Intermanual and Alternate-Form Equivalence on the Trail Making Tests

Abstract

Intermanual discrepancies in performance and alternate-form equivalence on the Trail Making Test were examined among 40 left- and 40 right-hand-preferred normal adults (N = 80). The findings indicate that administration of the Trail Making Tests to the nonpreferred hand does not result in a clinically meaningful difference in score. Neither hand preference nor task complexity (numeric or numeric/lexical) significantly affected the magnitude of the intermanual discrepancy. Mixed-model analyses of variance revealed an interaction (p < .001) indicating that the alternate form for the numeric/lexical Trial Making Test (Trail Making Test, Part D; TMT-D) is slightly more difficult than is the original form Trail Making Test, Part B (TMT-B). Therefore, individuals exposed first to TMT-D performed relatively better in the second trial, whereas individuals exposed first to TMT-B first produced equivalent scores when presented the more difficult form (TMT-D) on the second trial. Thus, although TMT-D is not an equivalent form to TMT-B, it may serve as an excellent alternate form at retest.

The trail making test: A study in focal lesion patients.

“…Although patients with frontal lobe damage tended to be slower than the control and nonfrontal groups, patients with left frontal damage were the slowest. Because using the right or left hand to perform the task does not affect the score in any meaningful way (LoSasso, Rapport, Axelrod, & Reeder, 1998), this slowing likely reflects the relationship of the left frontal damage to right-sided motor control. Ninety-five percent of our patients were right-handed.…”

No Change in Executive Performance in ALS Patients: A Longitudinal Neuropsychological Study

“…A significant performance decline was observed on the RWT semantic category shifting task and the Trail-Making Test B/A ratio. In the case of the latter test, this worsening can be attributed to the fact that the test's alternate form, administered to all controls at the second evaluation, is slightly more difficult than the original form used at baseline [33]. It could be assumed that a number of our control subjects were at an early Alzheimer's disease stage.…”

Normative Indications for Xhosa Speaking Unskilled Workers on the Trail Making and Stroop Tests

“…The TMT is affected by motor speed and dexterity, and age-related slowing has been attributed to reduced abilities in these areas as well as impaired working memory, poor visual scanning or a combination of cognitive deficits. LoSasso, Rapport, Axelrod, and Reeder (1998) found that subjects can use their non-preferred hand without a significant performance decrement, thus the test may be very useful in certain patients with dominant hand paralysis. The analysis of completion times for Trails A and B is highly sensitive to neurocognitive deficits and to closed head injury, with increased completion times associated with increased injury severity.…”