On the Characteristics of Sustained Attention Test Performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 593-600
Author(s):  
Iris Blotenberg ◽  
Lothar Schmidt-Atzert
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Sustained Attention ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Presentation Mode ◽  
Testing Time ◽  
Preview Benefit ◽  
Psychometric Tests ◽  
Interindividual Differences ◽  
Relevant Item ◽  
Stimulus Arrangement

Abstract. Most psychometric tests assessing sustained attention are characterized by a specific presentation mode: Many items are presented simultaneously and the test takers are required to constantly process and react to them until the testing time is up. The aim of the present study was to look into two mechanisms that potentially underlie performance in these tests: The ability to focus on the currently relevant item and the ability to preprocess upcoming items to prepare for upcoming actions. In order to assess both abilities, the d2-R test of sustained attention was modified and its stimulus arrangement (single, blocks vs. rows of stimuli) was manipulated. The measure of focusing was unreliable and unrelated to performance in standard sustained attention tests. However, the data indicated a strong preview benefit. That is, the test takers preprocessed upcoming items when they got a valid preview of them, which considerably enhanced performance. Moreover, interindividual differences in the preview benefit proved to be internally reliable as well as reliable in retest and were substantially related to performance in three conventional sustained attention tests. We conclude that preprocessing constitutes an important component of performance in sustained attention tests and most likely represents a stable cognitive ability rather than a strategy.

scholarly journals Quality Improvement Intervention for Reduction of Redundant Testing

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 237428951770750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan M. Ducatman ◽  
Danyel H. Tacker ◽  
Barbara S. Ducatman ◽  
Dustin Long ◽  
Peter L. Perrotta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Creatine Kinase ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Troponin I ◽  
Laboratory Data ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Interrupted Time Series ◽  
Quality Improvement Intervention ◽  
Testing Time ◽  
Laboratory Cost ◽  
Pathology Laboratory

Laboratory data are critical to analyzing and improving clinical quality. In the setting of residual use of creatine kinase M and B isoenzyme testing for myocardial infarction, we assessed disease outcomes of discordant creatine kinase M and B isoenzyme +/troponin I (−) test pairs in order to address anticipated clinician concerns about potential loss of case-finding sensitivity following proposed discontinuation of routine creatine kinase and creatine kinase M and B isoenzyme testing. Time-sequenced interventions were introduced. The main outcome was the percentage of cardiac marker studies performed within guidelines. Nonguideline orders dominated at baseline. Creatine kinase M and B isoenzyme testing in 7496 order sets failed to detect additional myocardial infarctions but was associated with 42 potentially preventable admissions/quarter. Interruptive computerized soft stops improved guideline compliance from 32.3% to 58% ( P < .001) in services not receiving peer leader intervention and to >80% ( P < .001) with peer leadership that featured dashboard feedback about test order performance. This successful experience was recapitulated in interrupted time series within 2 additional services within facility 1 and then in 2 external hospitals (including a critical access facility). Improvements have been sustained postintervention. Laboratory cost savings at the academic facility were estimated to be ≥US$635 000 per year. National collaborative data indicated that facility 1 improved its order patterns from fourth to first quartile compared to peer norms and imply that nonguideline orders persist elsewhere. This example illustrates how pathologists can provide leadership in assisting clinicians in changing laboratory ordering practices. We found that clinicians respond to local laboratory data about their own test performance and that evidence suggesting harm is more compelling to clinicians than evidence of cost savings. Our experience indicates that interventions done at an academic facility can be readily instituted by private practitioners at external facilities. The intervention data also supplement existing literature that electronic order interruptions are more successful when combined with modalities that rely on peer education combined with dashboard feedback about laboratory order performance. The findings may have implications for the role of the pathology laboratory in the ongoing pivot from quantity-based to value-based health care.

scholarly journals The Relationship between Performance of Attention Task and Suicidal Ideation in Korean Patients with Mood Disorders

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 374-381
Author(s):  
Soo In Kim ◽  
Kyoung Ae Kong
Keyword(s):  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
Mood Disorder ◽  
Sustained Attention ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Predictive Ability ◽  
Depressive Mood ◽  
Attention Task ◽  
Psychological Variables ◽  
Attention Tasks ◽  
The Difference

Objective We examined the performance of attention tests related to suicidal ideation in mood disorder patients and to explain the difference of attention test performance in relation to suicidal ideation after controlling clinical and psychological variables of mood disorder patients.Methods Seventy-three in- and outpatients with major depressive disorder (n=41) or bipolar disorder (n=32) completed a self-rating questionnaire assessing socio-demographic characteristics, and clinical and psychological variables. Comprehensive Attention Test (CAT) also was conducted.Results Thirty-three patients were the high-suicidal ideation (SI) group, and forty patients were the low-SI group. The errors of commission (CEs) of visual sustained attention in the high-SI group was 6.3 times higher on average than that of the low-SI group. After controlling for sex, age, and diagnosis, a higher number of CEs on visual sustained attention tasks predicted higher SI score. However, after controlling for sex, age, diagnosis, and depressive mood, this predictive ability was no longer observed.Conclusion This study showed that CE on the visual sustained attention task seems to influence suicidal ideation as a result of interaction with depressive symptoms.

scholarly journals King-Devick Test Performance and Cognitive Dysfunction after Concussion: A Pilot Eye Movement Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1571
Author(s):  
Doria M. Gold ◽  
John-Ross Rizzo ◽  
Yuen Shan Christine Lee ◽  
Amanda Childs ◽  
Todd E. Hudson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Cognitive Dysfunction ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Normative Values ◽  
Test Time ◽  
Testing Time ◽  
Movement Study

(1) Background: The King-Devick (KD) rapid number naming test is sensitive for concussion diagnosis, with increased test time from baseline as the outcome measure. Eye tracking during KD performance in concussed individuals shows an association between inter-saccadic interval (ISI) (the time between saccades) prolongation and prolonged testing time. This pilot study retrospectively assesses the relation between ISI prolongation during KD testing and cognitive performance in persistently-symptomatic individuals post-concussion. (2) Results: Fourteen participants (median age 34 years; 6 women) with prior neuropsychological assessment and KD testing with eye tracking were included. KD test times (72.6 ± 20.7 s) and median ISI (379.1 ± 199.1 msec) were prolonged compared to published normative values. Greater ISI prolongation was associated with lower scores for processing speed (WAIS-IV Coding, r = 0.72, p = 0.0017), attention/working memory (Trails Making A, r = −0.65, p = 0.006) (Digit Span Forward, r = 0.57, p = −0.017) (Digit Span Backward, r= −0.55, p = 0.021) (Digit Span Total, r = −0.74, p = 0.001), and executive function (Stroop Color Word Interference, r = −0.8, p = 0.0003). (3) Conclusions: This pilot study provides preliminary evidence suggesting that cognitive dysfunction may be associated with prolonged ISI and KD test times in concussion.

Target-Specific Learning Contributes to Practice Effects in Paper-and-Pencil Tests of Attention

2019 ◽  
Vol 78 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 29-35
Author(s):  
Peter Wühr
Keyword(s):  
Test Performance ◽  
Test Group ◽  
Practice Effects ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Psychometric Tests ◽  
Paper And Pencil ◽  
Specific Learning

Abstract. Previous studies revealed that performance in paper-and-pencil tests of attention, such as the d2-R test, improves with practice, though the sources of these practice effects are yet unknown. Practice effects in psychometric tests are a serious problem because they impede the evaluation of test performance and constrain the utility of these tests. This study addresses the role of target-specific learning for practice in a d2-like paper-and-pencil test of attention. Two variants of a d2-like test, which exclusively differed in the set of target stimuli, were constructed. Participants were tested on two days separated by one week. Participants in the control condition searched for the same targets (among the same distractors) in each session, whereas participants in the test group searched for different targets (among the same distractors) in each session. Results showed practice benefits in both groups, but benefits were larger in the control group than in the test group. The results suggest that practice improves the processing of target features in paper-and-pencil tests of attention. Hence, using two versions with different sets of targets may effectively reduce practice effects in d2-like tests of attention. Further implications of the findings are discussed.

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