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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Localization of lesions by neuropsychological testing.

Neuropsychological evaluation differs from other methods used to localize cerebral lesions in that it analyzes cognitive function. Tests sample widely among cognitive abilities, contrasting language proficiency with visuospatial skills. A thorough assessment of memory is crucial in the investigation because of the prominence of the temporal lobes in epileptogenesis and their importance in memory. Different aspects of learning and memory are tested, and measures sensitive to hippocampal function should be included. Patients who will undergo elective surgery may also undergo intracarotid sodium amobarbital tests, which provide additional information about the integrity of each hippocampal region. Appraisal of frontal-lobe function is another important part of neuropsychological evaluation. A growing number and variety of neuropsychological tests have proven to be sensitive to lesions in this large and complex cortical area. Frontal-lobe function could be expected to vary according to the function of subregions within the frontal lobes, and some tests appear to be sensitive to specific regions.

Amobarbital↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Assessing cognitive function: a guide to neuropsychological testing.

Neuropsychology is a discipline that studies brain-behavior relations through laboratory testing of behavior. Neuropsychologists develop a comprehensive clinical description of the person's cognitive processes and their implications for everyday behavior. Nurses can use the results of neuropsychological assessments as an objective source of information when planning care for clients who are cognitively impaired. This article provides an introduction to neuropsychology as a discipline, to its tests, and to its methods of assessment and interpretation. Two standard test batteries, the Halstead-Reitan Battery and the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery, are described. Special tests for many cognitive functions--such as attention, executive functions, sensation and perception, motor performance, memory, language, and intelligence--also are described.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Use of computerized neuropsychological tests (CANTAB) to assess cognitive effects of antihypertensive drugs in the elderly. Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery.

OBJECTIVE: To establish reliability and ease of use of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) in assessing changes in cognitive function induced by antihypertensive drugs. DESIGN AND METHODS: Standard neuropsychological testing was combined with CANTAB in a double-blind 18-week cross-over study in elderly hypertensives taking perindopril or hydrochlorothiazide/triamterene (HT). Cognitive effects were assessed by employing tests of attention, visuospatial and verbal memory, learning, reasoning, planning, problem solving, speed and coordination. Affect was assessed using two different depression-rating scales. RESULTS: Perindopril and the diuretic had no adverse effects on the various aspects of cognitive function. Mood, as assessed by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory, was improved on Perindopril, and the error rate in the motor screening test was lower. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring showed both drugs achieved effective 24-h control. CONCLUSIONS: The ease of use and the ability to adjust the level of testing to the requirements of individual patients, together with the reliability of longitudinal test/re-test results, indicates that CANTAB is an important addition to the methods available to quantitate adverse central nervous system drug effects. The other purpose of the study was to assess any adverse cognitive effects of perindopril against a drug HT believed to have no adverse central nervous system effects. In this context, perindopril was free of adverse effects in all the objective tests employed. In addition, there was a benefit seen in two independent assessments of depression (the Hamilton and the Beck rating scales).

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Population-based dementia screening program in Kuopio: the effect of education, age, and sex on brief neuropsychological tests.

A neuropsychological screening battery including the Mini-Mental State Examination and four other brief cognitive tests (Russell's Adaptation of the Visual Reproduction Test, Trail Making Test, Verbal Fluency Tests on letters and category, and the Buschke Selective Reminding Test) was administered to a randomly selected population sample of 403 subjects aged 68 to 77 years to evaluate the effect of education, age, and sex on test scores. The difference in neuropsychological screening tests between various education groups (3 years or less, 4 to 6 years, 7 years or more) was statistically highly significant, even after the adjustment for the effect of age. The subscores and total scores were lowest in the minimal education group on every neuropsychological test. Education correlated more strongly than age with all neuropsychological test scores and subscores. The effect of sex on test results was seen only in some subscores of brief neuropsychological tests but not in a single item of the Mini-Mental State Examination. On the basis of our results, the effects of education, age, and sex have to be evaluated before using brief neuropsychological tests in population-based dementia screening.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1981

Comparison of test results obtained with two neuropsychological test batteries.

Compared test results of two neuropsychological test batteries, the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery (HRNTB) and Luria's Neuropsychological Investigation (LNI), to investigate the possibility of coming to the same conclusions concerning the brain-behavior relationships with the help of neuropsychological methods based on controversial theoretical assumptions. Test data were obtained from a sample of 31 inpatients of a psychiatric hospital. The concordance concerning the presence of brain dysfunction, its lateralization, and main localization was evaluated. A high degree of agreement was found supporting the construct validity of the rests for neuropsychological assessment of psychiatric patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Neuropsychological test results are related to ratings of men alcoholics' therapeutic progress: a replicated study.

The relationship of tests of neuropsychological functioning to clinical ratings of participation in therapeutic activities and predictions of outcome were investigated in two groups of men alcoholics. Factor analysis of the clinical ratings confirmed the existence of three factors: cognitive, clinical improvement and interpersonal. Significant relationships were found in the first group of alcoholics (N = 52) between neuropsychological test scores and scores on each of the three factors. These findings were replicated in the second group of alcoholics (N = 28) drawn from the same population. Patients rated by therapists as having a poor prognosis performed significantly worse on certain neuropsychological tests, especially measures of abstracting and problem solving, than patients rated as having a good prognosis. These data provide evidence that neuropsychological tests are sensitive to many of the same dimensions assessed by clinicians in evaluating therapeutic progress.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Test-retest stability of neuropsychological testing and individual differences in variability in schizophrenia outpatients.

The accurate measurement of neurocognitive function requires stable and reliable instruments. These assessments are critically important as correlates, predictors, and outcome measures of psychopathology, neuropathology, and treatment. Particularly, in studies that evaluate the impact of treatments on neurocognitive function, it is essential that their reliability as repeated measures be quantified. In an attempt to measure within- and between-subject variance on a battery of neuropsychological tests commonly used in schizophrenia research, baseline measures were administered twice, approximately 10 weeks apart, to 54 stable outpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Instruments were judged for their stability, and individuals were assessed for individual differences in test-retest variability. The majority of the instruments administered were highly stable. Group means for several tests showed improvement on retest, which may indicate a practice effect, although many tests did not reach our criteria for "change." Of 962 test scores, 21 (2%) showed significant change. Most subjects were stable, with only 7% of subjects accounting for 38% of significant test-retest changes. Results indicate that the instruments assessed have sufficient reliability and stability to be used as repeated measures in clinical trials and that a small number of patients may have instability of performance as an individual characteristic.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Assessment of malingering in chronic pain patients using neuropsychological tests.

Validity checks into neuropsychological tests have been successful at detecting malingering in litigant patients with mild brain injury in recent years. This study expanded on these findings and examined whether 6 neuropsychological tests could be used to detect malingering in litigant (n = 55) and nonlitigant (n = 53) patients claiming cognitive deficits due to chronic pain. Encouraging findings were found. When patients were matched on age, gender, racial or ethnic background, years of education, and time postinjury, almost one third (29%) of patients in the litigant group failed 2 or more validity checks in these 6 neuropsychological tests versus none (0%) of the patients in the nonlitigant group. This result challenges the validity of some litigant patients who complain of cognitive deficits due to chronic pain. Furthermore, the findings suggest that neuropsychological assessments can be used as part of the assessment of chronic pain complainants. Further investigation of the validity markers in these 6 neuropsychological tests is recommended.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

The ecological validity of pediatric neuropsychological tests of attention.

Neuropsychological tests are frequently used clinically to predict real-world, or adaptive functioning; however, there are too few data to support such predictions. The relationship between adaptive functioning and, in particular, attention tests, has not been documented. The present study sought to determine the association between several domains of attention and adaptive functioning in a heterogeneous clinical sample of 119 children. A significant omnibus canonical correlation (Rc=.54) indicated that attention and adaptive functioning are correlated even when controlling for intelligence. Tests of attention and adaptive functioning domains that give rise to the overall association are discussed in terms of their clinical utility.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Concussion in professional football: neuropsychological testing--part 6.

OBJECTIVE: The National Football League (NFL) neuropsychological testing program is reviewed, and neuropsychological test data are presented on various samples of NFL athletes who sustained concussion (mild traumatic brain injury, MTBI). METHODS: This study evaluated post-MTBI neuropsychological testing of NFL players from 1996 to 2001. All athletes completed a standardized battery of neuropsychological tests and underwent postinjury neuropsychological testing within a few days after concussion. Test scores were compared with baselines using analysis of variance for athletes having on-field memory dysfunction, three or more concussions, or 7+ days out from practice and play. RESULTS: The MTBI group did not display significant neuropsychological dysfunction relative to baseline scores within a few days of injury. However, a subsample of the injured athletes who displayed on-field memory dysfunction performed significantly more poorly on two of the memory tests. The neuropsychological test results of a group of athletes with a history of three or more MTBIs did not differ significantly compared with a group who had fewer than three concussions or compared with league-wide normative data. The neuropsychological performance of athletes who were out from full participation 7+ days was not significantly different from the group who returned to play within 7 days or the norms. CONCLUSION: Neuropsychological testing is used within the overall medical evaluation and care of NFL athletes. Players who experience MTBI generally demonstrate rapid recovery of neuropsychological performance, although poorer neuropsychological test results were related to on-field memory dysfunction. NFL players did not demonstrate evidence of neurocognitive decline after multiple (three or more) MTBIs or in those players out 7+ days. The data show that MTBI in this population is characterized by a rapid return of neuropsychological function in the days after injury.

Athletic Injuries↗
PubMed2005

Adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder identified by neuropsychological testing.

The authors used neuropsychological tests to assess and classify adult patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and controls. Four memory tests correctly classified 81% of subjects. The memory tests were: the auditory Consonant trigram test, the Benton Visual Retention test, the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning test, and the modified Diagnosticum für Cerebralschädigung. The patients scored lower than controls also in other tests sensitive to frontal lobe dysfunction. The results underpin the importance of neuropsychological testing in adult ADD, but also support notions of a working-memory deficit linked to a dysfunction in the prefrontal cortex in these patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Neuropsychological testing: helpful or harmful?

Neuropsychological testing is important for the diagnosis and follow-up of dementia; it can also help provide consultation on patient care. However, lengthy testing is costly and can be stressful to the subjects. Tests developed for members of the majority culture often are inappropriate for ethnic minorities, especially those who speak a different language, have little or no formal education, and grew up in vastly different circumstances. Variables that directly affect test performance, such as education and acculturation instead of race or ethnicity, should be considered as explanatory variables for test performance. Reading level may be a better index for educational attainment than the number of years in school. Neuropsychological testing can be improved in several directions: (1) Use tests that are appropriate for the subject's background. (2) Use detailed scoring of a smaller number of test items to reduce test time, and establish discontinuation rules to limit the subject's experience of failure. (3) Develop parallel test forms for repeated assessment of the same individuals. (4) Strive for large and representative standardization samples. (5) Use computerized test norms based on findings of statistical analysis to better adjust for confounding variables.

Anxiety↗
PubMed2005

Predicting age-related dual-task effects with individual differences on neuropsychological tests.

This study examined the relation of dual-task performance to individual differences on neuropsychological tests. Neuropsychological test scores from 16 young and 16 older participants were simultaneously submitted to a factor analysis that yielded 2 factors (Attention/Executive and Memory) that differed by age and 2 (Motor Speed and Cognitive Status) that did not. Regression analyses revealed that these factors were significant predictors of performance on a delayed visual recognition task, but the relationship varied as a function of task condition. The Memory and Motor Speed factors were the strongest predictors of single-task performance, but the Attention/Executive factor was the most important predictor of dual-task performance. The authors conclude that compromised central executive may underlie age-related decline in dual-task performance.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Construct validity of neuropsychological tests in schizophrenia.

Validity studies of neuropsychological tests have typically examined individuals with neurological disorders. The present study was designed to investigate the construct validity of neuropsychological measures in patients with schizophrenia. We used Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Revised (WAIS-R) factor scores that were generated from the population of interest as marker variables in the present analysis. The current study included 39 patients with schizophrenia who were evaluated with a battery of neuropsychological tests assessing attention, memory, and abstract reasoning abilities. Pearson correlations indicated significant relationships between (a) WAIS-R Verbal Comprehension factor and tests of sustained attention, verbal memory and remote memory; (b) WAIS-R Perceptual Organization factor and tests of visual memory and abstraction and problem solving; and (c) WAIS-R Freedom From Distractibility factor and neuropsychological measures of attention and concentration. These results provide support for the construct validity of the neuropsychological tests in patients with schizophrenia, and indicate that these tests evaluate essentially the same constructs in patients with schizophrenia as they do for patients with structural neurological disorders.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Effect of visual impairment on neuropsychological test performance.

Three vision-dependent neuropsychological tests of visual processing--Benton's Facial Recognition (FR), Judgment of Line Orientation (JLO), and Visual Form Discrimination (VFD)--were administered to subjects on the same day as routine ophthalmic examination. Seventeen subjects had Jaeger near vision of J5 (analogous to 20/50) or worse resulting from refractive error, while 13 control subjects had normal near vision of J1. Neuropsychological test scores of these groups were compared with each other and also the published standardization group for each test. Low near-vision subjects' performances on FR and VFD were significantly poorer than both control group subjects and standardization group subjects, but performance on JLO was not significantly altered. These results demonstrate that visual impairment can result in unexpectedly low scores on certain tests of visual processing, which suggests that poor vision might also affect results of other neuropsychological tests that involve vision, such as tests of visual processing and tests which use vision as a vehicle to deliver test stimuli to the relevant portions of the cortex. We therefore strongly urge examiners to secure control over potential bias resulting from reduced vision by instituting routine near visual acuity testing of all subjects prior to or during neuropsychological assessment.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

Neuropsychological test performance of children with ADHD relative to test norms and parent behavioral ratings.

Neuropsychological test performance relative to published norms and parent ratings was assessed archivally among 78 children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Despite average to low average IQs and academic achievement, the children performed poorly relative to test norms on most measures sensitive to fronto-executive functioning (span of attention, sustained attention, response inhibition, and working memory). They also performed poorly on most memory tests requiring free recall/retrieval, a skill dependent in part on intact frontal/subcortical functioning. In contrast, performance fell within the average to low average range on all measures of retention, although some mean scores fell significantly below normative means. In addition, higher levels of inattention or hyperactivity as assessed from parent reports were associated with worse performance on neuropsychological tests. That is, correlations calculated between neuropsychological test scores and parent ratings on the Adaptive Behavior Scale (ABS) were both significant at the P<.05 level and in the expected direction in 33% of the analyses for ratings of attention, in 43% of the analyses for ratings of hyperactivity, and in 5% of the analyses for ratings of persistence.

Journal Article↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A new assessment tool for neuropsychopharmacologic research: the Computerized Neuropsychological Test Battery.

The Computerized Neuropsychological Test Battery (CNTB), a new assessment tool for neuropsychopharmacologic research, is based on a neuropsychological approach. While it is based on tests previously shown to be sensitive to subtle changes in neuropsychological functioning, it differs from currently available tools for measuring central nervous system effects of new compounds. It has sensitivity to a broader range of cognitive functioning and is more comprehensive than other measurements in its sampling of neuropsychological functions, providing wider application to diverse clinical populations. The CNTB is valid, reliable, and has two alternative forms. Use of the computer as an expert system maximizes standardization and ease of CNTB administration and data analysis. Using this assessment tool, three groups of subjects were compared: young and elderly neurologically normal subjects and elderly subjects with the dementia syndrome of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The AD subjects' summary score on the CNTB correlated significantly with the Blessed Information Memory Concentration Test score. The CNTB summary score was significantly higher in young subjects than in neurologically normal elderly subjects, demonstrating sensitivity to the effects of aging. The CNTB summary score also was significantly higher in neurologically normal elderly subjects than in elderly subjects with AD dementia.

Adult↗