ERP correlates of error processing during performance on the Halstead Category Test.

The Halstead Category Test (HCT) is a neuropsychological test that measures a person's ability to formulate and apply abstract principles. Performance must be adjusted based on feedback after each trial and errors are common until the underlying rules are discovered. Event-related potential (ERP) studies associated with the HCT are lacking. This paper demonstrates the use of a methodology inspired on Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA) applied to EEG signals, to remove high amplitude ocular and movement artifacts during performance on the test. This filtering technique introduces no phase or latency distortions, with minimum loss of relevant EEG information. Importantly, the test was applied in its original clinical format, without introducing adaptations to ERP recordings. After signal treatment, the feedback-related negativity (FRN) wave, which is related to error-processing, was identified. This component peaked around 250ms, after feedback, in fronto-central electrodes. As expected, errors elicited more negative amplitudes than correct responses. Results are discussed in terms of the increased clinical potential that coupling ERP information with behavioral performance data can bring to the specificity of the HCT in diagnosing different types of impairment in frontal brain function.

Proposed schedule of usual and customary test administration times.

A survey was sent to 500 members of the National Academy of Neuropsychology (NAN) in order to tally clinical test evaluation times. A return of 118 useable responses resulted in the table of "clinical times" (e.g., time required to administer, score, interpret, and report) presented in this paper. These are proposed as a practical guide for billing third-party payers.

The effects of time of exposure on tactual performance test memory and location scores.

This study investigated the effects of length of exposure on Tactual Performance Test (TPT) memory and location scores. Forty-five normal, non-brain-injured adults 18 to 45 years old were administered the TPT. Results indicated a significant effect of TPT time on TPT memory and TPT location scores, suggesting that time to completion may be a significant predictor of outcome. The group completing the tasks most rapidly was also the group that most successfully remembered the shapes and their locations. Consequently, clinicians should not expect patients who do poorly on the problem-solving portion of the TPT to do well on the memory component, owing to their length of exposure to the apparatus.

Normative and validity data for the Missouri Children's Behavior Checklist.

Presented normative data, collected on an unselected sample of 302 7- and 9-year-old children, for the Missouri Children's Behavior Checklist. Boys were found to be rated as more deviant than girls, while age, occupation of head of household, and estimated IQ were found to be unrelated to checklist ratings of deviant behavior. The use of a cutting point on the Total Pathology Scale of the checklist derived from the normative data identified a group of clinic children, 89% of whom were found to be in need of professional attention. The potential usefulness of the checklist as an aid in making important clinical decisions is discussed, as is the need for more extensive normative data.

Concurrent validity of the Missouri Children's Picture Series.

Administered the Missouri Children's Picture Series, a nonverbal objective test of personality to a group of normal (N = 119) children and a group of institutionalized (N = 77) aggressive children. Several of the test scales differed significantly between the two groups. The test scales of Aggression and Maturity showed the most consistent and largest differences; the institutionalized children scored, as a group, higher on Aggression and lower on Maturity Level. IQ was found to be unrelated to test scores among the normal children, but was related significantly to personality test scores among the institutionalized children.