Practice effects in repeated neuropsychological assessments

McCaffrey, Robert J.; Ortega, Albert; Orsillo, Susan M.; Nelles, Wendy B.; Haase, Richard F.

doi:10.1080/13854049208404115

Cited by 90 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…33,34 At least several of the tests used in our battery (i.e., Trail's test, Finger Tapping test, Digit Span forward, Reaction time) have been reported to lack significant practice effects. 35 To minimize potential practice effects in the current study, tests with alternate forms were selected whenever possible (e.g., 4 forms of the Selective reminding test) and the tests were administered in a predetermined order. 36 The testing was also spaced as far apart in time as possible (e.g., every 6 months), yet still allowing us to study the effects of a 48-week course of antiviral therapy.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The testretest reproducibility varied from 0.62 for simple reaction time to 0.78 and 0.85 for digits forward and backward, respectively, and 0.80 and 0.92 for Trail's A and B, respectively. 18 The Shipley Institute of Living scale was administered at baseline and a full-scale intelligence quotient estimate from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised was calculated using population controls with a mean of 100 and SD of 15. 19 Standard scores (SSs) were calculated for each neuropsychological test using normative data.…”

Section: Cognitive Functionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cognitive function does not worsen during pegylated interferon and ribavirin retreatment of chronic hepatitis C

et al. 2007

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Treatment of chronic hepatitis C with pegylated interferon (peginterferon) and ribavirin can cause or exacerbate depression but its effects on cognitive function are largely unknown. The aim of this study was to determine whether treatment with peginterferon and ribavirin adversely impacts cognitive function in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Prior nonresponders to interferon were retreated with peginterferon alfa-2a and ribavirin for 24 (n ‫؍‬ 177) or 48 weeks (n ‫؍‬ 57) in the Hepatitis C Antiviral Long-term Treatment Against Cirrhosis trial. Cognitive function was prospectively assessed using a battery of 10 standardized neuropsychological tests at weeks 0, 24, 48, and 72. Cognitive impairment was defined based upon a global deficit score. The Beck Depression Inventory and Brief Symptom Inventory were used to assess mood status. The 57 subjects who completed 48 weeks of antiviral therapy reported significant increases in difficulty concentrating, emotional distress, and symptoms of depression, all of which improved after cessation of therapy [P < 0.0001, analysis of variance (ANOVA)]. Nonetheless, the frequency of cognitive impairment did not increase during the first 24 weeks of treatment in 177 patients (34% versus 32%, P ‫؍‬ 0.64) nor in the 57 patients completing 48 weeks of treatment (P ‫؍‬ 0.48, ANOVA). Conclusion: Retreatment of prior non-responders with peginterferon and ribavirin was not associated with objective evidence of cognitive impairment as measured by a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests. The lack of cognitive impairment is reassuring and suggests that self-reported symptoms of cognitive dysfunction are more likely related to the systemic and psychiatric side effects of antiviral treatment rather than measurable changes in cognition.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Cognitive Functionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cognitive function does not worsen during pegylated interferon and ribavirin retreatment of chronic hepatitis C

et al. 2007

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“…The magnitude of this effect is dependent on the specific test given, time elapsed be tween testings, age and other variables. McCaffrey et al [13] and Dodrill et al [14] reported that tests that have a speeded com ponent, require an infrequently practiced re sponse, or that have a single easily conceptual ized solution are likely to result in significant practice effects.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The practice effect is a well-established bias in repeated neuropsychological tests [13][14][15][16]. The magnitude of this effect is dependent on the specific test given, time elapsed be tween testings, age and other variables.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Sequential Neuropsychological Testing of an Elderly Community-Based Sample

Frank

Wiederholt²,

Kritz‐Silverstein³

et al. 1996

Neuroepidemiology

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The magnitude and importance of changes in scores of neuropsychological tests on retest in the elderly, especially over long time periods, is not well established. Three neuropsychological tests and one mental status test were initially administered to screen for potential dementia and were readministered to 380 of the surviving individuals 2.4 years later who either failed the screening examination or were an age matched control. Of the 380 women and men aged 65 and older, 56 were diagnosed as having Alzheimer disease (AD), 82 as at risk for developing AD, and 242 as having normal cognition. The present report focuses on changes in test scores between the two visits. In the normal and at risk groups, significant improvements were seen on retest of the Visual Reproduction Test (VRT), the Trails B test, and the Mini-Mental Status examination; verbal fluency decreased, and savings score of the VRT showed small variations. On most tests, scores of the AD group decreased. Practice effects, biases, and other variables may have played a role in the improvements seen in those labeled normal and at risk. If these results are confirmed, savings score of the VRT (which remained stable over time in normals and individuals at risk and decreased in patients with dementia) and verbal fluency (which decreased in all groups) may be better measures of true cognitive performance than the other tests that we evaluated.

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“…Such repeated assessment assumes that these tests have sufficiently high test-retest reliability (Lowe & Rabbitt, 1998), but many tests of cognitive function suffer from significant practice effects, where performance improves with repeated testing (Benedict & Zgaljiardic, 1998;Collie, Maruff, Darby, & McStephen, 2003;McCaffrey, Ortega, Orsillo, Nelles, & Haase, 1992;McCaffrey & Westervelt, 1995;Rapport, Brooke-Brines, Axelrod, & Theisen, 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

No dual-task practice effect in Alzheimer's disease

Foley

Cocchini

Logie

et al. 2014

Memory

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Diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) requires evidence of progressive decline in cognitive function. However, many tests used to assess cognitive function suffer from considerable practice effects, reducing their reliability. Several studies have reported that the ability to do two things at once, or dual tasking, is impaired in AD, but unaffected by healthy ageing. The apparent specificity of this impairment suggests that this assessment may be particularly useful in the early diagnosis of AD, but the reliability of this assessment remains unknown.Therefore, this study investigated simultaneous performance of digit recall and tracking tasks across six testing sessions, in eight people with AD, eight healthy older adults and eight healthy younger adults. The results found that dual task performance was unaffected by healthy ageing, but significantly impaired in AD, with no effect of repeated exposure. The absence of any improvements in performance despite increased familiarity with the task's demands suggests that not only is the dual task assessment well suited for monitoring progression over time, but also that dual tasking involves a specific cognitive function which is impaired in the AD brain.

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Practice effects in repeated neuropsychological assessments

Cited by 90 publications

References 16 publications

Cognitive function does not worsen during pegylated interferon and ribavirin retreatment of chronic hepatitis C

Cognitive function does not worsen during pegylated interferon and ribavirin retreatment of chronic hepatitis C

Effects of Sequential Neuropsychological Testing of an Elderly Community-Based Sample

No dual-task practice effect in Alzheimer's disease

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