- Email: [email protected]
Tower of London performance in children and adolescents: Relationships to neuropsychological measures of frontal lobe functioning
314
Abstracts of l4th Annual Meeting
collapsed into one nonsimulating group. Using RMT scores, 87.5% of the nonsimulators and 75% of the simulators were correctly classified. Ninty percent of the nonsimulators and 62.5% of the simulators were correctly classified with the RAVLT. Merits of forced choice measures and free recall measures in detecting feigned memory deficits are discussed.
Cuibertson, W. C., & Zillmer, E. A. Tower of London Performance in Children and Adolescents: Relationships to Neuropsychological Measures of Frontal Lobe Functioning. Recent research attention has focused on issues of frontal lobe development and deficits in younger populations. However, relatively few neuropsychological techniques have evolved that assess emerging frontal lobe functioning in children and adolescents. The purpose of the present study was to examine the usefulness of the Tower of London Task as a measure of executive, higher-order problem-solving. Specifically, 70 school-aged children and adolescents (age range 7-15) with attention, activity, or impulse concerns were evaluated. The neuropsychological battery included the Tower of London Task, WCST, WISC-III, Trail Making Test A and B, Computerized Mazes, Delayed Response Test, Stroop Color and Word Test, Switching Attention Test, Continuous Performance Test, and Selective Reminding Test. Parent and teachers completed rating scales of behavioral problems and distress including the Child Behavioral Checklist for Ages 4-18, Teacher's Report Form and Conners' Rating Scales. Results indicated significant relationships between Tower of London performance (number of moves, time, and rule violations) and neuropsychological measures of planning (Computerized Mazes), concept formation and cognitive flexibility (WCST), impulsivity/response inhibition (Stroop Color and Word Test), response shifting (Switching Attention Test) and attention (Continuous Performance Test). The Tower of London performance was relatively independent of measures of psychometric intelligence (for example, WlSC-III Information, Similarities, Picture Completion and Coding), memory (Selective Reminding Test) and parent/teacher rating scales. Results suggest that the Tower of London Task has potential to be a meaningful measure of higher-order problem-solving (independent of intelligence) in younger populations and may be a purer measure of executive planning compared to other frontal lobe tests which appear more specific to functions of abstraction, mental flexibility, response regulation, and attention allocation. Due to its ease of administration, brevity, and game-like appeal, it is well-tolerated among younger subjects. Theoretical issues and practical implications regarding the neurological assessment of frontal lobe functioning in younger populations will be presented. Culotta, V. P., Bernard, M., & Sellman, M. S. Early Detection and Management of Neurocognitive Impairment in Patients with SLE.
Abstracts of l4th Annual Meeting
collapsed into one nonsimulating group. Using RMT scores, 87.5% of the nonsimulators and 75% of the simulators were correctly classified. Ninty percent of the nonsimulators and 62.5% of the simulators were correctly classified with the RAVLT. Merits of forced choice measures and free recall measures in detecting feigned memory deficits are discussed.
Cuibertson, W. C., & Zillmer, E. A. Tower of London Performance in Children and Adolescents: Relationships to Neuropsychological Measures of Frontal Lobe Functioning. Recent research attention has focused on issues of frontal lobe development and deficits in younger populations. However, relatively few neuropsychological techniques have evolved that assess emerging frontal lobe functioning in children and adolescents. The purpose of the present study was to examine the usefulness of the Tower of London Task as a measure of executive, higher-order problem-solving. Specifically, 70 school-aged children and adolescents (age range 7-15) with attention, activity, or impulse concerns were evaluated. The neuropsychological battery included the Tower of London Task, WCST, WISC-III, Trail Making Test A and B, Computerized Mazes, Delayed Response Test, Stroop Color and Word Test, Switching Attention Test, Continuous Performance Test, and Selective Reminding Test. Parent and teachers completed rating scales of behavioral problems and distress including the Child Behavioral Checklist for Ages 4-18, Teacher's Report Form and Conners' Rating Scales. Results indicated significant relationships between Tower of London performance (number of moves, time, and rule violations) and neuropsychological measures of planning (Computerized Mazes), concept formation and cognitive flexibility (WCST), impulsivity/response inhibition (Stroop Color and Word Test), response shifting (Switching Attention Test) and attention (Continuous Performance Test). The Tower of London performance was relatively independent of measures of psychometric intelligence (for example, WlSC-III Information, Similarities, Picture Completion and Coding), memory (Selective Reminding Test) and parent/teacher rating scales. Results suggest that the Tower of London Task has potential to be a meaningful measure of higher-order problem-solving (independent of intelligence) in younger populations and may be a purer measure of executive planning compared to other frontal lobe tests which appear more specific to functions of abstraction, mental flexibility, response regulation, and attention allocation. Due to its ease of administration, brevity, and game-like appeal, it is well-tolerated among younger subjects. Theoretical issues and practical implications regarding the neurological assessment of frontal lobe functioning in younger populations will be presented. Culotta, V. P., Bernard, M., & Sellman, M. S. Early Detection and Management of Neurocognitive Impairment in Patients with SLE.