Symbol Digit Modalities Test incidental learning: Concurrent validity and clinical utility.

This project examined the Incidental Learning (IL) procedure from the Symbol-Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) as both a screening tool and as a measure of memory. Participants included undergraduate college students and stroke- and dementia-free older adult volunteers with and without hypertension or chronic kidney disease. In each sample, IL scores were correlated with performances from a variety of cognitive tasks.

Cross-validation of the WAIS-IV Similarities incidental learning task.

The incidental learning index based on Similarities subtest (IL-Sim) from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test-Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) has shown promise as a screening measure for memory impairment. We aimed to examine the reliability, convergent and divergent validity, and the utility of IL-Sim index in classifying at least mild and severe memory impairment. One hundred and fifty-three Veterans completed the WAIS-IV Similarities subtest and Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) as part of their clinical evaluations.

A quantitative review of competing learning slope metrics: effects of age, sex, and clinical diagnosis.

Introduction: In learning and memory tests that involve multiple presentations of the same material, learning slope refers to the degree to which examinees improve performances over successive learning trials. We aimed to quantitatively review the traditional raw learning slope (RLS), and the newly created learning ratio (LR) to understand the effects of demographic variables and clinical diagnoses on learning slope (e.g.

Preliminary findings from reevaluating the MMPI Response Bias Scale items in veterans undergoing neuropsychological evaluation.

The Response Bias Scale (RBS) was developed to predict non-credible cognitive presentations among disability claimants without head injury. Developers used empirical keying, which is independent of apparent content, to select items from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) item pool that distinguished between individuals passing or failing performance validity tests (PVTs). No study has examined which of these items would have psychometric value when used in clinical neuropsychological evaluations.

Using supplemental memory measures to refine interpretation of the repeatable battery for the assessment of neuropsychological status.

The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) is frequently used as a cognitive screening measure or as part of a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. Augmenting the current memory subtests of the RBANS to reflect clinically meaningful distinctions in memory performance may improve its clinical utility, allowing users to generate additional hypotheses and refine clinical interpretations. We pilot four supplementary memory measures to use with the RBANS, adapted from paradigms commonly used by other neuropsychological tests.

Preliminary Validation of the Learning Ratio for the HVLT-R and BVMT-R in Older Adults.

Background: The learning slope is typically represented as the raw difference between the final score and the score of the first learning trial. A new method for calculating the learning slope, the learning ratio (LR), was recently developed; it is typically represented as the number of items that are learned after the first trial divided by the number of items that are yet to be learned.

Objective: To evaluate the convergent and criterion validity of the LR in order to understand its sensitivity to Alzheimer disease (AD) pathology.

The Savage Organizational Scoring System for the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test: Norms and New Data From Veterans in a Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic.

The Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (RCFT) permits quantifying diverse cognitive abilities, including executive function (EF). We evaluated the psychometric properties of a scoring procedure for the RCFT, the Savage Organizational Scoring System (SOSS), that awards points for drawing the largest structural elements of the figures as continuous wholes. This was a two-phase study: first, we conducted a systematic literature search for studies using the SOSS, and aggregated previously published data for healthy controls to create a normative database; second, we observed performances from veterans evaluated for traumatic brain injury (TBI), examining the reliability of their SOSS scores, the SOSS correlations with two EF measures and the participants' self-reported cognitive functioning, and then compared their mean scores to normative expectations.

Relationship between a novel learning slope metric and Alzheimer's disease biomarkers.

The Learning Ratio (LR) is a novel learning score examining the proportion of information learned over successive learning trials relative to information available to be learned. Validation is warranted to understand LR's sensitivity to Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. One-hundred twenty-three participants across the AD continuum underwent memory assessment, quantitative brain imaging, and genetic analysis.

Validation of HVLT-R, BVMT-R, and RBANS Learning Slope Scores along the Alzheimer's Continuum.

Background: The learning ratio (LR) is a novel learning slope score that has been developed to reduce the inherent competition between the first trial and subsequent trials in traditional learning slopes. In essence, the LR is the number of items learned after the first trial divided by the number of items yet to be learned. Criterion and convergent validation of this LR score is warranted to understand its sensitivity along the Alzheimer's disease (AD) continuum.

Developing learning slope scores for the repeatable battery for the assessment of neuropsychological status.

Initial learning and learning slope are often acknowledged as important qualitative aspects of learning, but the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) contains discrete indices for neither. The traditional method of calculating learning slope involves a difference score between the last trial and first trial, which is referred to as raw learning score (RLS). However, this method does not account for initial Trial One performance and produces a ceiling effect that penalizes efficient first learners.

Validating the usefulness of the NSI validity-10 with the MMPI-2-RF.

The Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory (NSI) is a 22-item self-report measure created to quantify the somatosensory, cognitive, and affective symptoms of Post-concussive Syndrome. Developers of the NSI used a subset of 10 items, the Validty-10, to measure symptom overreporting. We compared the Validity-10 versus the remaining NSI items (i.

Minimal benefit to extending the stroop Interference Task among individuals undergoing outpatient assessment.

The third trial of Golden's Stroop Color and Word Test (SCWT), which involves identifying the color of words printed in a color that contrasts with its spelling, is usually limited to 45 seconds. Some authors have opined on the benefits of extending this portion of the test beyond 45 seconds to increase sensitivity to cognitive deficits and preliminary data among healthy individuals support this notion. This project examined possible benefits of extending the test beyond the standard 45 second time limit.