Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego and San Diego State University, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 113-129).

published_or_final_version / Clinical Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

Conduct Disorder is a disruptive behavior disorder listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition-Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR). Considering the prevalence and severity of Conduct Disorder and the social and economic impact, research is needed to address subtype and comorbidity. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the impact of Conduct Disorder age of onset by comparing neuropsychological functioning between adolescents diagnosed with Conduct Disorder, childhood-onset and adolescents diagnosed with the adolescent onset subtype of Conduct Disorder. In addition, the study will investigate the impact of a comorbid Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) diagnosis. Exploration into the neuropsychological functioning of Conduct Disorder while considering comorbidity with ADHD is needed to clarify cognitive functioning profiles of children and adolescents diagnosed with Conduct Disorder. / text

The study was planned to investigate issues relating to the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery. The aims were to investigate the influence of age, sex and socio-economic status on performance on the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery. A sample of forty males and forty females, stratified according to age (25-40 year olds and 50-60 year olds) and socio-economic status was selected. The results suggested that age formed a significant effect on the total and individual scale scores of the battery. There were no significant sex differences on the total score and most of the scale scores of the battery. Sex formed a significant variable on the performance on the intellectual processes and visual scales. A significant negative correlation was found between total and scale scores of the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery and socio-economic status. The implications of these findings are discussed. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Durban-Westville, Durban, 1991.

Clinical psychology is a discipline that assesses and treats individuals experiencing a variety of psychological disorders; including brain injuries. Employing neuroimaging tools can reveal biological correlates that have not been previously studied in detail. The quantitative electroencephalograph (QEEG) is a dynamic neuroimaging tool that allows for the measurement of brain activity. QEEG source localization analysis has provided additional construct validity for neuropsychological tests by revealing increased activation in the associated brain regions. In addition, differences in resting brain activity have been found depending on the severity of neuropsychological impairment. Finally, enhancement of memory in normal individuals is shown by applying a weak physiologically-patterned electromagnetic field over the left hemisphere. Therefore, by integrating the QEEG with elements of clinical psychology it is possible to provide construct validity to neuropsychological tests, show differences in brain activation depending on the severity of neuropsychological impairment, and study emerging therapeutic techniques that could enhance memory.

Neuropsychologists are increasingly asked to determine whether a patient may be malingering symptoms of a mild closed head injury. This issue is particularly salient within the context of civil litigation and the potential of significant financial awards. Patients' performances on neuropsychological tests have historically been assumed to accurately reflect their abilities and deficits. Optimal motivation and performance cannot be automatically assumed within the context of litigation. Moreover, comorbid anxiety and depression are frequently present in head injury patients and adversely affect the patient's performance.The frequent comorbidity of psychiatric and medical symptoms complicates interpretation of a patient's neuropsychological evaluation whether or not the patient is involved in litigation. This comorbidity may result in an inaccurate diagnosis, thus delaying treatment potentially causing greater harm to the patient.The present study was conducted to expand previous research that discriminated between simulated malingered and neurological patient responses to a neuropsychological self-report inventory. Additionally, the study investigated the, utility of the Neuropsychological Symptom Inventory in discriminating between simulated medical, psychiatric and malingered patient responses. Results indicated that the NSI was able to discriminate malingered responses from medical and psychiatric patient responses. However, applying a lie scale derived from previous research with the NSI did not allow discrimination between the malingered group and the psychiatric patients. Use of a factor solution derived from earlier research may offer not only greater prediction in detection of malingerers, but also evaluation of symptom profiles of medical and psychiatric patients. The NSI may provide an efficient screen for exaggerated symptoms as well as an indication of the level of general neuropsychological functioning of the patient when included in a neuropsychological evaluation. / Department of Educational Psychology

The present study was designed to assess the role of response time on the Category Test of the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery (HRNB). The intent was to define the underlying constructs of the Category Test more particularly, the speed of performance by examining response time to individual slides of the Category Test.Seventy-two normal adult volunteers were administered the complete HRNB. Average response times were computed for correct (CRT), incorrect (IRT), and total (TRT) scores on the Category Test. The efficacy of using response measures (CRT, IRT, and TRT) to predict Category performance was examined in the context of other HRNB variables that loaded factorially with the Category Test, more specifically: TPT-time, memory, and location, Trails B, WAIS-R Block Design, and WAIS-R Object Assembly.A step-wise multiple regression analysis was computed using the above HRNB and response time measures to predict Category error scores. Results from this analysis indicated that TPT-location, TRT, and IRT contributed significantly (p<.05) in the prediction of Category scores. Approximately 15% of the variability in Category scores was explained by a measure of spatial memory (TPT-location) and an additional 15% was accounted for by psycho-motor speed (TRT and IRT). The significant contribution of response time in defining the underlying construct of the Category Test was discussed in terms of possible implications for enhancing the neuropsychological significance of the Category Test.

Objective. This thesis examines the invariance of a battery of neuropsychological tests to known education-associated differences in strategy implementation and neural resource allocation underlying cognitive task performance in older adults without cognitive impairment. Methods. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate the fit of a three-factor measurement model (Verbal Ability, Visuospatial Ability, Long-term Retention; Tuokko et al., 2009) to scores from the neuropsychological battery of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging (CSHA) for the purpose of confirming the latent constructs measured by its 11 tests. Measurement equivalence of the model across lower- (LE; ≤8 years) and higher-educated (HE; ≥9 years) participants was then evaluated using invariance testing. Results. The measurement model demonstrated adequate fit across LE and HE samples but the loadings of the 11 tests (indicators) onto the three factors could not be constrained equal across groups. Two non-invariant tests of verbal ability (Animal fluency, token test) were identified that, when freed from constraints, produced an invariant model. Constraint of factor covariances did not compromise the partial invariance of this model. Because demographic characteristics of the LE and HE samples differed significantly, findings were replicated on age-and sex-matched subsamples. Conclusions. Two measures of verbal ability were not invariant across HE and LE samples of older adults, suggesting that the cognitive processes underlying performance on these tests may vary as a function of educational attainment. / Graduate

Thesis (D. Psych.)--Victoria University (Melbourne, Vic.), 2007.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Indiana University of Pennsylvania. / Includes bibliographical references.