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The relationship between visual sustained attention-discrimination and goal-directed search was evaluated using a visual discrimination and exploration (goal-directed search) paradigm and urinary excretion of catecholaminergic metabolites [dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE)] in 6-12 year-old children (n=31) strictly selected and diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) using diagnostic criteria and other objective indices. The Structured Clinical Interview (SCID) (DSM-IV) was used to formally diagnose ADHD in children. A cognitive laboratory test was used to assess visual sustained attention-discrimination and goal-directed search (Children Color Trails Test 1 and 2). Urinary excretion of DA and NE metabolites was measured via reversed high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). Pearson product-moment correlations were used to investigate the relationship between visual sustained attention and goal-directed search and urinary catecholamine metabolites of DA and NE. The present findings revealed a positive and moderately significant relationship between visual sustained attention and visual exploration and catecholaminergic metabolite levels of NE and DA, according to expectation. Decreased visual sustained attention and goal-directed search was associated with decreased DA and NE metabolite levels. The present results are consistent with past research with children with ADHD and studies with primates examining the intricate and respective interaction between the Locus Coeruleus and visual sustained attention-discrimination and the Ventral Tegmental Area and goal-directed search (visual exploration) respectively modulated through NE and DA. Applied and theoretical issues associated with the present findings also are discussed addressing recent computer-generated analogues of action selection models within the context of the extant findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was designed to examine effects of differences in age, health, education, and sex on state and trait anxiety, and to assess interrelations between anxiety and performance on reasoning and problem solving tests. A significant main effect of health status was obtained for trait anxiety, but age, education, and sex effects were nonsignificant for both anxiety variables. Anxiety ratings were inversely correlated with performance on tests of reasoning and problem solving (traditional and practical Piagetian tasks, matrices, and similarities), but the pattern of intercorrelations was stronger within the middle-aged (40–59 years) as opposed to the elderly (60–79 years) groups. The findings fail to support the hypothesis that anxiety increases with age, or that the elderly are disproportionately affected by anxiety in testing situations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Color Trails for Children was developed in response to the need for instruments which minimize cultural bias in neuropsychological testing. The test, similar in format to Trail Making, was designed to provide an evaluation of speeded visuomotor tracking while minimizing the influence of language. The present research involves two exploratory studies which examine the relationship between Color Trails for Children and Trail Making, factors that may affect performance times, and discriminant validity. Results indicate that the tests appear to measure the same neuropsychological domains, and administration of Trail Making did not significantly alter performance times on Color Trails. Increasing age and IQ were related to quicker completion time for both tests. Females were found to complete Color Trails 2 and Trail Making Part B more quickly than males in this sample. Comparison between children diagnosed with learning disabilities, attention deficits, or mild neurological conditions and a preliminary standardization sample supported the discriminant validity of Color Traits to distinguish between normal controls and children with altered neuropsychological functioning. Comparison between clinical conditions indicated that Color Trails 2 was particularly sensitive in discriminating among the groups. Although further research is needed, results suggest that Color Trails has the potential to be an effective research and clinical tool in child neuropsychological assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The present investigation examines the alternate-form and longitudinal reliability of two versions of the Auditory-Verbal Learning Test (AVLT) on a large, multiregional, healthy male sample. Subjects included 2,059 bisexual and homosexual HIV-seronegative males recruited from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study from centers in Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Pittsburgh. The findings revealed no significant differences between forms upon initial or 1-year longitudinal administration, supporting the equivalence of the two versions. However, significant practice effects were noted longitudinally, arguing for the need of appropriate retest normative data. Furthermore, as age, ethnicity, and education were found to significantly affect test performance, it is recommended that normative data be interpreted according to these variables. In addition to providing normative and longitudinal data, this investigation presents information concerning the use and limitations of the alternate forms of the AVLT. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The present investigation examines specific aspects of frontal functioning across geriatric and nongeriatric cohorts. Subjects included 193 nongeriatric male pilots (mean age: 48.29 (SD = 6.79); mean education: 15.93 years (SD = 1.86)), and 68 geriatric males and females (mean age: 78.38 (SD = 5.07); mean education: 13.68 (SD = 2.53)). The results of a series of general linear model multivariate one-way analyses revealed poorer performance on frontal measures in the geriatric sample, although no differences were noted between the male and female samples. In contrast, variable interrelations, as assessed by a parametric statistic of betweengroup factor similarity, indicated a noteworthy similarity of factors between the geriatric and nongeriatric groups, and dissimilarities between the factor structures for males and geriatric females. These findings not only support the presence of age-related differences in frontal performance for the domains tested, they suggest the need to examine frontal functioning by multiple methods, as differences in frontal functioning may exist between groups that are undetected by analyses based on intergroup score differences or predictor-criterion correlations alone [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]