Neurocognitive Functions in 3- to 15-Year-Old Children : An International Comparison

Objectives: Performance on neurocognitive tasks develops with age, but it is still unknown whether this performance differs between children from different cultures. We compared cross-sectionally the development of neurocognitive functions in 3- to 15-year-old children from three countries: Finland, Italy, and the United States (N=2745). Methods: Language, face memory, emotion recognition, theory of mind, and visuospatial processing subtests from the NEPSY-II standardizations in Finland, Italy, and the United States were used to evaluate if children and adolescents from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds differ in performance on these measures. Results: We found significant differences in performance on the tasks between the countries. Generally, the differences were more pronounced in the younger age groups. Some subtests showed greater country effects than others, performance on these subtests being higher, in general, in one country over the others, or showed different patterns of age associated changes in test performance. Conclusions: Significant differences in neurocognitive performance between children from Finland, Italy, and the United States were found. These findings may be due to cultural or educational differences that impact test performance, or due to factors associated with the adaptation of measures from one culture to another. The finding of performance differences across countries on similar tasks indicate that cross-cultural and background variables impact performance on neuropsychological measures. Therefore, clinicians need to consider a child’s cultural background when evaluating performance on neuropsychological assessments. The results also indicate that future cross-cultural studies are needed to further examine the underlying cultural factors that influence neurocognitive performance. (JINS, 2017, 23, 1–14)Objectives: Performance on neurocognitive tasks develops with age, but it is still unknown whether this performance differs between children from different cultures. We compared cross-sectionally the development of neurocognitive functions in 3- to 15-year-old children from three countries: Finland, Italy, and the United States (N = 2745). Methods: Language, face memory, emotion recognition, theory of mind, and visuospatial processing subtests from the NEPSY-II standardizations in Finland, Italy, and the United States were used to evaluate if children and adolescents from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds differ in performance on these measures. Results: We found significant differences in performance on the tasks between the countries. Generally, the differences were more pronounced in the younger age groups. Some subtests showed greater country effects than others, performance on these subtests being higher, in general, in one country over the others, or showed different patterns of age associated changes in test performance. Conclusions: Significant differences in neurocognitive performance between children from Finland, Italy, and the United States were found. These findings may be due to cultural or educational differences that impact test performance, or due to factors associated with the adaptation of measures from one culture to another. The finding of performance differences across countries on similar tasks indicate that cross-cultural and background variables impact performance on neuropsychological measures. Therefore, clinicians need to consider a child's cultural background when evaluating performance on neuropsychological assessments. The results also indicate that future cross-cultural studies are needed to further examine the underlying cultural factors that influence neurocognitive performance.Peer reviewe

Neurocognitive Functions in 3- to 15-Year-Old Children : An International Comparison

Objectives: Performance on neurocognitive tasks develops with age, but it is still unknown whether this performance differs between children from different cultures. We compared cross-sectionally the development of neurocognitive functions in 3- to 15-year-old children from three countries: Finland, Italy, and the United States (N=2745). Methods: Language, face memory, emotion recognition, theory of mind, and visuospatial processing subtests from the NEPSY-II standardizations in Finland, Italy, and the United States were used to evaluate if children and adolescents from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds differ in performance on these measures. Results: We found significant differences in performance on the tasks between the countries. Generally, the differences were more pronounced in the younger age groups. Some subtests showed greater country effects than others, performance on these subtests being higher, in general, in one country over the others, or showed different patterns of age associated changes in test performance. Conclusions: Significant differences in neurocognitive performance between children from Finland, Italy, and the United States were found. These findings may be due to cultural or educational differences that impact test performance, or due to factors associated with the adaptation of measures from one culture to another. The finding of performance differences across countries on similar tasks indicate that cross-cultural and background variables impact performance on neuropsychological measures. Therefore, clinicians need to consider a child’s cultural background when evaluating performance on neuropsychological assessments. The results also indicate that future cross-cultural studies are needed to further examine the underlying cultural factors that influence neurocognitive performance. (JINS, 2017, 23, 1–14)Objectives: Performance on neurocognitive tasks develops with age, but it is still unknown whether this performance differs between children from different cultures. We compared cross-sectionally the development of neurocognitive functions in 3- to 15-year-old children from three countries: Finland, Italy, and the United States (N = 2745). Methods: Language, face memory, emotion recognition, theory of mind, and visuospatial processing subtests from the NEPSY-II standardizations in Finland, Italy, and the United States were used to evaluate if children and adolescents from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds differ in performance on these measures. Results: We found significant differences in performance on the tasks between the countries. Generally, the differences were more pronounced in the younger age groups. Some subtests showed greater country effects than others, performance on these subtests being higher, in general, in one country over the others, or showed different patterns of age associated changes in test performance. Conclusions: Significant differences in neurocognitive performance between children from Finland, Italy, and the United States were found. These findings may be due to cultural or educational differences that impact test performance, or due to factors associated with the adaptation of measures from one culture to another. The finding of performance differences across countries on similar tasks indicate that cross-cultural and background variables impact performance on neuropsychological measures. Therefore, clinicians need to consider a child's cultural background when evaluating performance on neuropsychological assessments. The results also indicate that future cross-cultural studies are needed to further examine the underlying cultural factors that influence neurocognitive performance.Peer reviewe

Is the Demise of IQ Interpretation Justified? A Response to Special Issue Authors

Standardized testing of intellectual and cognitive functioning remains a critical component of psychological assessment despite widespread criticism of the practice. Although most standardized intellectual measures are some of the best tools available to practitioners,opponents of intellectual assessment argue the traditional use of global IQ-achievement discrepancy has little diagnostic utility or treatment validity. It is time to move beyond the academic rhetoric of global intelligence to make standardized intellectual assessment meaningful for individual children. In this paper, we respond to special issue authors by presenting clinical and statistical arguments that support idiographic interpretation of intellectual measures for children with disabilities and variable test profiles, and offer recommendations for practice that demonstrate the clinical utility of such approaches. If practitioners move beyond global IQ interpretation, and methods for objective idiographic interpretation are established, the practice of intellectual assessment will be once again valued and respected among those in clinical and educational practice

Interpreting Intelligence Test Results for Children with Disabilities: Is Global Intelligence Relevant?

School psychological and neuropsychological evaluations typically include intellectual and other standardized assessment tools in the identification of children with disabilities. The clinical utility of intellectual assessment in the identification and treatment of these children has been repeatedly challenged, with alternatives such as a response to intervention or global intelligence score interpretation offered to replace the long-held tradition of idiographic interpretation of intellectual factors or subtests for the purpose of differential diagnosis and individualized intervention. Replicating previous work, this study examined the structure of intellectual functioning for children diagnosed with Learning Disability (LD; n=128), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD; n=71), and traumatic brain injury (TBI; n=29) using regression commonality analysis. Across groups, results provide substantial evidence for a multifactorial representation of intellectual functioning for children with LD, ADHD, or TBI, with little shared variance among factor predictors of FSIQ in each analysis. As global intellectual functioning, represented by the shared variance among all predictors, was largely absent and instead composed of several discrete elements with the requisite specificity for individual interpretation, idiographic interpretation appears to be warranted for children with disabilities

WISC-V assessment and interpretation : scientist-practitioner perspectives /

Includes bibliographical references and index.Part I. Applied considerations. WISC-V : advances in the assessment of intelligence / Lawrence G. Weiss, Donald H. Saklofske, James A. Holdnack, and Aurelio Prifitera -- Practical issues in WISC-V administration and scoring / Dustin Wahlstrom, Lawrence G. Weiss, and Donald H. Saklofske -- Practical considerations in WISC-V interpretation and intervention / A. Lynne Beal, James A. Holdnack, Donald H. Saklofske, and Lawrence G. Weiss -- Part II. Theoretical considerations. Theoretical and clinical foundations of the WISC-V index scores / Lawrence G. Weiss, James A. Holdnack, Donald H. Saklofske, Aurelio Prifitera -- WISC-V use in societal context / Lawrence G. Weiss, Victoria Locke, Tianshu Pan, Jossette G. Harris, Donald H. Saklofske, and Aurelio Prifitera -- The Flynn effect and its clinical implications / Jacques Grégoire, Mark Daniel, Antolin M. Llorente, and Lawrence G. Weiss -- Part III. Clinical considerations. Testing Hispanics with WISC-V and WISC-IV Spanish / Lawrence G. Weiss, Maria R. Munoz, and Aurelio Prifitera -- WISC-V and the evolving role of intelligence testing in the assessment of learning disabilities / Donald H. Saklofske, Lawrence G. Weiss, Kristina Breaux, and A. Lynne Beal -- Translating scientific progress in dyslexia into twenty-first century diagnosis and interventions / Bennett A. Shaywitz, Lawrence G. Weiss, Donald H. Saklofske, and Sally E. Shaywitz -- Issues related to the WISC-V assessment of cognitive functioning in clinical and special groups / Jessie L. Miller, Donald H. Saklofske, Lawrence G. Weiss, Lisa Drozdick, Antolin M. Llorente, James A. Holdnack, and Aurelio Prifitera -- Part IV. Current and future directions. Digital assessment with Q-interactive / Dustin Wahlstrom, Mark Daniel, Lawrence G. Weiss, and Aurelio Prifitera -- WISC-V and the personalized assessment approach / James A. Holdnack, Aurelio Prifitera, Lawrence G. Weiss, and Donald H. Saklofske.Testothee

Developing a Cognition Endpoint for Traumatic Brain Injury Clinical Trials

Cognitive impairment is a core clinical feature of traumatic brain injury (TBI). After TBI, cognition is a key determinant of post-injury productivity, outcome, and quality of life. As a final common pathway of diverse molecular and microstructural TBI mechanisms, cognition is an ideal endpoint in clinical trials involving many candidate drugs and nonpharmacological interventions. Cognition can be reliably measured with performance-based neuropsychological tests that have greater granularity than crude rating scales, such as the Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended, which remain the standard for clinical trials. Remarkably, however, there is no well-defined, widely accepted, and validated cognition endpoint for TBI clinical trials. A single cognition endpoint that has excellent measurement precision across a wide functional range and is sensitive to the detection of small improvements (and declines) in cognitive functioning would enhance the power and precision of TBI clinical trials and accelerate drug development research. We outline methodologies for deriving a cognition composite score and a research program for validation. Finally, we discuss regulatory issues and the limitations of a cognition endpoint