a go/no-go paradigm will be administered, and a continuous performance, divided reaction time test and an object decision task will be given. Performance on these measures will also be related to measures of brain structure and stage of HIV-1 disease.

Detailed Description

Children with symptomatic HIV-1 (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) infection are at increased risk for developing severely disabling neurological and neuropsychological deficits. HIV-1 related CNS (Central Nervous System) disease is a clinical syndrome, manifested by varying and sometimes discordant degrees of cognitive, motor and behavioral impairment. A continuum of clinical presentations attributed to the effects of HIV-1 infection on the CNS, ranging from apparently normal development, decreases in the rate of new learning to the loss of acquired skills have been observed. Two domains of psychological functioning appear most susceptible to the effects of HIV infection on the central nervous system in children: expressive behavior and attentional processes (Brouwers, et al, 1994).

Attention deficits have been documented as a relative weakness on the "freedom from distractibility" subclass of IQ tests (Brouwers et al, 1989) and on behavior assessment (Moss et al, 1994). Attention, however, has many subcomponents such as focused attention, divided attention, vigilance, etc. Direct assessment of attentional functioning using reaction time has not yet been conducted and questions whether attentional components are differentially affected by the virus have not been addressed.

The proposed study would assess different components of attentional functioning in children with HIV-1 disease. A quantitative and systematic method is developed that could complement the existing standardized instruments used for measuring attention and neurocognitive function in this population. Simple alerted visual reaction time will be measured with varying preparatory intervals, a two-choice reaction time in a go/no-go paradigm will be administered, and a continuous performance, divided reaction time test and an object decision task will be given. Performance on these measures will also be related to measures of brain structure and stage of HIV-1 disease.

Conditions

Attention Deficit Disorder With Hyperactivity; HIV Infections; Paralysis

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

Children and adolescents with HIV infection ages 5-18.

Have to be on another treatment protocol at the Division of Clinical Sciences, NCI.

No children with non-HIV associated CNS compromise, such as for example resulting from head trauma, or genetic factors.

No children with uncorrectable (20/20) vision.

• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

NIH

Sponsor Role: lead

Locations

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Bethesda, Maryland, United States

Countries

United States

References

Brouwers P, Riccardi R, Poplack D, Fedio P. Attentional deficits in long-term survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). J Clin Neuropsychol. 1984 Aug;6(3):325-36. doi: 10.1080/01688638408401222.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 6590573 (View on PubMed)

Brouwers P, DeCarli C, Civitello L, Moss H, Wolters P, Pizzo P. Correlation between computed tomographic brain scan abnormalities and neuropsychological function in children with symptomatic human immunodeficiency virus disease. Arch Neurol. 1995 Jan;52(1):39-44. doi: 10.1001/archneur.1995.00540250043011.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 7826274 (View on PubMed)

DeCarli C, Civitello LA, Brouwers P, Pizzo PA. The prevalence of computed tomographic abnormalities of the cerebrum in 100 consecutive children symptomatic with the human immune deficiency virus. Ann Neurol. 1993 Aug;34(2):198-205. doi: 10.1002/ana.410340216.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 8338344 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

96-C-0030

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: secondary_id

960030

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id