Neurosychological - Cognitive Tests

The Brain Resource Company (BRC) testing protocol used by Brain Profiling includes traditional neuropsychological tests listed in references and the overview. The tests are commonly used in neuropsychological assessment and have an extensive clinical and research history and show good reliability and validity for their intended application (Lezak, 1995; Mitrushina et al., 1999).

BRC tests are essentially the same as the traditional manual neuropsychological pencil and paper versions, except the content and interface are not. For example, BRCs verbal memory test contains its own proprietary word lists (and norms) which have different list lengths and contain different word items compared to the traditional equivalents, e.g., Rey Auditory Verbal Learning test, Wechsler Memory test. For other tests that rely on visuo-spatial patterns BRC uses a different pattern and response modality to the traditional "pencil and paper" test equivalent. This eliminates any practice effects that may occur in subjects who have completed the traditional "pencil and paper" test equivalent or prior BRC test versions.

The tests in the BRC battery differ in that they have been adapted for a computerized and automated format. This utilizes a unique computer bio--behavioral interface. This provides significant advantages over traditional manual and pencil and paper versions, and an unsurpassed level of sensitivity and standardization. This includes being immune to examiner biases and practice effects that can occur with pencil and paper versions, precise measurement of aspects of performance not possible through traditional means (e.g., latency, strength, and variability in response patterns) and human observation (e.g., milliseconds, millimetres), and ensures precise standardized control over the presentation of test stimuli, thereby increasing test reliability (APA, 1987; Schatz & Browndyke, 2002).

BRCs approach is consistent with the evolution of neuropsychological tests which are increasingly being computerized (Epstein & Klinkenberg, 2001; Erlanger et al., 2002; Kane & Kay, 1992; Luciana, 2003; Schatz & Browndyke, 2002). The efficiencies created by eliminating extensive setup and/or preparation time that would normally be required with the presentation of complex tests reduces the effects of fatigue which can often occur in the traditional tests.

The BRC tests show high sensitivity, and reliability and validity coefficients with their traditional "pencil and paper" test equivalents (Clark et al., 2006b; Paul et al., 2005b; Williams et al., 2005). They have been published and peer reviewed in scientific journals and they fulfil international standards and criteria (Alexander et al., 2006; APA, 1987; Brickman et al., 2005; Clark et al., 2006a; Cooper et al., 2005; Gordon, 2003; Gordon et al., 2003; 2005; Grieve et al., 2006; Gunstad et al., 2006b; 2006a; 2006c; Hermens et al., 2004; 2005a; 2005c; 2005b; 2006; Keage et al., 2006; Kemp et al., 2005b; 2005a; Liddell et al., 2004; McFarlane et al., 2005; Paul et al., 2005a; 2006; 2005b; Rowe & Hermens, 2006; Rowe, 2005; Veltmeyer et al., 2005; 2006; Whitford et al., 2006; Williams et al., 2004a; 2004b; 2005; Wong et al., 2006).

References

Alexander, DM, Arns, MW, Paul, RH, Rowe, DL, Cooper, N, Esser, AH, Fallahpour, K, Stephan, BC, Heesen, E, Breteler, R, Williams, LM, and Gordon, E (2006). EEG markers for cognitive decline in elderly subjects with subjective memory complaints. Journal of Integrative Neuroscience , 5 , 49-74.

APA (1987). Guidelines for computer based tests and interpretations. American Psychological Association.

Brickman, AM, Paul, RH, Cohen, RA, Williams, LM, MacGregor, KL, Jefferson, AL, Tate, DF, Gunstad, J, and Gordon, E (2005). Category and letter verbal fluency across the adult lifespan: relationship to EEG theta power. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology , 20 , 561-573.

Clark, CR, Paul, RH, Williams, LM, Arns, M, Fallahpour, K, Handmer, C, and Gordon, E (2006a). Development of ageing across the lifespan using common neuropsychological indices on an automated test battery. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology , in press .

Clark, CR, Paul, RH, Williams, LM, Arns, M, Fallahpour, K, Handmer, C, and Gordon, E (2006b). Standardized assessment of cognitive functioning during development and aging using an automated touchscreen battery. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology , 21 , 449-467.

Cooper, NJ, Keage, H, Hermens, D, Williams, LM, Debrota, D, Clark, CR, and Gordon, E (2005). The dose-dependent effect of methylphenidate on performance, cognition and psychophysiology. Journal of Integrative Neuroscience , 4 , 123-144.

Epstein, J and Klinkenberg, WD (2001). From Eliza to Internet: A brief history of computerized assessment. Computers in Human Behavior , 17 , 295-314.

Erlanger, DM, Kaushik, T, Broshek, D, Freeman, J, Feldman, D, and Festa, J (2002). Development and validation of a web-based screening tool for monitoring cognitive status. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation 17(5):458-76 .

Gordon, E (2003). Integrative neuroscience. Neuropsychopharmacology , 28 , Suppl-8.

Gordon, E, Cooper, N, Rennie, C, Hermens, D, and Williams, LM (2003). Integrative neuroscience: the role of a standardised database. Australasian Psychiatry , 11 , 156-163.

Gordon, E, Cooper, N, Rennie, C, Hermens, D, and Williams, LM (2005). Integrative neuroscience: the role of a standardized database. Clinical EEG & Neuroscience: Official Journal of the EEG & Clinical Neuroscience Society (ENCS) , 36 , 64-75.

Grieve, S, Williams, L, Paul, RH, Clark, CR, and Gordon, E (2006). Cognitive aging, executive function and fractional anisotropy: A Diffusion Tensor MRI study. American Journal of Neuroradiology , in press .

Gunstad, J, Paul, RH, Cohen, RA, Tate, DF, and Gordon, E (2006a). Obesity is associated with memory deficits in young and middle-aged adults. Eating & Weight Disorders: EWD , 11 , e15-e19.

Gunstad, J, Spitznagel, MB, Luyster, FS, Cohen, RA, and Paul, RH (2006b). Handedness and Cognition Across the Healthy Lifespan. Int J Neurosci , in press .

Gunstad, J, Paul, RH, Brickman, AM, Cohen, RA, Arns, M, Rowe, DL, Lawrence, JJ, and Gordon, E (2006c). Patterns of Cognitive Performance in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Cluster Analytic Examination. J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol , 19 , 59-64.

Hermens, DF, Cooper, NJ, Kohn, M, Clarke, S, and Gordon, E (2005a). Predicting stimulant medication response in ADHD: evidence from an integrated profile of neuropsychological, psychophysiological and clinical factors. Journal of Integrative Neuroscience , 4 , 107-121.

Hermens, DF, Kohn, MR, Clarke, SD, Gordon, E, and Williams, LM (2005b). Sex differences in adolescent ADHD: findings from concurrent EEG and EDA. Clinical Neurophysiology , 116 , 1455-1463.

Hermens, DF, Rowe, DL, Gordon, E, and Williams, LM (2006). Integrative neuroscience approach to predict ADHD stimulant response. Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics , 6 , 753-763.

Hermens, DF, Soei, EX, Clarke, SD, Kohn, MR, Gordon, E, and Williams, LM (2005c). Resting EEG theta activity predicts cognitive performance in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Pediatric Neurology , 32 , 248-256.

Hermens, DF, Williams, LM, Lazzaro, I, Whitmont, S, Melkonian, D, and Gordon, E (2004). Sex differences in adult ADHD: a double dissociation in brain activity and autonomic arousal. Biol Psychol , 66 , 221-233.

Kane, RL and Kay, GG (1992). Computerized assessment in neuropsychology: a review of tests and test batteries. Neuropsychology Review 3(1):1-117 .

Keage, HA, Clark, CR, Hermens, DF, Kohn, MR, Clarke, S, Williams, LM, Crewther, D, Lamb, C, and Gordon, E (2006). Distractibility in AD/HD predominantly inattentive and combined subtypes: the P3a ERP component, heart rate and performance. Journal of Integrative Neuroscience , 5 , 139-158.

Kemp, AH, Cooper, NJ, Hermens, G, Gordon, E, Bryant, R, and Williams, LM (2005a). Toward an integrated profile of emotional intelligence: introducing a brief measure. Journal of Integrative Neuroscience , 4 , 41-61.

Kemp, AH, Stephan, BC, Hopkinson, P, Sumich, AL, Paul, RH, Clark, CR, Gordon, E, Bryant, RA, and Williams, LM (2005b). Toward an integrated profile of depression: evidence from the brain resource international database. Journal of Integrative Neuroscience , 4 , 95-106.

Lezak, MD (1995). Neuropsychological assessment. 3rd edn. Oxford University Press, London, UK.

Liddell, BJ, Williams, LM, Rathjen, J, Shevrin, H, and Gordon, E (2004). A temporal dissociation of subliminal versus supraliminal fear perception: an event-related potential study. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience , 16 , 479-486.

Luciana, M (2003). Practitioner Review: Computerized assessment of neuropsychological function in children: clinical and research applications of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Testing Automated Battery (CANTAB). Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry , 44 , 649-663.

McFarlane, A, Clark, CR, Bryant, RA, Williams, LM, Niaura, R, Paul, RH, Hitsman, BL, Stroud, L, Alexander, DM, and Gordon, E (2005). The impact of early life stress on psychophysiological, personality and behavioral measures in 740 non-clinical subjects. Journal of Integrative Neuroscience , 4 , 27-40.

Mitrushina, MN, Boone, KB, and D'Elia, LF (1999). Handbook of normative data for neuropsychological assessment. Oxford University Press, London, UK.

Paul, RH, Clark, CR, Lawrence, J, Goldberg, E, Williams, LM, Cooper, N, Cohen, RA, Brickman, AM, and Gordon, E (2005a). Age-dependent change in executive function and gamma 40 Hz phase synchrony. Journal of Integrative Neuroscience , 4 , 63-76.

Paul, RH, Gunstad, J, Cooper, N, Williams, LM, Clark, CR, Cohen, RA, Lawrence, JJ, and Gordon, E (2006). Cross cultural assessment of neuropsychological performance and electrical brain function measures. Int J Neurosci , in press .

Paul, RH, Lawrence, J, Williams, LM, Clark, CR, Cooper, N, and Gordon, E (2005b). Preliminary validity of 'IntegNeuro': A new computerized battery of neurocognitive tests. Int J Neurosci , 115 , 1549-1567.

Rowe, DL and Hermens, DF (2006). Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: neurophysiology, information processing, arousal and drug development. Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics , 6 , in press.

Rowe, DL (2005). A framework for investigating thalamocortical activity in multistage information processing. Journal of Integrative Neuroscience , 4 , 5-26.

Schatz, PP and Browndyke, JP (2002). Applications of Computer-based Neuropsychological Assessment. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation , 17 , 395-410.

Veltmeyer, MD, Clark, CR, McFarlane, AC, Felmingham, KL, Bryant, RA, and Gordon, E (2005). Integrative assessment of brain and cognitive function in post-traumatic stress disorder. Journal of Integrative Neuroscience , 4 , 145-159.

Veltmeyer, MD, McFarlane, AC, Bryant, RA, Mayo, T, Gordon, E, and Clark, CR (2006). Integrative assessment of brain function in PTSD: brain stability and working memory. Journal of Integrative Neuroscience , 5 , 123-138.

Whitford, T, Rennie, CJ, Grieve, S, Clark, CR, Gordon, E, and Williams, LM (2006). Brain maturation in adolescence: Concurrent changes in neuroanatomy and neurophysiology. Human Brain Mapping , in press .

Williams, LM, Das, P, Harris, AW, Liddell, BB, Brammer, MJ, Olivieri, G, Skerrett, D, Phillips, ML, David, AS, Peduto, A, and Gordon, E (2004a). Dysregulation of arousal and amygdala-prefrontal systems in paranoid schizophrenia. Am J Psychiatry , 161 , 480-489.

Williams, LM, Liddell, BJ, Rathjen, J, Brown, KJ, Gray, J, Phillips, M, Young, A, and Gordon, E (2004b). Mapping the time course of nonconscious and conscious perception of fear: an integration of central and peripheral measures. Human Brain Mapping , 21 , 64-74.

Williams, LM, Simms, E, Clark, CR, Paul, RH, Rowe, DL, and Gordon, E (2005). The test-retest reliability of a standardized neurocognitive and neurophysiological test battery: 'NeuroMarker'. Int J Neurosci , 115 , 1605-1630.