Correlation between errors on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and the availability of striatal dopamine transporters in healthy volunteers

Background: although studies have indicated that the frontal lobe plays an important role in performance on the wisconsin card sorting test (wcst) and that basal ganglia play a specific role in frontal lobe function,the role of striatal dopamine (da) activity in performance on the wcst remains unclear. methods: we assessed the relation between the availability of striatal dopamine transporters (dats) and performance on the wcst as a measure of executive function in healthy individuals. we approximated the availability of dats in 53 healthy volunteers aged 19-61 years by use of single photon emission computed tomography with technetium-99m (99mtc)-trodat-1 as the ligand. the wcst was administered to all participants. results: the availability of dat was significantly negatively correlated with perseverative errors on the wcst,both before and after adjustment for body mass index ( rbefore = -0.39,p = 0.004; rafter = -0.39,p= 0.005). limitations: this was an association study; thus,a causal relation between dat availability and performance cannot be confirmed. conclusion: our results suggest that striatal dat availability may play a role in executive function as measured by the wcst. © 2010 canadian medical association.