Time Perception in Huntington Disease

GATTO, E.M.; AGOSTINO P.V.; CESARINI M; SANGUINETTI A; ETCHEVERRY J.L.; D.A. GOLOMBEK

San Diego, California

Congreso; 19th International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders; 2015

Objective: to assess temporal cognition in two different experiments: a peakinterval time production and a reaction time task in patients with Huntington´s disease (HD). Background: Interval timing (IT) is the ability to perceive, remember, and organize behavior in the Seconds to minutes range, that contributes to spatiotemporal performance and structures our action and cognition. Timing disruptions have been reported in neurodegenerative disorders with dopaminergic and frontostriatal impairment, including relatively small populations of HD patients. Moreover, fMRI reported abnormal striatal, prefrontal, frontal and parietal cortices activation in these patients. Methods: 11 HD patients and 11healthy controls matched by age, sex and years of education were analyzed. The study was approved by Institutional Committee. Timing assessment: a visual time production task at 3, 6 and 12 seconds target intervals was assessed in separate blocks. The reaction time task was adapted and validated from Thorne et al., 2005, Behav. Res Methods 37:111. Briefly, Participants were asked to respond as quickly as possible to black circles appearing on a white screen. Statistical analysis: MATLAB was used for data analysis and ANOVA or t tests were administered when appropriated. Results: 11 HD patients, mean age: 48.09 ± 13.69, mean expanded allele 42.9 ± 1.59 and mean disease duration 7.57 years (range 112 years) showed significant differences in peak location, width and amplitude at 6s target intervals compared to controls. S1 rate index (period prior target time) was statistically different at 3, 6 and 12s, while S2 rate index (period after target time) was significant only at 3s. The mean reaction time was higher in HD patients (p