Executive functions in patients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder

BALBI, PAULA; LUDMILA JURKOWSKI; ROUSSOS, ANDRES

Virginia Beach

Congreso; 43rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Psychotherapy Research,; 2012

Society for Psychotherapy Research

STATE OF ART: Executive Functions (EF) are involved in psychotherapeutic treatments. In cognitive-behavioral treatments (CBT), EF such as cognitive flexibility, planning and inhibition of automatic response, would be necessary to use certain psychotherapeutic tools, such as cognitive restructuring and allocation of tasks. It could be hypothesized that altered EF compromise the effectiveness of CBT. The malfunction of EF has been investigated in different anxiety 127 disorders, such as Social Phobia, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Panic Disorder and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. However, we have found no research that addresses these functions in patients diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). AIM: The aim of this research is to analyze the EF in a sample of 40 participants (20 diagnosed with GAD and 20 without the diagnosis). PROCEDURES: All subjects will be given sit for three neuropsychological tests in order to asses different functions. The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test will be used to evaluate cognitive flexibility; the Tower of London - DX will be used to evaluate planning and the Stroop Test will be used to assess inhibition of automatic response. RESULTS: The performance in these tests will be compared between groups. The possible implications for clinical practice will be discussed.