Graduate

An integral part of neuropsychological assessment is the measurement of sensory-motor performance. Many studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of neuropsychological batteries to assess neurological impairment, however examination of only the sensory-motor portion of those measures has been limited. Investigations of tests of sensory and motor functions have often limited their analysis to single tests. The present study assessed the ability of the Dean-Woodcock Sensory Motor Battery (DWSMB), part of a new neuropsychological measure, the Dean-Woodcock Neuropsychological Battery (DWNB), to distinguish between normal subjects and neurologically impaired individuals as diagnosed by a neurologist. Scores from the subtests of the DWSMB from an existing data set for 250 normal and 250 neurologically impaired individuals were randomly assigned to two equal groups to allow for cross validation. Results indicated that the DWSMB was able to correctly identify 92.8% of the cases, identifying 94.4% of the normal population and 91.2% of the neurologically impaired subjects. An additional discriminant analysis was conducted to establish the accuracy of the DWSMB to identify individual diagnoses within neurologically impaired and normal subjects. The DWSMB correctly identified the following cases: 44.9% cardio-vascular accidents, 66.7% multiple sclerosis, 40% seizures, 42% traumatic brain injuries, 62.7% dementia, and 54.5% Parkinson's disease. Results indicated the usefulness of the DWSMB in identifying neurological damage and specific diagnoses in a relatively quick assessment. The utility of the DWSMB and the use of standardized administration procedures, behavioral information for evaluation, and measures of subcortical functions was discussed in light of future research. The potential use of the DWSMB in clinical and educational settings was also considered. / Department of Educational Psychology

Thirty-six myelomeningocele children with hydrocephalus (between 9-16 years of age) were evaluated on a battery of neuropsychological tests and behavioural measures. The children obtained a FSIQ on the WISC-R of greater than 60 and all were attending school on a regular basis. Results showed that the myelomeningocele children, as a group, performed as well as the normative sample on measures of auditory comprehension, fine motor speed, accuracy on a visuomotor speeded task, stereognosis, and single-word reading. Although there was substantial variability within the myelomeningocele sample in terms of level of cognitive performance, as a group, with the exception of the above mentioned measures, they performed below the level expected for their age on the remaining measures in the neuropsychological test battery (83.63% of tests administered). / Graduate

Three studies investigated patterns of performance as demonstrated by the serial position on the Rey Auditory Verbal Leaning Test (RAVLT). Patterns of performance were explored in a sample of genuine traumatic brain injured subjects who were litigating (TBI-LIT; N = 22) and compared to a sample of genuine traumatic brain injured subjects who were not in litigation (TBI-NONLIT; N = 22). Comparisons were also made to a sample of subjects who were depressed but not neurologically compromised (PSY-DEP; N = 24). Results demonstrated that when time for loss of consciousness was controlled for, no difference existed between the litigating and non-litigating groups on any serial position. With this in mind the TBILIT and TBI NON-LIT groups were collapsed to form one traumatic brain injured group (TBI; N = 44). Patterns of performance were then compared between the TBI group, the PSY-DEP group and a normal control (NC; N = 68) group. No differences were demonstrated between the TBI and PSY-DEP groups on any serial position however, the NC group demonstrated significantly different primacy effects than the TBI group and significantly different recency effects than both the TBI and PSY-DEP groups (Study 1). Patterns of performance relative to the serial position were also compared in a group of Alzheimers Disease (AD; N=20) and dementia(DEM; N=20) subjects. Results indicated that the DEM group demonstrated a greater primacy effect than the AD group with both groups demonstrating a greater recency effect when compared to the primacy effect but no significantly so. Patterns of performance was also explored in a group of Huntington's Disease subjects (HD; =14) with this group demonstrating a significantly reduced primacy effect as compared to a recency effect (Study 2). In the third study patterns of performance were compared in a group of subjects having sustained fiontal lobe (FL; N=21) and posterior lobe (PL; N=21) lesions to the brain. Subjects with PL lesions demonstrated a signifckntly greater primacy effect as compared to the FL group with both groups demonstrating a reduced recency effect. Comparisons were also made between the PL and FL groups with normal control groups (FL-NC; N = 21: PL-NC; N = 21) and results indicated that the FL group demonstrated a significantly reduced primacy and recency effect when compared to the normal control group. When comparisons were made between the PL and a normal control group, the PL group demonstrated a significantly reduced recency effect as compared to normal controls. Pattern of performance were also explored in a small sample of subjects with diffuse DIFF; N=6) damage to the brain and results demonstrated that this group displayed a reduced recency effect as compared to the primacy effect (Study 3). Overall, when examining the serial position effects across all experimental groups, subjects who had sustained a traumatic injury to the brain or who were depressed all demonstrated a greater primacy effect as compared to the recency effect by recalling more words on that position. This contrasted the pattern of performance which emerged with various dementing processes where more words were recalled in the recency position as compared to the primacy position. Results for all studies were analyzed using MANOVA followed by the Sheffe procedure.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--University of Toledo, 2008. / Typescript. "Submitted as partial fulfillment of the requirements for The Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology." Bibliography: leaves 126-157.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego and San Diego State University, 2009. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed April 16, 2009). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 85-94).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [55]-68).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, March, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 166-179)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Texas, Dec., 2008. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, March, 2005. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 166-179)