The Hayling Sentence Competion Test (HSCT) consists of two sections and measures response initiation and inhibitory control. In the first section subjects are instructed to produce a single word to complete a sentence and in the response inhibition condition subjects are instructed to produce a contextually unconnected word. Several studies evidence that these abilities, which are associated with frontal lobe dysfunction and dysexecutive symptoms in evereyday life (Burgess & Shallice, 1996b), are impaired in psychiatric patients particularly in patients with schizophenia and major depression (Gohier et al., 2009; Chan et al., 2010; Joshua et al., 2009). The present study aims to examine the adapted German version of the HSCT by Willinger and Diendorfer (2009) upon a non-clinical sample and its relationship to Stroop-Test. The sample was composed of 74 adults (36 women and 38 men) ranging in age from 19 to 66. Reliability analyses of the HSCT yielded a Cronbachs's alpha of 0.45 (response initiation), and 0.92 (response inhibition). Correlation analyses between Stroop Cards 1 and 2 and HSCT initiation condition showed a medium effect (r = 0.378; p = 0.001), further correlation analyses indicated no assocation between Stroop Card 3 and HSCT inhibition condition (r = 0.070; p = 0.560). The high reliability regarding response inhibition seems to be promising. Further investigations considering executive functions such as word fluency are necessary.
Effects of disinhibition on performance of the Word Fluency Test in patients with frontal lesions.
