Department of Psychological Sciences, 210 McAlester Hall, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65203, USA.
Mol Genet Metab. 2010;99 Suppl 1:S22-32. doi: 10.1016/j.ymgme.2009.10.007.
Despite early and continuous dietary intervention, individuals with early-treated phenylketonuria (PKU) experience significant neurocognitive sequelae. An area of cognitive ability that is believed to be particularly affected is executive function (EF). This paper provides a critical review of the evidence for EF impairment in early-treated PKU within the context of recent advances in neuropsychological theory and research. The most consistent findings of PKU-related EF impairment were in executive working memory and prepotent response inhibition. Surprisingly, findings on shifting ability and other more complex aspects of EF were largely equivocal. Cohort (e.g., age, phenylalanine (Phe) levels) and task (e.g., standard clinical versus experimental tasks) related differences likely contributed to the variability in findings reported by these studies. Day-to-day EF also appears to be impaired although the precise pattern of impairment remains unclear, as does the relationship between laboratory measures of EF and questionnaires assessing day-to-day EF. Similarly, whereas several studies have found a relationship between Phe levels and EF, the best predictor variable (e.g., concurrent Phe level, lifetime Phe level, Phe level variability) of current EF performance varied from study to study. Neurologic compromise related to dopamine deficiency, white matter abnormalities, and disruptions in functional connectivity likely underlies the EF impairments described in this review. In closing, this review identifies remaining unanswered questions and future avenues for research.
尽管早期和持续的饮食干预,早期治疗的苯丙酮尿症(PKU)患者仍会出现显著的神经认知后遗症。被认为特别受影响的认知能力领域是执行功能(EF)。本文在神经心理学理论和研究的最新进展的背景下,对早期治疗的 PKU 患者的 EF 损伤的证据进行了批判性综述。与 PKU 相关的 EF 损伤的最一致的发现是在执行工作记忆和冲动抑制方面。令人惊讶的是,关于转换能力和其他更复杂的 EF 方面的发现在很大程度上是模棱两可的。队列(例如,年龄、苯丙氨酸(Phe)水平)和任务(例如,标准临床与实验任务)相关的差异可能导致这些研究报告的结果存在差异。尽管确切的损伤模式仍不清楚,也不清楚实验室测量的 EF 与评估日常 EF 的问卷之间的关系,但日常 EF 似乎也受到了损害。同样,尽管有几项研究发现 Phe 水平与 EF 之间存在关系,但目前 EF 表现的最佳预测变量(例如,并发 Phe 水平、终生 Phe 水平、Phe 水平变异性)因研究而异。与多巴胺缺乏、白质异常和功能连接中断相关的神经损伤可能是本综述中描述的 EF 损伤的基础。最后,本文综述确定了仍未解决的问题和未来的研究方向。