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The Differential Influence of Computerized Neuropsychological Assessment Across Psychopathology
Title
The Differential Influence of Computerized Neuropsychological Assessment Across Psychopathology
Creator
Singh, Shifali
Date
2020
Description
The method of administering neuropsychological assessments has transformed with the advent of novel technologies. The present study examined...
Show moreThe method of administering neuropsychological assessments has transformed with the advent of novel technologies. The present study examined how the manual versus computerized administration of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) influenced the relation between psychological symptom severity and performance on the WCST, using perseverative responses and failures to maintain set (FMS) subscales. The Dot Counting Test, Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, and SUPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale were used to measure performance validity, depression and anxiety, and impulsivity. Eighty-five participants were recruited from the Chicagoland area. Participants reported their age, gender, handedness, education, ethnicity, computer and smartphone familiarity, and medication use. Age ranged from 18 to 66 years (mean (SD) = 34.3 (15.8)), and 49.4% were recruited from an outpatient facility. For perseverative responses, both method of administration of the WCST were equivalent regardless of psychological symptom severity. For FMS, method of administration itself influenced performance, and particularly the impact of impulsivity symptom severity on FMS. Specifically, method of administration significantly moderated the relationship between FMS and Lack of Perseverance, Sensation Seeking, and Positive Urgency. There were also significant main effects between FMS, Lack of Perseverance, and Positive Urgency. The findings from this study suggest that the equivalence between the manual and computerized versions of the WCST depends on the WCST subscale and the type of psychological symptom. New normative data need to be developed for the computerized WCST, along with a more consistent method of scoring and interpreting WCST subscales.
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SPECIFICITY OF DEFICITS IN EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING IN YOUTH WITH NONVERBAL LEARNING DISABILITY, ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER AND READING DISORDER
Title
SPECIFICITY OF DEFICITS IN EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING IN YOUTH WITH NONVERBAL LEARNING DISABILITY, ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER AND READING DISORDER
Creator
McCue, Kimberly Ann
Date
2021
Description
Nonverbal Learning Disability (NLD) has been the focus of four decades of neuropsychological research. However, it has yet to be included as a...
Show moreNonverbal Learning Disability (NLD) has been the focus of four decades of neuropsychological research. However, it has yet to be included as a diagnostic category in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (i.e., currently in its fifth edition, DSM-5, American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Many of the characteristics associated with Nonverbal Learning Disorder (NLD) are similar to those found in other more established disorders such as Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Specific Learning Disorders (SLD), and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Recent research in neuropsychology and other fields has contributed to a greater understanding of the cognitive profiles of NLD, ADHD, and Reading Disorder (RD). However, the neurological underpinnings of deficits in executive functioning specific to NLD versus ADHD and RD have yet to be fully elucidated. Ongoing research has failed to distinguish NLD from other childhood disorders, including ADHD, based on specific structural or functional neurological deficits. The current study examined the specificity of deficits in executive functioning in youth with nonverbal learning disability, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and reading disorder. In addition, the study examined the degree to which the Rey Complex Figure Test subscales and Processing Speed Index (PSI) and Working Memory Index (WMI) scores (WISC-IV or WISC-III) could discriminate between the NLD group from ADHD and RD groups. Data for the present study were collected from a population served by the Pediatric Neuropsychological Service at The University of Chicago Medicine. Children who had been referred for neuropsychological assessment and whose comprehensive battery included a WISC measure (WISC-III or WISC-IV) and RCFT measurements were included. All data were archival, i.e., gleaned from the Service database; data from 202 participants was retrieved, including youth who underwent neuropsychological evaluation between 2003 and 2016. The present study hypothesized differences between NLD, ADHD, and RD diagnostic groups on visuo-spatial planning/organization, visuo-spatial working memory, long-term visuo-spatial recall, visuo-spatial recognition, verbal working memory, and processing speed. In summary, of the six executive function domains examined, two domains showed significant underperformance for the NLD group, two domains showed a non-significant trend of underperformance for the NLD group and two domains did not show significant differences between diagnostic groups.
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Toward a Network Model of Executive Functioning
Title
Toward a Network Model of Executive Functioning
Creator
Fuller, Jordan S.
Date
2023
Description
The executive functions are the higher-order mental processes that are responsible for organized, strategic behavior. These functions have...
Show moreThe executive functions are the higher-order mental processes that are responsible for organized, strategic behavior. These functions have been a source of significant controversy since their initial introduction. This study sought to create a model of the executive functions utilizing psychological network analysis. Participants completed six measures reflecting inhibition, task switching, and working memory updating, as well as a fluid intelligence measure. A processing speed index was calculated from non-executive trials of various measures. Four networks were generated, including an executive functions network, an executive functions and intelligence network, an executive functions and processing speed network, and a network with all variables included. The resulting networks contained no stable edges between the executive functioning tasks. Stable edges were identified between the intelligence node and the two nodes reflecting working memory updating. There was an additional edge identified between processing speed and one measure of task switching. Results of the study may indicate that there is relative independence among executive functions. However, the management of task impurity in a psychological network analysis also merits further investigation.
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