Neurobehavioral recovery following unilateral CVA

342 Abstracts of 16th Annual Meeting administrations of the Category Test (CAT), including the traditional Reitan Category Test (projection box), Booklet Category Test (BCT), The Short Booklet Category Test (SBCT) and four computer (IBM compatible) programs. Four hundred subjects (40 in each group), who were referred for evaluation following minor head injury, were tested for each version of the CAT. All were tested in an outpatient setting in a private neuropsychological practice, with the exception of the SBCT, which was administered to stroke patients on an inpatient rehabilitation unit. Data was collected over a 4-year period and subjects were assigned to groups on a random basis. With the exception of the SBCT group, the age range for the subjects was 20-40 and WAIS FSIQ's were used. The age range for the SBCT was 50-75 and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) was used to obtain IQ equivalent scores. Standard administration procedures were utilized for all versions, with the additional of a Booklet Category Test (BCT) nonverbal reinforcement group (Ivins & Cunningham, 1989). When effects due to age and IQ were covaried, statistical analysis indicated no significant differences among groups on the six different versions. The results, therefore, continue to suggest that alternative CAT procedures are viable options for testing for organicity, especially when physical and contextual variables limit the use of the more traditional Reitan Category Test box (Ivins & Gillman, 1994). Johnson, A., O'Toole, K., Burns, T. G., & Wagner, B. Comparison of the Bicycle Drawing Test with the Rey Osterrieth Complex Figure Drawing Test in Children with Neurologic Deficits: A Measure of Validity. This study examined the validity of the Bicycle Drawing Test (BDT) in comparison with the Rey Osterrieth Complex Figure Drawing Test (RO) in the diagnosis of constructional disorders in children with moderate to severe neurologic deficits. Twenty seven children diagnosed with congenital and acquired neurologic disorders (22 males; average age = 9; 24 fight-handed; 11 diagnosed with traumatic brain injury; 5 diagnosed with learning disabilities; 2 diagnosed with congenital disorders; 9 diagnosed with brain tumors) were evaluated on two complex and one simple figural tasks (Beery Test of Visual-Motor Integration-VMI). Scoring was performed by a research assistant blinded to purpose of study. Simple correlation suggest that the BDT's revised scoring criteria (1994) are valid measures of visuoconstructional skills. The importance of this finding is that the validation of this neuropsychological measure was conducted with a clinical pediatric population. Future research should focus on the categories of error types in the BDT and their relationship to other areas of neuropsychological functioning. Johnson, D. J., & Hartlage, L. C. Neurobehavioral Recovery Following Unilateral CVA. Rehabilitation Neuropsychologists are familiar with the neurocognitive and neurobehavioral sequelae of unilateral cerebral vascular accidents. Traditional research about neurobehavioral sequelae typically attributed to unilateral CVAs has described the "catastrophic reaction and la belle indifference" sequelae of left and right unilateral CVAs. However, recent research has indicated that both right and left CVA patients are depressed. This project studied twenty consecutive patients admitted to a regional rehabilitation hospital with a diagnosis (confirmed) of unilateral CVAs and followed these patients throughout their course of acute care rehabilitation. Neurobehavioral sequelae were measured with the qualitative version of the Behavior Change Inventory, a scale validated to measure behavioral status pre and post central nervous system insult. Findings indicated that for LCVA patients, there is an initial catastrophic level of depression which gradually dissipates at time of hospital discharge. LCVAs also have a high level of rumination which remains constant even at time of discharge. RCVAs have an initial average level of depression which gradually increases. Abstracts of 16th Annual Meeting 343 Furthermore, they have a high level of introversiveness which later dissipates. Both CVA groups report greater fatigue, affability, and the absence of hostility. It is believed that these findings have direct meaning for treatment planning, family education, and discharge planning. It is also recommended that caution be used for the uncritical acceptance of traditional views of syndrome characteristics. Johnson, D. J., & Hartlage, L. C. Family Personality Change Following TBI. Behavioral and neurocognitive changes are well documented with post-concussive head trauma. But it is the belief that TBI does not just affect only the patient within the family. Rather, it is believed that both patient and family experience behavioral changes following trauma. This project studied 13 (4 male, 9 female) post-concussive patients (approximately 5 months postinjury) and their immediate family (spouses, parents) for behavioral changes following injury. Behavioral sequelae were measured with the Behavior Change Inventory, a scale measuring behavioral status before vs. subsequent to central nervous system insult. Findings supported the belief that families also experience behavioral change following patient injury. The most compelling changes found indicated that as patient depression, agitation, apprehension and fatigue increased, so did family increases in similar proportion. Trends for decreased emotional control in patients was not seen in family members. These findings support the need for the assessment of family psychosocial functioning, family education, and family intervention for specific TBl-related problems. Kaltreider, L. B., Cicerello, A. R., Lacritz, L. H., Weiner, M., Honig, L., Rosenberg, R. N., & Cullum, M. The CERAD and the CVLT." A Comparison of Verbal Learning Measures in Al:heimer's Disease. This study examined the relationship between measures that allow for a quantification of various aspects of learning and memory that are commonly used in the assessment of dementia. Specifically, performance on the 10-item word list from the CERAD neuropsychological battery was compared to that of the 16-item California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) in a sample of 44 subjects with Probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) who had a mean MMSE score of 19.5 (SD = 4.2). Results revealed significant relationships between the two measures on several key variables. With regard to learning, the total number of words remembered across trials was significantly correlated between tasks (r = .74, p < .001 ), while there was no significant relationship between indices of short delayed free recall (r = .08, p = .60). Of the recognition variables, both the number of true positive responses (r = .64, p < .001) and the number of false positive errors (r = .32, p = .03) were significantly related. Likewise, indices of discriminability showe (...truncated)