A-74Qualitative Performance of WAIS-III Block Design in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease (original) (raw)
Related papers
Quantifying qualitative features of Block Design performance among healthy older adults
Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 2001
Block Design tasks are neuropsychologically valuable, but standard scoring sacrifices potentially useful information that could elucidate the cognitive processes underlying performance failures. Qualitative indices that were proposed in the WAIS-R-NI [Kaplan, E., Fein, D., Morris, R., & Delis, D. (1991). The WAIS-R as a neuropsychological instrument [Manual]. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation] should help to remedy this situation but have received little research attention. We present WAIS-R Block Design data for 177 healthy older adults (aged 50 ± 90) incorporating several qualitative measures, outlining normative ranges and examining age differences. Proportional scoring, counts of single-block placement and rotation errors, counts of parameter-violating errors such as breaking configuration, and availability of implicit grid information all offer potentially valuable supplementary data that can enrich clinical interpretation of Block Design protocols.
Error analysis at the level of single moves in block design
Cognitive neuropsychology, 2004
The method of error analysis has been fruitfully applied to the performance of brain-damaged patients in a number of different domains. This approach has also been used for investigating the visuo-constructional abilities of neurological patients, but only in a limited fashion. In the present work we applied error analysis to the performance of three patients, each showing a different pattern of errors, and 12 controls on a modified version of the WAIS Block Design task. Data were collected about the single moves made by the subjects to arrive at a copy of the model, and errors were classified using 14 categories. The error patterns of the three patients were found to be reliably different and so putatively suggest different processing impairments. Patient BV showed errors possibly reflecting the lack, or absence, of a plan during the reproduction attempt. Patient GP mainly showed errors reflecting impairment in the processing of metric spatial relations, while patient VQ's errors were those predicted by impaired mental rotation ability. Overall, we showed that Block Design performance can be used productively in the investigation of spatial processing by means of the single-case approach.
Age effects on block design: Qualitative performance features and extended-time effects
Neuropsychology, 1994
Qualitative performance features and extended-time effects on the Block Design subtest of the WAIS-R were examined in 145 healthy Ss ages 50-95. Raw scores were calculated at standard and extended time limits; error types and starting points were recorded for a subgroup of Ss. In Ss age 60 and older, there was a consistent decline with age in overall scores at both time limits. Extra time allotments resulted in modest but significant increases in scores. Older and younger Ss benefited equally from the extra time, indicating that the age-related decline on this task cannot be accounted for by general age-related psychomotor slowing. Single-and multiblock rotation errors were relatively common, whereas stimulus boundedness and broken configurations were rare. Despite some potential limitations in generalizability, the results suggest that the incorporation of qualitative scoring procedures in the assessment of visuoconstructional skills may enhance understanding of normal and abnormal brain-behavior relationships. Age-associated declines in a variety of cognitive abilities are well established (e.g., Albert, Duffy, & Naeser, 1987; Manton, Siegler, & Woodbury, 1986). These declines do not pervade all areas of intellectual functioning; some functions remain intact or even improve with age. One commonly observed pattern of cognitive changes is the stability of many verbal abilities and a notable decrement in visuospatial and constructional abilities (e.g., as measured by some of the performance subtests of the Wechsler scales; Doppelt & Wallace, 1955; Wechsler, 1981). One possible explanation for relatively greater visuospatial decrements relates to the general slowing of information processing that occurs with age. Because many visuospatial tasks are timed and require motor responses, whereas most verbal tasks are untimed and require oral responses, relative declines on visuospatial tasks could possibly be explained by age-related reductions in psychomotor speed (e.g., Hertzog, 1989). There is some evidence, however, that a higher cognitive component is also involved in declining performance on these tasks (Birren, Woods, & Williams, 1980; Salthouse, 1985; Welford, 1984). For example, some researchers have found that when time constraints on cognitive tests are extended or eliminated, older subjects tend to benefit more than younger subjects, but the extra time does not appear to eliminate age differences (Doppelt & Wallace, 1955; Schaie, 1990). Additional support is derived from studies demon
Standards for achieving a comfortable design for the Alzheimer's patients pathways
E3S Web of Conferences, 2021
The elderly is an essential part of society because of their interaction with their surrounding environment and their personal experiences. They were categorized into several levels based on the physiological and psychological needs. Alzheimer's patients constitute a good percentage within society, but there is no accurate data. In cases where the patient suffers from a progressive lack of spatial awareness, studies have developed several criteria to study semi-open spaces intended for the elderly. However, it did not set design standards. Consequently, this paper examines the design standards and requirements for Alzheimer's patients. It is a virtual practical study that simulates optimal standards.
Untimed Design Fluency in Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease: Psychometrics and Normative Data
Applied Neuropsychology: Adult, 2015
Design fluency tests, commonly used in both clinical and research contexts to evaluate nonverbal concept generation, have the potential to offer useful information in the differentiation of healthy versus pathological aging. While normative data for older adults are available for multiple timed versions of this test, similar data have been unavailable for a previously published untimed task, the Graphic Pattern Generation Task (GPG). Time constraints common to almost all of the available design fluency tests may cloud interpretation of higher level executive abilities, for example in individuals with slow processing speed. The current study examined the psychometric properties of the GPG and presents normative data in a sample of 167 healthy older adults (OAs) and 110 individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Results suggest that a brief version of the GPG can be administered reliably, and that this short form has high test-retest and interrater reliability. Number of perseverations was higher in individuals with AD as compared to OAs. A cutoff score of 4 or more perseverations showed a moderate degree of sensitivity (76%) and specificity (37%) in distinguishing individuals with AD and OAs. Finally, perseverations were associated with nonmemory indices, underscoring the nonverbal nature of this error in OAs and individuals with AD.
Neuroscience, 2006
We studied the kinematics of shoulder displacement during sit-to-stand and back-to-sit in 6 healthy elderly subjects and six elderly subjects with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease in order to elucidate the impact of Alzheimer's disease on motor planning and control processes. During sit-to-stand, Alzheimer's disease subjects reduced their forward displacement and started their upward displacement earlier than healthy elderly subjects. Furthermore, shoulder path curvatures were more pronounced for upward compared with downward displacement in healthy elderly group, in contrast with Alzheimer's disease group. Temporal analysis found that: 1) for both groups, profiles of velocity of sit-to-stand and back-to-sit showed two peaks corresponding respectively to forward/upward and to downward/backward displacements, 2) peaks of velocity were almost comparable between the two groups, 3) duration of sit-to-stand was shorter than duration of back-to-sit in the two groups and 4) duration of sit-to-stand and back-to-sit was shorter in Alzheimer's disease group than in healthy elderly group. However, dissimilarities were observed for transition and deceleration phases during sit-to-stand, and for acceleration and transition phases during back-to-sit, between the two groups. Interestingly, while sit-to-stand and back-to-sit differed in healthy elderly subjects during transition and deceleration phases, such a difference was not observed for Alzheimer's disease subjects. So, our study showed that invariant spatio-temporal movement parameters in the two groups differed, while non-invariant parameters did not, and suggests that higher level motor process of whole body motions are affected by Alzheimer's disease, while lower level motor features remain intact.
Neurobiology of Aging, 2000
Visuoconstructional ability is an important domain for assessment in dementia. Use of graphomotor measures dominate this area; however, participants with low education produce results that cannot be easily interpreted. Our objective was to develop and validate a nongraphomotor assessment of visuoconstructional ability for use in dementia evaluations in persons with low or no education. In a longitudinal, population-based study of dementia among Yoruba residents of Ibadan, Nigeria aged 65 years and older, participants underwent clinical assessment with a battery of cognitive tests and consensus diagnosis. Performance on two visuoconstructional tests, Constructional Praxis and Stick Design, were compared. Gender, age, and education affected performance on both tests. The Stick Design test was more acceptable than Constructional Praxis as measured by the number of participants with total test failure (3.9% vs. 15.1%). The Stick Design test was significantly more sensitive to cognitive impairment and dementia than the Constructional Praxis test. We conclude that Stick Design is a reasonable test of visuoconstructional ability in older cohorts with very limited educational exposure and literacy.
Intelligence, 2006
Aging patterns in WAIS-R Block Design Test (BDT) were examined cross-sectionally and longitudinally. One sample (35-80 years, n = 1000) was assessed in 1988-1990 and five years later (836 returned). An independent cohort-matched sample (n = 974) was assessed at Time 2 to control for practice effects. Relations between BDT, gender, and education were examined. The cross-sectional analyses indicated a gradual age-related deterioration from 35 to 85 years. By contrast, the longitudinal data indicated stable performance from age 35 to 55, even when minor practice effects were adjusted for, and decline past age 55. Education-adjusted cross-sectional differences revealed similar patterns. A minor, age-and time invariant, male advantage was observed. Education predicted time-related change in BDT, such that higher education was associated with lesser decline. Collectively, the results demonstrate the need to control for cohort and retest effects in cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, and reveal interesting relations between BDT performance and demographic variables. D (M. Rö nnlund).
Journal of clinical and …, 2005
A brief paper-and-pencil instrument was developed to rapidly assess visuospatial ability and serve as an alterative to the WAIS Block Design subtests during screening or when assessment time is limited. The Design Organization Test (DOT) consists of square black-and-white grids with visual patterns similar to those of the Block Design subtests. Administration is straightforward and requires examinees to reproduce as many designs as possible in 2 minutes using a numerical code key. For 411 college students, alternate forms of the DOT yielded reliability estimates comparable to that of the test-retest reliability of WAIS-III Block Design subtest. In a clinical sample, the DOT was significantly correlated (r = .92) with WAIS-III Block Design scores and was successfully substituted in place of Block Design raw scores without significant change in Performance IQ or Full Scale IQ. The results suggest that the DOT provides a useful and rapid screening measure of visuospatial ability.