TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a set of measures of attentiveness and concentration: VISUAL and AUDITORY, and discuss methodological concepts in neuropsychology practice, as well as the effect of methodological concepts on neuropsychological practice.
Abstract: PART 1: BACKGROUND 1. Introduction 2. Use of methodological concepts in neuropsychology practice 3. Statistical and psychometric issues PART 2: TESTS OF ATTENTION AND CONCENTRATION: VISUAL AND AUDITORY 4. Trailmaking test 5. Color Trails test 6. Stroop test 7. Auditory Consonant Trigrams 8. Paced Auditory Serial Addition test 9. Cancellation tests PART 3: LANGUAGE 10. Boston Naming test 11. Verbal Fluency test PART 4: PERCEPTUAL ORGANIZATION: VISUOSPATIAL AND TACTILE 12. Rey-Osterrieth Complex figure 13. Hooper Visual Organization test 14. Visual Form Discrimination test 15. Judgement of Line Orientation 16. Design Fluency tests 17. Tactual Performance test PART 5: VERBAL AND VISUAL LEARNING AND MEMORY 18. Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS-R, WMS-III, and WMS-IIIA) 19. List-Learning tests 20. Benton Visual Retention test PART 6: MOTOR FUNCTIONS 21. Finger Tapping tests 22. Grip Strength test (Hand Dynamometer) 23. Grooved Pegboard test PART 7: CONCEPT FORMATION AND REASONING 24. Category test 25. Wisconsin Card Sorting test
TL;DR: Normative values for the Finger Tapping and Grooved Pegboard Tests were developed on a sample of 360 normal volunteers stratified according to gender, three educational groups ranging from 7 to 22 years, and four age groups subdivided between the ages of 16 to 70 years.
Abstract: Normative values for the Finger Tapping and Grooved Pegboard Tests were developed on a sample of 360 normal volunteers stratified according to gender, three educational groups ranging from 7 to 22 years, and four age groups subdivided between the ages of 16 to 70 years. Retest reliability was estimated for both measures. The Finger Tapping Test showed significant gender differences, since women were substantially slower, particularly in the older age groups. On the Grooved Pegboard Test, a converse gender difference was noted, since women were substantially faster than men. A smaller effect with increasing age resulted, and better educated individuals performed faster. If these motor and visuomotor tests are to be applied, then stratified normative estimates need to be implemented to provide viable clinical judgements.
TL;DR: The Rolyan® 9-Hole Peg Test (9-HPT) was a simple, efficient, and low-cost measure of manual dexterity appropriate for administration across the age range and recommended for inclusion in the motor battery of the NIH Toolbox.
TL;DR: Results confirmed previously noted hand and sex differences in the Place task of the Grooved Pegboard Test, as well as the lack of effect of handedness on performance, and indicated that the Remove task was sensitive to sex and handedness effects.
TL;DR: The findings suggest that the motor deficits observed in autism may not be related to structural abnormalities of the basal ganglia, and other brain regions, such as the cerebellum and the frontal lobe, may be involved in the pathophysiology of motor disturbances in autism.
Abstract: This study was conducted to examine the volume of the basal ganglia in individuals with autism and to evaluate whether performance on specific motor tasks correlated with the volume of these structures. Volumetric measurements of the caudate nucleus and putamen were obtained from magnetic resonance images (MRI) of 40 non-mentally retarded individuals with autism and 41 healthy controls. Motor performance was assessed in these subjects by using the Finger Tapping Test, the Grooved Pegboard Test, and the measurement of Grip Strength. No volumetric differences of the basal ganglia were found between the two groups after adjusting for brain volume. The autistic subjects' performance was slower on the Grooved Pegboard Test and weaker on Grip Strength. Our findings suggest that the motor deficits observed in autism may not be related to structural abnormalities of the basal ganglia, and other brain regions, such as the cerebellum and the frontal lobe, may be involved in the pathophysiology of motor disturbances in autism.