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Map Search Task
Availability
Please visit this website for more information about the instrument: Click here for the Test of Everyday Attention website.
Classification
Supplemental: Huntington's Disease (HD)
Short Description of Instrument
Summary/Overview of Instrument: The Map Search task is a subtest of the Test of Everyday Attention (TEA). It requires patients to identify target symbols among distractor symbols on a visually cluttered map within a specific time interval. The evidence in HD is primarily for a 60 second interval (TRACK-HD).
Construct measured: A task of sustained visual attention.
Generic vs. disease specific: Generic.
Intended use of instrument/purpose of tool (cross-sectional, longitudinal, diagnostic, etc): Assessment of cognitive function in HD cross-sectional and longitudinal studies.
Means of administration (paper and pencil, computerized): Paper and pencil.
Location of administration (clinic, home, telephone, etc): Clinic.
Intended respondent (patient, caregiver, etc.): Patient.
# of items: N/A.
# of subscales and names of sub-scales: N/A.
Strengths: Advantages are that the test is fast and engaging for the participant.
Weaknesses: Although scoring is a simple count of number of target items correctly circled, scorers make a high number of scoring errors. TRACK-HD reduced errors by dividing the scoring template into 6 equal sections and subtotaling counts for each section separately.
Administration Time: Approximately 3 minutes.
Translations available (e.g. Spanish, French, Other languages): English, French, Dutch.
Psychometric Properties
Reliability: Test-retest or intra-interview (within rater) reliability (as applicable): The test-retest coefficients for this task are .80 to .89 in controls (Strauss et al., 2006) and 0.84 to 0.85 in Stroke patients (Robertson et al., 1994). Reliability data from the CAB study will be available by end of 2012 for 100 control, 100 premanifest, and 50 early HD subjects.
Validity: Because the Map Search subtest uses everyday items, it provides a feeling of high face validity; however for those with questionable visual acuity, its validity may be undermined if steps are not taken to ensure that extraneous sensory difficulties are not ruled out as a confound factor prior to assessment.
Content validity: N/A. Construct validity: N/A.
Sensitivity to Change/ Ability to Detect Change (over time or in response to an intervention): In TRACK-HD, cross-sectional differences from controls were detected in premanifest HD, even in those estimated to be more than 10 years from onset, and were also detected in early HD (O'Regan et al., 2011). Analysis of TRACK-HD longitudinal data is imminent.
Known Relationships to Other Variables (e.g. gender, education, age, etc): Manual indicates that gender is not related to Map Search performance. Age and education relations to Map Search performances are unknown (Strauss et al., 2006). Strauss et al. (2006) indicates performance of Map Search is not related to gender. In TRACK_HD, performance was related to age and education but not gender; change in performance was not related to age, gender or education.
Scoring
Scoring is based on the number of correctly identified symbols within a specific time interval. TRACK-HD used a 60 second time interval.
 
Special Requirements for administration: As sold by Pearson, scoring is done by using an erasable plastic sleeve that allows comparison of subject's responses to a scoring template. In standard administration, responses for each subject are erased and the plastic sleeve is reused for the next subject. To retain source documentation, TRACK- HD used a permanent marker and a separate plastic sleeve for each administration of the task and those plastic sleeves then served as source documentation. A stopwatch is required for this task.
 
The scoring template can be modified to improve scoring accuracy however modifying the scoring template requires permission from Pearson.
References
Standardization of scores to a reference population: normative data for the two- minute administration are available in the published test manual (Robertson et al., 1994).
 
Robertson IH, Ward T, Ridgeway V& Nimmo-Smith I. Test of Everyday Attention, The (TEA). Thames Valley Test Company. Suffolk, England, 1994.
Strauss E, Sherman MS,& Spreen O. A Compendium of Neuropsychological tests: administration, norms and commentary. 3rd Edition. 2006. Oxford University Press.
 
O'Regan AM et al. Visuospatial deficits in Huntington's disease: an investigation using two tasks. Clinical Genetics, 80, S1: 51.

 

Document last updated March 2018