Kam J W Y, Brenner C A, Handy T C, Boyd L A, Liu-Ambrose T, Lim H J, Hayden S, Campbell K L
Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, 2136 West Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada.
Department of Physical Therapy, University of British Columbia, 2177 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada.
Clin Neurophysiol. 2016 Jan;127(1):369-378. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2015.03.007. Epub 2015 Mar 21.
Many breast cancer survivors (BCS) report cognitive problems following chemotherapy, yet controversy remains concerning which cognitive domains are affected. This study investigated a domain crucial to daily function: the ability to maintain attention over time.
We examined whether BCS who self-reported cognitive problems up to 3 years following cancer treatment (n=19) performed differently from healthy controls (HC, n=12) in a task that required sustained attention. Participants performed a target detection task while periodically being asked to report their attentional state. Electroencephalogram was recorded during this task and at rest.
BCS were less likely to maintain sustained attention during the task compared to HC. Further, the P3 event-related potential component elicited by visual targets during the task was smaller in BCS relative to HC. BCS also displayed greater neural activity at rest.
BCS demonstrated an abnormal pattern of sustained attention and resource allocation compared to HC, suggesting that attentional deficits can be objectively observed in breast cancer survivors who self-report concentration problems.
These data underscore the value of EEG combined with a less traditional measure of sustained attention, or attentional states, as objective laboratory tools that are sensitive to subjective complaints of chemotherapy-related attentional impairments.
许多乳腺癌幸存者报告化疗后存在认知问题，但关于哪些认知领域受到影响仍存在争议。本研究调查了对日常功能至关重要的一个领域：长时间保持注意力的能力。
我们检查了在癌症治疗后长达3年自我报告有认知问题的乳腺癌幸存者（n = 19）在一项需要持续注意力的任务中与健康对照者（HC，n = 12）的表现是否不同。参与者执行目标检测任务，同时定期被要求报告他们的注意力状态。在此任务期间和休息时记录脑电图。
与HC相比，乳腺癌幸存者在任务期间保持持续注意力的可能性较小。此外，在任务期间由视觉目标引发的P3事件相关电位成分在乳腺癌幸存者中相对于HC较小。乳腺癌幸存者在休息时也表现出更大的神经活动。
与HC相比，乳腺癌幸存者表现出持续注意力和资源分配的异常模式，这表明在自我报告注意力不集中问题的乳腺癌幸存者中可以客观地观察到注意力缺陷。
这些数据强调了脑电图结合一种不太传统的持续注意力或注意力状态测量方法作为对化疗相关注意力障碍的主观主诉敏感的客观实验室工具的价值。
