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Neuropsychological Tests
Neuropsychological tests are specifically designed tasks that are used to measure a psychological function known to be linked to a particular brain structure or pathway. Tests are used for research into brain function and in a clinical setting for the diagnosis of deficits. They usually involve the systematic administration of clearly defined procedures in a formal environment. Neuropsychological tests are typically administered to a single person working with an examiner in a quiet office environment, free from distractions. As such, it can be argued that neuropsychological tests at times offer an estimate of a person's peak level of cognitive performance. Neuropsychological tests are a core component of the process of conducting neuropsychological assessment, along with personal, interpersonal and contextual factors. Most neuropsychological tests in current use are based on traditional psychometric theory. In this model, a person's raw score on a test is compared to a large ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brain
The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for special senses such as visual perception, vision, hearing, and olfaction. Being the most specialized organ, it is responsible for receiving information from the sensory nervous system, processing that information (thought, cognition, and intelligence) and the coordination of motor control (muscle activity and endocrine system). While invertebrate brains arise from paired segmental ganglia (each of which is only responsible for the respective segmentation (biology), body segment) of the ventral nerve cord, vertebrate brains develop axially from the midline dorsal nerve cord as a brain vesicle, vesicular enlargement at the rostral (anatomical term), rostral end of the neural tube, with centralized control over all body segments. All vertebr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Working Memory
Working memory is a cognitive system with a limited capacity that can Memory, hold information temporarily. It is important for reasoning and the guidance of decision-making and behavior. Working memory is often used synonymously with short-term memory, but some theorists consider the two forms of memory distinct, assuming that working memory allows for the manipulation of stored information, whereas short-term memory only refers to the short-term storage of information. Working memory is a theoretical concept central to cognitive psychology, neuropsychology, and neuroscience. History The term "working memory" was coined by George Armitage Miller, Miller, Eugene Galanter, Galanter, and Karl H. Pribram, Pribram, and was used in the 1960s in the context of Computational theory of mind, theories that likened the mind to a computer. In 1968, Atkinson–Shiffrin memory model, Atkinson and Shiffrin used the term to describe their "short-term store". The term short-term store was the na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test
Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) is a neuropsychological test used to assess capacity and rate of information processing and sustained and divided attention. Originally the test was known as the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT). The subjects are given in the version used as part of the Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite a number every 3 seconds and are asked to add the number they just heard with the number they heard before. This is a challenging task that involves working memory, attention and arithmetic capabilities. Versions with numbers presented every 2 seconds are also available. The original version presented the numbers every 2.4 seconds with 0.4 decrements for subsequent trials. The PASAT was originally developed for use in evaluating patients with head injury. The advantage in this population was supposed to be minimal practice effects. This test has been widely used in other conditions besides traumatic brain injury. Multiple sclerosis It ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hayling And Brixton Tests
The Hayling and Brixton testsBurgess, P. & Shallice, T. (1997) ''The Hayling and Brixton Tests. Test manual.'' Bury St Edmunds, UK: Thames Valley Test Company. are neuropsychological tests of executive function created by psychologists Paul W. Burgess and Tim Shallice. It is composed of two tests, the Hayling Sentence Completion Test and the Brixton Spatial Awareness Test. The Hayling Sentence Completion Test The Hayling Sentence Completion test is a measure of response initiation and response suppression. It consists of two sets of 15 sentences each having the last word missing. In the first section the examiner reads each sentence aloud and the participant has to simply complete the sentences, yielding a simple measure of response initiation speed. The second part of the Hayling requires participants to complete a sentence with a nonsense ending word (and suppress a sensible one), giving measures of response suppression ability and thinking time. This test is entirely spoken ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Delis–Kaplan Executive Function System
The Delis–Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) is a neuropsychological test used to measure a variety of verbal and nonverbal executive functions for both children and adults (ages 8–89 years). This assessment was developed over the span of a decade by Dean Delis, Edith Kaplan, and Joel Kramer, and it was published in 2001. The D-KEFS comprises nine tests that were designed to stand alone. Therefore, there are no aggregate measures or composite scores for an examinee's performance. A vast majority of these tests are modified, pre-existing measures (e.g., the Trail Making Test); however, some of these measures are new indices of executive functions (e.g., Word Context Test). Nine tests This measure consists of the following subtests: * The ''Trail Making Test'' measures flexibility of thinking on a visual-motor sequencing task * The ''Verbal Fluency Test'' measures letter fluency, category fluency, and category switching * The ''Design Fluency Test'' measures one's init ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
D2 Test Of Attention
The d2 Test of Attention is a neuropsychological measure of selective and sustained attention and visual scanning speed. It is a paper and pencil test that asks participants to cross out any letter "d" with two marks around above it or below it in any order. The surrounding distractors are usually similar to the target stimulus, for example a "p" with two marks or a "d" with one or three marks. The original version of the test was created by Brickenkamp (1981) in Germany as a cancellation task. A meta-analysis, published in ''Personality and Individual Differences ''Personality and Individual Differences'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published 16 times per year by Elsevier. It was established in 1980 by Pergamon Press and is the official journal of the International Society for the Study of Individ ...'', found that adults have shown increasing scores in selective attention over the past three decades, as measured by the d2 Test of Attention. References Further readin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Continuous Performance Task
A continuous performance task, continuous performance test, or CPT, is any of several kinds of neuropsychological test that measures a person's sustained and selective attention. Sustained attention is the ability to maintain a consistent focus on some continuous activity or stimuli, and is associated with impulsivity. Selective attention is the ability to focus on relevant stimuli and ignore competing stimuli. This skill is associated with distractibility.Conners, C.K. & MHS Staff. (Eds.) (2000) Conners' Continuous Performance Test II: Computer Program for Windows Technical Guide and Software Manual. North Tonawanda, NY: Multi-Health Systems. There are a variety of CPTs, the more commonly used being the Integrated Visual and Auditory CPT (IVA-2), Test of Variables of Attention (T.O.V.A.) and the Conners' CPT-III. These attention tests are often used as part of a battery of tests to understand a person's 'executive functioning' or their capacity to sort and manage information. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Executive Functions
In cognitive science and neuropsychology, executive functions (collectively referred to as executive function and cognitive control) are a set of cognitive processes that support goal-directed behavior, by regulating thoughts and actions through cognitive control, selecting and successfully monitoring actions that facilitate the attainment of chosen objectives. Executive functions include basic cognitive processes such as attentional control, cognitive inhibition, inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. Higher-order executive functions require the simultaneous use of multiple basic executive functions and include planning and fluid intelligence (e.g., reasoning and problem-solving). Executive functions gradually develop and change across the lifespan of an individual and can be improved at any time over the course of a person's life. Similarly, these cognitive processes can be adversely affected by a variety of events which affect an individual. Bot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boston Naming Test
The Boston Naming Test (BNT), introduced in 1983 by Edith Kaplan, Harold Goodglass and Sandra Weintraub, is a widely used neuropsychological assessment tool to measure confrontational word retrieval in individuals with aphasia or other language disturbance caused by stroke, Alzheimer's disease, or other dementing disorder. A common and debilitating feature is anomic aphasia, an impairment in the ability to name objects. The BNT contains 60 line drawings graded in difficulty. Patients with anomia often have greater difficulties with the naming of not only difficult and low frequency objects but also easy and high frequency objects. Naming difficulties may be rank ordered along a continuum. Items are rank ordered in terms of their ability to be named, which is correlated with their frequency. This type of picture-naming test is also useful in the examination of children with learning disabilities and the evaluation of brain-injured adults. Instructions for administration The 60-ite ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination
The Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination is a neuropsychological battery used to evaluate adults suspected of having aphasia, and is currently in its third edition. It was created by Harold Goodglass and Edith Kaplan. The exam evaluates language skills based on perceptual modalities (auditory, visual, and gestural), processing functions (comprehension, analysis, problem-solving), and response modalities (writing, articulation, and manipulation). Administration time ranges from 20 to 45 minutes for the shortened version but it can last up to 120 minutes for the extended version of the assessment. There are five subtests which include: conversational & expository speech, auditory comprehension, oral expression, reading, and writing. In the extended version all questions are asked while in the shortened version only a few questions are asked within each subtest. Many other tests are sometimes used by neurologists and speech language pathologists on a case-by-case basis, and othe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wechsler Memory Scale
The Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS) is a neuropsychological test designed to measure different memory functions in a person. Anyone ages 16 to 90 is eligible to take this test. The current version is the fourth edition (WMS-IV) which was published in 2009 and which was designed to be used with the WAIS-IV. A person's performance is reported as five Index Scores: Auditory Memory, Visual Memory, Visual Working Memory, Immediate Memory, and Delayed Memory. The WMS-IV also incorporates an optional cognitive exam (Brief Cognitive Status Exam) that helps to assess global cognitive functioning in people with suspected memory deficits or those who have been diagnosed with a various neural, psychiatric and/or developmental disorders. This may include conditions such as dementias or mild learning difficulties. There is clear evidence that the WMS differentiates clinical groups (such as those with dementias or neurological disorders) from those with normal memory functioning and that the primary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
