Halstead-Reitan battery

From Psy3241

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== Finger Tapping Test ==
== Finger Tapping Test ==
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Subjects place their dominant hand palm down, fingers extended, with the index finger resting on a lever that is attached to a counting device
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They are then instructed to tap their index finger as quickly as possible for 10 seconds while keeping the hand and arm stationary
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The trial is repeated 5-10 times until the examiner collects counts for 5 consecutive trials that are within 5 taps of each other
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A practice session is given before the test
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A brief rest is given between each trial and a 1-2 minute rest is given every third trial
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The procedure is repeated with the non-dominant hand
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Takes approximately 10 minutes to complete the test
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The children’s version uses an electronic tapper instead of a manual one
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The test measures motor speed and helps to determine particular areas of the brain that may be damaged
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To score the examiner calculates an average number of taps per trial for each of the 5 accepted trials
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The dominant hand should be 10% better than the non-dominant hand, which doesn’t always occur in left-handed individuals
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Males and younger individuals perform better than females and older people
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Education level, intelligence, fatigue, depression, and injuries to the shoulders, arms, or hands should also be considered when scoring
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Must be interpreted in combination with other tests in the battery
== Rhythm Test ==
== Rhythm Test ==

Revision as of 20:16, 24 April 2008


Contents

Definition

Fixed set of eight tests used to evaluate brain and nervous system functioning in individuals aged 15 years and older

Children's versions are the Halstead Neuropsychological Test Battery for Older Children (ages 9-14) and the Reitan Indiana Neuropsychological Test Battery (ages 5-8)

Purpose

Evaluates a wide range of nervous system and brain functions including visual input, auditory input, tactual input, verbal communication, spatial perception, sequential perception, the ability to analyze information, form mental concepts, make judgements, motor output, attention, concentration, and memory

Used to evaluate individuals with suspected brain damage

Provides useful information regarding the cause of damage, which part of the brain was damaged, whether the damage occurred during childhood development , and if the damage is getting worse, staying the same, or getting better

The information gathered about the severity of impairment and areas of personal strengths can be used to develop plans for patient rehabilitation and care

Precautions

Requires administration by a professional examiner and interpretation by a trained psychologist

Test results are affected by the examinee's age, education level, intellectual ability, gender, and ethnicity, all of which need to be taken into account when analyzing the results

Fixed battery of tests, which means that unnecessary information may be gathered and some important information may be missed

Requires 5-6 hours to complete, patience, stamina, and cost

Criticized because it does not include specific tests of memory; instead, memory is evaluated within the context of other tests

Description

The Halstead-Reitan battery was created by Ward Halstead and Ralph Reitan

The creation of the test was based on studies of patients with neurologic impairments at the University of Chicago

Halstead recognized the need for an evaluation of brain functioning that was more extensive than intelligence testing

Initially Halstead chose a set of 10 tests, all of which, except 3, are included in the current Halstead-Reitan battery

Ralph Reitan was one of Halstead's students who contributed to the battery by researching the tests' ability to identify neurological problems

Reitan diagnosed 8,000 patients using only their test results, without meeting the patients or knowing anything about their background, which provided support for the effectiveness of the battery

Reitan adapted the original battery by including additional tests

The Halstead-Reitan has been researched more than any other neuropsychological test battery

Research supports the ability of the battery to detect impairment accurately in a large range of neuropsychological functions

8 core tests

Category Test

Total of 208 pictures consisting of geometric figures are presented Individuals are asked to decide whether they are reminded of the number 1, 2, 3, or 4 for each picture and press a key corresponding to their choice

If the individual chooses correctly a chime sounds and if they choose incorrectly a buzzer sounds

The pictures are presented in 7 subtests

The key to the category test is that one principle or common characteristic underlies each subtest

The numbers 1-4 represent the possible principles

If the subject recognizes the correct principle in one picture they will respond correctly for the remaining pictures in that subtest

The next subtest may have the same or different underlying principle and the subject must once again try to determine the principle using the feedback of the chime and buzzer

The last subtest contains two underlying principles

Test takes 1 hour, but individuals with severe brain damage may take up to 2 hours

Considered to be the battery's most effect test for detecting brain damage

Does not help determine where the problem is occurring in the brain

Evaluates the ability to draw specific conclusions from general information

Also aids in detecting one's ability to solve complex and unique problems and one's ability to learn from experience

The children's versions consist of 80 items and 5 subtests for young children and 168 and 6 subtests for older children

Scoring involves recording the number of errors

Scores above 41 are considered indicative of brain impairment for ages 15-45

Scores above 46 indicate impairment for ages 46 and older Recommended cutoffs vary depending on age and education level

Tactual Performance Test

Board containing 10 cut-out shapes and ten wooden blocks matching those shapes are placed in front of a blindfolded individual

Instructed to use only their dominant hand to place the blocks in their appropriate space on the board

Same procedure repeated using the non-dominant hand only

Same procedure repeated using both hands

Board, blocks, and then blindfold are removed

The individual is then asked to draw the board and the shapes in their proper locations from memory only

Takes 15-50 minutes to complete

Time limit of 15 minutes per trial

Evaluates sensory ability, memory for shapes and spatial location, motor functions, and the brain's ability to transfer information between its two hemispheres

Detection of brain damage

Helps to determine which side of the brain damage may have occurred

For children under 15, only 6 shapes are used

Scoring involves the time to complete each of the 3 blindfolded trials and the total time for all trials combined, the number of shapes recalled, and the number of shapes drawn in their correct locations

Trial for the non-dominant hand should be 20 to 30 percent faster than the trial for the dominant hand because of practice effects

If the non-dominant hand is slower or more than 30 percent faster, brain damage is possible

Injuries of the arms, shoulders, or hands can also affect performance

Scores are adjusted depending on education level and age

Trail Making Test

Consists of 2 parts

Part A: 25 numbered circles randomly arranged and individuals are instructed to draw lines between the circles in increasing sequential order until they reach the circle labeled "end"

Part B: A page with circles containing the letters A through L and 13 numbered circles intermixed and randomly arranged and individuals are instructed to connect the circles by drawing lines alternating between numbers and letters in sequential order, until they reach the circle labeled "end"

If mistakes are made, they are quickly brought to the individuals attention and they continue from the last correct circle

Test takes 5-10 minutes to complete

Evaluates information processing speed, visual scanning ability, integration of visual and motor functions, letter and number recognition and sequencing, and the ability to maintain two different trains of though

A Color Trails Test is used for children and individuals of different cultures in which colors are used instead of numbers and letters

Scoring is the time to complete each part

Errors increase the total time

For adults, scores above 40 seconds for Part A and 91 seconds for Part B indicate brain impairment

However it is important to consider other variables such as age when scoring

Finger Tapping Test

Subjects place their dominant hand palm down, fingers extended, with the index finger resting on a lever that is attached to a counting device

They are then instructed to tap their index finger as quickly as possible for 10 seconds while keeping the hand and arm stationary

The trial is repeated 5-10 times until the examiner collects counts for 5 consecutive trials that are within 5 taps of each other

A practice session is given before the test

A brief rest is given between each trial and a 1-2 minute rest is given every third trial

The procedure is repeated with the non-dominant hand

Takes approximately 10 minutes to complete the test

The children’s version uses an electronic tapper instead of a manual one

The test measures motor speed and helps to determine particular areas of the brain that may be damaged

To score the examiner calculates an average number of taps per trial for each of the 5 accepted trials

The dominant hand should be 10% better than the non-dominant hand, which doesn’t always occur in left-handed individuals

Males and younger individuals perform better than females and older people

Education level, intelligence, fatigue, depression, and injuries to the shoulders, arms, or hands should also be considered when scoring

Must be interpreted in combination with other tests in the battery

Rhythm Test

Speech Sounds Perception Test

Reitan-Indiana Aphasia Screening Test

Reitan-Klove Sensory-Perceptual Examination

Ancillary Test

Results

Works Cited

NLD on the Web

Health Line

Halstead-Reitan Battery

Personal tools