Table 1.
Tests Used to Define Neurocognitive Dysfunction
| Domain | Measure | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working Memory | Digit Span | Age-appropriate Wechsler Intelligence Scale 1,2 | Ability to repeat back in order, or in a re-sequenced order, increasingly difficult strings of numbers |
| Letter-Number Sequencing | Age-appropriate Wechsler Intelligence Scale 1,2 | Ability to mentally resequence a series of letters and numbers before repeating them back | |
| Psychomotor Speed | Coding | Age-appropriate Wechsler Intelligence Scale 1,2 | Test-takers “decode” and transcribe a series of symbols as quickly as possible |
| Symbol Search | Age-appropriate Wechsler Intelligence Scale 1,2 | Score reflects speed and accuracy of test-takers’ visual search for matches in rows of symbols | |
| Attention | Hit Reaction Time Standard Error | Conners Continuous Performance Test II 3 | On a 15-minute-long boring task, the variability in reaction time to specific letters flashing on screen |
| Inhibition vs. Color Naming Score | Delis-Kaplan Executive Functioning System 4 | Relative ability to focus on the color of the ink in which a conflicting color word is printed (e.g., “blue” written in red ink). | |
| Visuoconstructive Abilities | Block Design | Wechsler Abbreviated Scales of Intelligence 5 | Ability to efficiently reproduce colored line drawings using blocks with sides that have varying patterns |
| Block Counting | Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children6,7 | Ability to mentally represent the volume of a 3-dimensional block construction printed in 2-dimensional space. | |
Wechlser, D. 2003. Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Fourth Edition. Harcourt Assessment, Inc, San Antonio, TX.
Wechsler, D. 2008. Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – Fourth Edition. NCS Pearson, San Antonio, TX.
Conners, C. 2004. Conners’ Continuous Performance Test II N. Tonawanda, NY
Delis, D. C., E. Kaplan, and J. H. Kramer. 2001. The Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System: Technical Manual. . San Antonio
Wechsler, D. 1999. Wechsler abbreviated scale of intelligence : WASI. Psychological Corporation, Harcourt Brace, San Antonio .
Daleo, D. V., B. R. Lopez, J. C. Cole, A. S. Kaufman, N. L. Kaufman, B. L. Newcomer, and C. E. Murphy. 1999. K-ABC simultaneous processing, DAS nonverbal reasoning, and Horn's expanded fluid-crystallized theory. Psychol Rep 84:563-574.
Kaufman, A. S., M. R. O'Neal, A. H. Avant, and S. W. Long. 1987. Introduction to the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) for pediatric neuroclinicians. J Child Neurol 2:3-16.