Effect of Hypothyroidism on Cognitive Status: Evidence from Stroop Task

Background: Very less work has been done in the past to assess cognition in hypothyroid patients using classical color-word Stroop task. The Stroop color-word task is a well-recognized tool which estimates cognitive inhibition. Stroop task is based on the fact that reading words and identifying colo...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Shilpi Goyal, Abhinav Dixit, Neelam Vaney, S. V. Madhu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2020-01-01
Series:Indian Journal of Medical Specialities
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/INJMS.INJMS_144_19
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849224545235369984
author Shilpi Goyal
Abhinav Dixit
Neelam Vaney
S. V. Madhu
author_facet Shilpi Goyal
Abhinav Dixit
Neelam Vaney
S. V. Madhu
author_sort Shilpi Goyal
collection DOAJ
description Background: Very less work has been done in the past to assess cognition in hypothyroid patients using classical color-word Stroop task. The Stroop color-word task is a well-recognized tool which estimates cognitive inhibition. Stroop task is based on the fact that reading words and identifying color of written words are two different information and they process with a common response channel but with different speeds. The aim of this study was to assess the cognitive inhibition process in drug-naïve hypothyroid patients and their comparison with the same patients after the attainment of euthyroid status and also with euthyroid controls using classical color-word Stroop task. Materials and Methods: Thirty drug-naïve newly diagnosed hypothyroid patients were study cases who underwent Stroop task once before initiating treatment and then after the attainment of euthyroid state. We performed the same test in euthyroid controls twice at an interval of 3 months for comparison purpose. Correlation analysis was also done for hypothyroidism and cognition. Results: The reaction time of Stroop task was decreased in all the three conditions of each block, i.e., neutral, incongruent, and congruent conditions after the attainment of euthyroid state, and the finding confirms posttreatment modulation of the attention processes in hypothyroid patients. Reaction time of Stroop task in hypothyroid patients was positively correlated with the serum thyroid-stimulating hormone levels. Processing of color identification was suppressed than reading words in hypothyroid patients as evidenced by increased reaction time of Stroop task. This increase in reaction time can be reversed by earlier identification of drug-naïve hypothyroid cases so that they can get timely treatment to restore their cognitive status. Conclusions: Stroop task scores are reduced in overt hypothyroid patients, but improve after thyroid replacement therapy.
format Article
id doaj-art-d51adf8ca4e5452fa00b1d6c2bd44b06
institution Kabale University
issn 0976-2884
0976-2892
language English
publishDate 2020-01-01
publisher Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
record_format Article
series Indian Journal of Medical Specialities
spelling doaj-art-d51adf8ca4e5452fa00b1d6c2bd44b062025-08-25T08:32:52ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsIndian Journal of Medical Specialities0976-28840976-28922020-01-01111343910.4103/INJMS.INJMS_144_19Effect of Hypothyroidism on Cognitive Status: Evidence from Stroop TaskShilpi GoyalAbhinav DixitNeelam VaneyS. V. MadhuBackground: Very less work has been done in the past to assess cognition in hypothyroid patients using classical color-word Stroop task. The Stroop color-word task is a well-recognized tool which estimates cognitive inhibition. Stroop task is based on the fact that reading words and identifying color of written words are two different information and they process with a common response channel but with different speeds. The aim of this study was to assess the cognitive inhibition process in drug-naïve hypothyroid patients and their comparison with the same patients after the attainment of euthyroid status and also with euthyroid controls using classical color-word Stroop task. Materials and Methods: Thirty drug-naïve newly diagnosed hypothyroid patients were study cases who underwent Stroop task once before initiating treatment and then after the attainment of euthyroid state. We performed the same test in euthyroid controls twice at an interval of 3 months for comparison purpose. Correlation analysis was also done for hypothyroidism and cognition. Results: The reaction time of Stroop task was decreased in all the three conditions of each block, i.e., neutral, incongruent, and congruent conditions after the attainment of euthyroid state, and the finding confirms posttreatment modulation of the attention processes in hypothyroid patients. Reaction time of Stroop task in hypothyroid patients was positively correlated with the serum thyroid-stimulating hormone levels. Processing of color identification was suppressed than reading words in hypothyroid patients as evidenced by increased reaction time of Stroop task. This increase in reaction time can be reversed by earlier identification of drug-naïve hypothyroid cases so that they can get timely treatment to restore their cognitive status. Conclusions: Stroop task scores are reduced in overt hypothyroid patients, but improve after thyroid replacement therapy.https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/INJMS.INJMS_144_19attentioncognitionhypothyroidismstroop task
spellingShingle Shilpi Goyal
Abhinav Dixit
Neelam Vaney
S. V. Madhu
Effect of Hypothyroidism on Cognitive Status: Evidence from Stroop Task
Indian Journal of Medical Specialities
attention
cognition
hypothyroidism
stroop task
title Effect of Hypothyroidism on Cognitive Status: Evidence from Stroop Task
title_full Effect of Hypothyroidism on Cognitive Status: Evidence from Stroop Task
title_fullStr Effect of Hypothyroidism on Cognitive Status: Evidence from Stroop Task
title_full_unstemmed Effect of Hypothyroidism on Cognitive Status: Evidence from Stroop Task
title_short Effect of Hypothyroidism on Cognitive Status: Evidence from Stroop Task
title_sort effect of hypothyroidism on cognitive status evidence from stroop task
topic attention
cognition
hypothyroidism
stroop task
url https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/INJMS.INJMS_144_19
work_keys_str_mv AT shilpigoyal effectofhypothyroidismoncognitivestatusevidencefromstrooptask
AT abhinavdixit effectofhypothyroidismoncognitivestatusevidencefromstrooptask
AT neelamvaney effectofhypothyroidismoncognitivestatusevidencefromstrooptask
AT svmadhu effectofhypothyroidismoncognitivestatusevidencefromstrooptask