Comparability of the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure, the Taylor Complex Figure, and the Modified Taylor Complex Figure in a normal sample of Japanese speakers

The comparability of recall performance was examined on the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure, the Taylor Complex Figure, and the Modified Taylor Complex Figure as measures of visuospatial abilities and visual memory in 66 healthy Japanese university students. A between-subjects design was used in which each of the participants received the three figures. The interrater reliability of each was excellent. While the three figures yielded equivalent copy scores, the Taylor Complex Figure produced significantly higher scores than the other two on both short (3-min.) and delayed (30-min.) recall tests. There were no significant differences between recall scores of the Rey-Osterrieth and the Modified Taylor figures. These results are consistent with the findings of the 2002 study of English-speakers by Hubley and Tremblay, and support that the Modified Taylor Figure is superior to the original one for the companion figure to the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure.     

Comparison of the Medical College of Georgia Complex Figures and the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure tests in a normal sample of Japanese university students

Comparability of copy and recall performance on the four figures of the Medical College of Georgia Complex Figures and the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure were examined using an incidental learning paradigm with 60 men and 60 women, healthy volunteers between the ages of 18 and 24 years (M = 21.5 yr., SD = 1.5) at a Japanese university. A between-subjects design was used in which each group of participants (n = 24) responded to five figures. The interrater reliability of each Georgia figure was excellent. While the five figures yielded equivalent copy scores, the Rey-Osterrieth figure had significantly lower scores than the Georgia figures at recall after 3 min. There were no significant differences between the four Georgia figures. These results are consistent with the findings of the original studies in the USA.     

Visuomotor organization in the child: a neuropsychological approach

The ability of children to copy a complex figure was investigated by means of the Rey-Osterrieth complex figure and the corresponding methodology. The sample consisted of 420 children (boys and girls) aged 5 1/2 to 12 1/2 years. Responses indicate that the visuomotor ability involved in copying a complex figure increases with increasing age and that girls show significantly better performance than boys during the ages 8 1/2 to 12 1/2 years. The differences in performance can be attributed to differential neuropsychological strategies or functional differences that require further investigation.     

Beery VMI performance in autism spectrum disorder

Few studies have examined the visuomotor integration (VMI) abilities of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). An all-male sample consisting of 56 ASD participants (ages 3–23 years) and 36 typically developing (TD) participants (ages 4–26 years) completed the Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (Beery VMI) as part of a larger neuropsychological battery. Participants were also administered standardized measures of intellectual functioning and the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), which assesses autism and autism-like traits. The ASD group performed significantly lower on the Beery VMI and on all IQ measures compared to the TD group. VMI performance was significantly correlated with full scale IQ (FSIQ), performance IQ (PIQ), and verbal IQ (VIQ) in the TD group only. However, when FSIQ was taken into account, no significant Beery VMI differences between groups were observed. Only one TD participant scored 1.5 standard deviations (SDs) below the Beery VMI normative sample mean, in comparison to 21% of the ASD sample. As expected, the ASD group was rated as having significantly higher levels of social impairment on the SRS compared to the TD group across all major domains. However, level of functioning on the SRS was not associated with Berry VMI performance. These findings demonstrate that a substantial number of individuals with ASD experience difficulties compared to TD in performing VMI-related tasks, and that VMI is likely affected by general cognitive ability. The fact that lowered Beery VMI performance occurred only within a subset of individuals with ASD and did not correlate with SRS would indicate that visuomotor deficits are not a core feature of ASD, even though they present at a higher rate of impairment than observed in TD participants.     

Visuomotor coordination and visuospatial working memory of children with specific reading disabilities: a study using the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure

The aim of the present study was to examine the visuospatial perception, short-term working memory, and motor skills of children with special reading difficulties, using the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure, which can record visuomotor and memory skills, observe drawing processes, and detect deficiencies in specific skills. 306 right- and left-handed boys and girls, ages 6.6 to 9.6 yr. (102 with special reading difficulties, 102 normal readers, and 102 with general learning difficulties) comprised one experimental and two control groups, respectively. The task was to depict the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure under two conditions, copying and drawing it from memory. Analysis indicated that (a) difficulty of the depiction of the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure, especially from memory, sharply affects children's performance and (b) the experimental group's performance was significantly poorer than that of controls in both conditions. The results are discussed in view of the predictive value of certain motor and cognitive skill deficiencies of children with special reading difficulties.     

Concurrent validity of the Gardner Test of Visual-Motor Skills

Scores on the Test of Visual-motor Skills, Developmental Test of Visual-motor Integration, and Bender-Gestalt test were compared for a sample of 44 elementary school children referred for evaluation of learning disorders. While the tests shared common variance, the mean standard score on the Test of Visual-motor Skills was significantly lower than the means of the other two tests, suggesting caution in the clinical use of the new scale.     

Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration performance in children with traumatic brain injury and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Evaluation of visuoconstructional abilities is a common part of clinical neuropsychological assessment, and the Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (VMI; K. E. Beery & N. A. Beery, 2004) is often used for this purpose. However, few studies have examined its psychometric properties when used to assess children and adolescents with traumatic brain injury (TBI) or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), even though these are among the most common acquired and neurodevelopmental forms of brain dysfunction in children. This study examined the validity of VMI scores in 123 children with TBI and 65 with ADHD. The TBI and ADHD groups performed significantly worse than the standardization sample, obtaining VMI mean scores of 87.2 (SD = 13.7) and 93.5 (SD = 11.27). Previous research has noted decrements in visuoconstructional abilities in TBI but relative sparing in ADHD. To examine the criterion validity of VMI scores, the authors therefore compared these 2 groups. As anticipated, the TBI group performed significantly worse than the ADHD group, but receiver operator characteristic analysis indicated that VMI scores were poor at discriminating between groups. Nonetheless, convergent validity evidence supported interpretation of VMI scores as measuring perceptual organization in both groups. In particular, principal components analysis indicated that VMI total scores loaded with perceptual organization tests from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 3rd ed. (WISC-III; D. Wechsler, 1997), and its highest correlation was with the WISC-III Perceptual Organization Index. Also, the VMI correlated significantly with the Grooved Pegboard test for the group with TBI. These findings suggest that VMI scores are sensitive to visuoconstructional and motor deficits in children with developmental and acquired brain dysfunction.     

Scope of attention, control of attention, and intelligence in children and adults

Recent experimentation has shown that cognitive aptitude measures are predicted by tests of the scope of an individual's attention or capacity in simple working memory tasks and also by the ability to control attention. However, these experiments do not indicate how separate or related the scope and control of attention are. An experiment with 52 children (10 to 11 years old) and 52 college students included measures of the scope and control of attention, as well as verbal and nonverbal aptitude measures. The children showed little evidence of using sophisticated attentional control, but the scope of attention predicted intelligence in that group. In adults, both the scope and control of attention varied among individuals and accounted for considerable individual variance in intelligence. About one third that variance was shared between scope an d control, and the rest was unique to one or the other.Scope and control of attention appear to be related but distinct contributors to intelligence.     

Predicting handwriting performance of early elementary students with the developmental test of visual-motor integration

The purpose of this study was to examine use of the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration in predicting handwriting performance of early elementary students and the contribution of sex. An additional purpose was to examine whether successful completion of the first nine figures or the oblique cross from the test predicted handwriting. 101 children were tested at the beginning of their kindergarten year and again in the middle of the first-grade year on the Scale of Children's Readiness In PrinTing (SCRIPT). The VMI kindergarten scores did not significantly predict first-grade SCRIPT scores for the sample as a whole. When boys and girls were considered separately. VMI scores predicted handwriting SCRIPT scores for girls, but accounted for only 10% of the variance. Successful performance on the first nine VMI figures was significantly associated with handwriting for girls but not boys, while the oblique cross did not significantly predict handwriting performance. These results do not provide clear support for administration of the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration during kindergarten as a tool to identify children at risk for handwriting difficulties.     

Using just noticeable differences to interpret test scores

This study explored the value of obtaining a just noticeable difference (JND) for a test--the difference in scores needed before observers detect a difference in examinees' behavior--as a means of interpreting the practical meaning of scores. Classical psychophysical methods were adapted and applied to the scores of foreign teaching assistants (TAs) on an achievement test, the Test of Spoken English (TSE), and the ratings for English proficiency that the TAs received from their students. The JND for the TSE scores was substantial, as large as the standard deviation of the scores and much larger than the standard error of measurement and guidelines for the d index of effect size for mean differences, suggesting that both sets of standards may highlight score differences that are not practically significant. This study demonstrates the applicability of JNDs for evaluating scores on educational and psychologists' tests.     

Prediction of fine motor skills of children having language and speech disorders

Relationships between the fine motor skills and linguistic abilities of 37 developmentally delayed children, ages 5 to 9 yr., were studied using a battery of expressive and receptive language tests, a measure of fine motor performance, a dichotic listening test, and individual intelligence tests. While IQs and MAs were not related to fine motor skills, both expressive and receptive language test scores showed moderate to moderately high correlations, the highest single relationship being the Test for the Auditory Comprehension of Language. In concert with CAs, a dichotic right-ear test score, the Auditory Comprehension Test, predicted fine motor-skill indices substantially; R = .80. Strong relationships appear between linguistic and fine motor skills in an age group not previously investigated and at higher levels than reported in studies of infants and very young children. Dichotic results were abnormal in a majority of the children.     

Facilitative effects of labeling on preschool children's copying of simple geometric forms

A total of 150 children between 2.5 and 5 yr. of age were tested on one of three conditions (one experimental and two control) of a copying task adapted from the 1982 Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration of Beery. In the experimental condition, the geometric forms were labeled with the names of familiar objects. Analysis of scores indicated that introduction of verbal labels on the copying task facilitated preschool children's ability to reproduce geometric forms. The effect was consistent across the ages tested but was limited in that facilitation was observed only for those forms just beyond the child's demonstrated level of mastery. These results suggested that the verbal labels evoked a representational context which provided children with additional information necessary for accurate reproduction of the forms. Two alternative interpretations of this finding are discussed.     

Construct validity of the Bender-Gestalt II: comparison with Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III

This study investigated the relationships of visuomotor constructs as measured by the Bender-Gestalt II with the subtests of the WISC-III. A factor analysis included the standardized Copy and Recall scores of the Bender-Gestalt II and subtest scores of the WISC-III. The Copy score was predicted to load on measures of visual and spatial thinking and the Recall score on a short-term memory factor. The results of a principal components analysis suggest a four-factor solution with the Bender-Gestalt II Copy score loading on a visual and spatial thinking factor primarily with WISC-III Perceptual Organization subtests. The Recall score loaded on a visual and spatial thinking factor as well as a short-term memory factor with the WISC-III Digit Span subtest. The results suggest the Bender-Gestalt II Copy subtest shared commonality with the visual and spatial tasks given the similarity in the visuomotor demands of each test and was less influenced by processing speed or cultural knowledge than other tests on the visual and spatial thinking factor. Also, results suggest Bender-Gestalt II Recall measures elements of both visual and spatial thinking as well as aspects of short-term memory and memory retrieval. Clinical guidelines for co-administration and underlying processing demands are discussed.     

Neuropsychological assessment in illiterates: visuospatial and memory abilities

A basic neuropsychological battery of visuospatial and memory abilities was administered to extreme educational groups (illiterates and professionals). Subjects were matched according to sex and age. The following visuospatial tasks were included: figure copy (cube, house, and Rey-Osterrieth complex figure), telling time, recognition of superimposed figures, recognition of a map, and drawing of the plan of the room. The following memory tasks were used: basic information, digit retention (forward and backward), memory curve, delayed verbal recall, sentence repetition, logical memory, delayed logical memory, immediate recall of the Rey-Osterrieth complex figure, immediate reproduction of a cube, visuospatial memory, and sequential memory. In visuospatial tasks all differences between the two groups were statistically significant. Five of the seven visuospatial tasks (all but telling time and recognition of superimposed figures) showed differences between age groups with a better performance found in the younger groups and four of the tasks (cube, house, Rey-Osterrith complex figure copying, and telling time) were significant between sexes with a better performance in men. In memory tasks, with the exception of the immediate memory of sentences, all tasks showed statistically significant differences between educational groups. Eight of the 13 memory tasks (digits forward and backward, delayed memory of words, immediate and delayed logical memory, Rey-Osterrieth immediate memory, cube immediate memory, and sequential memory) showed significant differences for age while 4 of the tasks (digits backward, memory curve, Rey-Osterrieth immediate memory, and cube immediate memory) were significant for sex. Results are analyzed with regard to current theories in cognitive psychology and anthropology. Emphasis is placed on the finding that cognitive skills usually examined by neuropsychological tests represent learned and highly trained abilities.     

Correlation for scores on Revised Test of Visual-Motor Integration and Copying Test in a South African sample

A statistically significant correlation of 0.618 was obtained between scores from 62 preschool children on the Revised Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration and the Copying Test. Merely 38% of Copying Test variance was associated with changes in Test of Visual-Motor Integration variance, so in practice these tests should not be substituted for one another.     

Personality, intelligence and proof-reading

Two studies sought to determine personality and cognitive ability correlates of proof-reading. In both studies candidates were given 5 min to identify up to 55 errors in a 920 word, two page document. In Study 1, which tested 240 school children, fluid intelligence (as measured by the Baddeley Reasoning Test) was the highest correlate of proof-reading (r = .30). Eleven percent of the variance in total attempted scores was accounted for by intelligence, Introversion and low Conscientiousness. In the second study 70 undergraduates completed the same proof-reading test along with two intelligence tests (Baddeley Reasoning Test; Wonderlic Personnel Test) and a more robust personality measure (NEO-FFI). Proof-reading was correlated with both intelligence tests (Baddeley r = .45; Wonderlic r = .40). More of the variance was accounted for in the total attempted-score of errors than for a correct errors-detected score. When the two intelligence and five personality trait scores were regressed on to the proof-reading test score over a quarter of the variance (Adj R² = .28) was accounted for, but only the Baddeley test was a significant predictor (Beta = .39).     

Neurological subtle signs and cognitive development: A study in late childhood and adolescence

Introduction and Aim: Neurological subtle signs (NSS) are often observed during the neurological examination of children and tend to disappear with age. Their persistence into late adolescence or young adulthood has been related to psychiatric and neurocognitive disorders. To provide a better understanding of their functional basis, a longitudinal correlational study with neurocognitive measurements was performed.

Method: We conducted multiple regression and correlation analyses of NSS with demographic and cognitive measures on a subset of 341 healthy children (56% males), taking part in a longitudinal dental study. Participants, whose ages ranged between 11–15 years, at first evaluation, undertook yearly, during 5 years, a 6-item NSS exam (producing a total score ranging between 0–18) and a comprehensive battery of neurocognitive tests. Effects of age, gender, IQ, and 7 neurocognitive factors on NSS were analyzed.

Results: Over the years, NSS scores correlated consistently with selective attention (Stroop test), motor speed (finger tapping), and visuomotor speed (pegboard speed).

Discussion: These results suggest that the disappearance of NSS in late childhood and adolescence occurs primarily in parallel with the development of motor and visuomotor functions and secondarily in relation to higher order functions such as selective attention (Stroop) and executive control (B-A Trails difference).     

Neuropsychological assessment of learning disabilities: a discriminant analysis

The neuropsychological test scores of 23 learning disabled children were compared with those of a matched population of normal children in the 9-1 to 13-1 age range. All children were administered the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R), a dichotic listening task involving both free and directed recall conditions, a handedness inventory, the Tactile Performance Test and the Category Test from the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery. A multivariate analysis of variance resulted in a significant separation between groups (p less than .001) using these procedures. A stepwise discriminant function analysis revealed that both of the directed dichotic tasks contributed the most of all 13 measures to the significant group separation. In addition, other cognitive tasks found to discriminate normal from learning disabled children include general verbal processes, concept formation, and tactile memory. These findings suggest that the directed dichotic listening procedure and the WISC-R Verbal IQ measure are reasonably valuable clinical tools in the classification of learning disabilities.     

Common and specific cognitive deficits in schizophrenia: relationships to function

The goals of the present study were to assess the interrelationships among tasks from the MATRICS and CNTRACS batteries, to determine the degree to which tasks from each battery capture unique variance in cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia, and to determine the ability of tasks from each battery to predict functional outcome. Subjects were 104 schizophrenia patients and 132 healthy control subjects recruited as part of the CNTRACS initiative. All subjects completed four CNTRACS tasks and two tasks from the MATRICS battery: Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia Symbol Coding and the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test. Functional outcome was also assessed in the schizophrenia subjects. In both the patient and control groups, we found significant intercorrelations between all higher order cognitive tasks (episodic memory, goal maintenance, processing speed, verbal learning) but minimal relationships with the visual task. For almost all tasks, scores were significantly related to measures of functional outcome, with higher associations between CNTRACS tasks and performance-based measures of function and between one of the MATRICS tasks and self-reported functioning, relative to the other functioning measures. After regressing out variance shared by other tasks, we continued to observe group differences in performance among task residuals, particularly for measures of episodic memory from both batteries, although these residuals did not correlate as robustly with functional outcome as raw test scores. These findings suggest that there exists both shared and specific variance across cognitive tasks related to cognitive and functional impairments in schizophrenia and that measures derived from cognitive neuroscience can predict functional capacity and status in schizophrenia.