Abstract
Background: Attentional Network Test (ANT), was widely used to evaluate the performance of three attentional networks, i.e., alerting, orienting and executive attention networks. This study aimed to explore the characteristics of attention functions in HIV-negative patients with early forms of NS and their association with brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) abnormalities.
Methods: 31 HIV-negative patients without NS, 30 HIV-negative patients with early forms of NS, and 35healthy controls enrolled from September 2020 to November 2022 were evaluated with the ANT and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Brain MRI was performed in patients with and without NS.
Results: There were no significant difference in the MMSE scores between the three groups. Patients with early forms of NS showed poorer performance in orienting and alerting functions than those without NS (F = 6.952, P = 0.011 and F = 8.794, P = 0.004, respectively); however, no difference was observed in executive function between the two groups (F = 0.001, P = 0.980). Multivariate analysis of variance using the Bonferroni post-hoc test indicated that patients with NS exhibited less efficient orienting function (P = 0.023), alerting function (P = 0.003) but not executive function (P = 0.99) than those without NS. Moreover, compared with contemporary healthy controls, a significant difference in orienting function was observed in patients with NS (P < 0.001). The NS group comprised more patients with MRI abnormalities in the frontal lobes and/or the temporoparietal junction than the non-NS group (24/25 vs. 13/19, P = 0.032).
Conclusions: HIV-negative patients with early forms of NS demonstrated obvious orientation and alerting function impairment. Brain MRI abnormalities in the frontal and/or parietal lobes and/or the temporoparietal junction indicated the presence of potential neural structure and network priority barriers pertaining to selective attention deficit.