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Availability
Please visit this website for more information about the instrument: Computerized Test of Attentional Performance – Go/NoGo subtest.
Classification
Exploratory: Unruptured Cerebral Aneurysms and Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (SAH)
Short Description of Instrument
The Test of Attentional Performance is used to evaluate the effectiveness of behavior in everyday activities. Inattentiveness can lead to not noticing important information and difficulties in recalling specific details.
 
An important aspect of behavioral control is the ability to perform an appropriate reaction under time pressure and to simultaneously inhibit an inappropriate behavioral response.
 
The Go/NoGo paradigm was developed to test this form of behavioral control, in which it is important to suppress a reaction triggered by an external stimulus to the benefit of an internally controlled behavioral response. In this paradigm, the focus of attention is directed to predictably occurring stimuli that require a selective reaction, that is, to react or not to react.
 
 A deficit in this form of behavioral control is particularly seen in patients with damage of the frontal lobe. These patients frequently show above-average reaction speeds in simple reaction tasks, where as in a Go/NoGo task they show either a much higher number of incorrect reactions, or much higher reactions times compared with the simple reaction task. The latter deficit is indicative of difficulties in decision processing in the control of behavior. Investigations with imaging techniques have provided evidence for the role played by frontal structures in executing a Go/NoGo task.
 
Two administrative forms of this test may be administered. Test Form "1 of 2" (1 of the 2 stimuli is critical): an up-right ("+") and a diagonal ("?") cross are presented in an alternating sequence on the screen. Test Form "2 of 5" (2 critical stimuli amongst 5 stimuli): A sequence of five squares with different patterns appears on the screen. Two of these squares are defined as target stimuli." (PsyTest)
Comments/Special Instructions
The test battery has been used among healthy adults as well as in a wide range of different clinical samples. The different versions of the test battery are available in German, English, French, and Italian, partly in Spanish, Dutch, Danish, Swedish and Finnish.

Administration time: 1. Condition: 2 min, 2. Condition: about 3 min

Scoring

Outcome variables are percentiles of median and standard deviation of the reaction times as well as of the sum of omissions and errors (T-score reaction time; T-score errors; T-score omissions).

Rationale/Justification

This test is quick and simple to perform. The available normative data covers broadly the typical age range of patients with SAH. It is available in multiple languages. For these reasons, the Swiss national standard of neuropsychological assessment after SAH includes the Computerized Test of Attentional Performance with its subtest Go/NoGo. The test has successfully been used in SAH research before (see references).

References
Zimmermann, P. & Fimm, B. (1992). Testbatterie zur Aufmerksamkeitsprüfung. Freiburg: Psytest.
 
Additional References:
 
Babinsky R, Spiske K, Markowitsch HJ, Engel H. Clinical case report: memory functions after anterior communicating artery aneurysm rupture. Int J Neurosci. 1997;91(3-4):265-275.
 
Bellebaum C, Sch?fers L, Schoch B, Wanke I, Stolke D, Forsting M, Daum I. Clipping versus coiling: neuropsychological follow up after aneurismal subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 2004;26(8):1081-1092.
 
Hütter BO, Kreitschmann-Andermahr I, Gilsbach JM. Cognitive deficits in the acute stage after subarachnoid hemorrhage. Neurosurgery. 1998;43(5):1054-65.
 
Stienen MN, Smoll NR, Weisshaupt R, Fandino J, Hildebrandt G, Studerus-Germann A, Schatlo B. Delayed cerebral ischemia predicts neurocognitive impairment following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. World Neurosurg. 2014;82(5):e599-e605.
 
Zweifel-Zehnder AE, Stienen MN, Chicherio C, Studerus-Germann A, Bl?si S, Rossi S, Gutbrod K, Schmid N, Beaud V, Mondadori C, Brugger P, Sacco L, Müri R, Hildebrandt G, Fournier JY, Keller E, Regli L, Fandino J, Mariani L, Raabe A, Daniel RT, Reinert M, Robert T, Schatlo B, Bijlenga P, Schaller K, Monsch AU; Swiss SOS study group. Call for uniform neuropsychological assessment after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: Swiss recommendations. Acta Neurochir (Wien). 2015;157(9):1449-1458.

 

Document last updated February 2018