Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-11T19:36:23.017Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Stick Design test: A new measure of visuoconstructional ability

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 August 2005

OLUSEGUN BAIYEWU ,
FREDERICK W. UNVERZAGT ,
KATHLEEN A. LANE ,
OYE GUREJE ,
ADESOLA OGUNNIYI ,
BEVERLY MUSICK ,
SUJUAN GAO ,
KATHLEEN S. HALL  and
HUGH C. HENDRIE
OLUSEGUN BAIYEWU
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
FREDERICK W. UNVERZAGT
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
KATHLEEN A. LANE
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
OYE GUREJE
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
ADESOLA OGUNNIYI
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
BEVERLY MUSICK
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
SUJUAN GAO
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
KATHLEEN S. HALL
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
HUGH C. HENDRIE
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Visuoconstructional ability is an important domain for assessment in dementia. Use of graphomotor measures dominate this area; however, participants with low education produce results that cannot be easily interpreted. Our objective was to develop and validate a nongraphomotor assessment of visuoconstructional ability for use in dementia evaluations in persons with low or no education. In a longitudinal, population-based study of dementia among Yoruba residents of Ibadan, Nigeria aged 65 years and older, participants underwent clinical assessment with a battery of cognitive tests and consensus diagnosis. Performance on two visuoconstructional tests, Constructional Praxis and Stick Design, were compared. Gender, age, and education affected performance on both tests. The Stick Design test was more acceptable than Constructional Praxis as measured by the number of participants with total test failure (3.9% vs. 15.1%). The Stick Design test was significantly more sensitive to cognitive impairment and dementia than the Constructional Praxis test. We conclude that Stick Design is a reasonable test of visuoconstructional ability in older cohorts with very limited educational exposure and literacy. (JINS, 2005, 11, 598–605.)

Keywords

CognitionNeuropsychological testAgingDementiaDiagnosisGeriatric assessment
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 11 , Issue 5 , September 2005 , pp. 598 - 605
Copyright
© 2005 The International Neuropsychological Society

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

American Psychiatric Association. (1994). DSM-IV: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. (4th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
American Psychiatric Association. (1987). DSM-III-R: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. (Revised 3rd ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
Baiyewu, O., Unverzagt, F.W., Ogunniyi, A., Hall, K.S., Gureje, O., Gao, S., Lane, K.A., & Hendrie, H.C. (2002). Cognitive impairment in community-dwelling older Nigerians: Clinical correlates and stability of diagnosis. European Journal of Neurology, 9, 573–580.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carlesimo, G.A., Fadda, L., & Caltagirone, C. (1993). Basic mechanisms of constructional apraxia in unilateral brain-damaged patients—Role of visuo-perceptual and executive disorders. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 15, 342–358.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Castro-Caldas, A., Miranda, P.C., Carmo, I., Reis, A., Leote, F., Ribeiro, C., & Ducla-Soares, E. (1999). Influence of learning to read and write on the morphology of the corpus callosum. European Journal of Neurology, 6, 23–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Castro-Caldas, A., Petersson, K.M., Reis, A., Stone-Elander, S., & Ingvar, M. (1998). The illiterate brain: Learning to read and write during childhood influences the functional organization of the adult brain. Brain, 121, 1053–1063.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chandra, V., Ganguli, M., Pandav, R., Johnston, J., Belle, S., & DeKosky, S.T. (1998a). Prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias in rural India—The Indo-US study. Neurology, 51, 1000–1008.Google Scholar
Chandra, V., Ganguli, M., Ratcliff, G., Pandav, R., Sharma, S., Belle, S., Ryan, C., Baker, C., DeKosky, S., & Nath, L. (1998b). Practical issues in cognitive screening of elderly illiterate populations in developing countries. The Indo-US cross-national dementia epidemiology study. Aging—Clinical & Experimental Research, 10, 349–357.Google Scholar
Ganguli, M., Chandra, V., Gilby, J.E., Ratcliff, G., Sharma, S.D., Pandav, R., Seaberg, E.C., & Belle, S. (1996). Cognitive test performance in a community-based nondemented elderly sample in rural India: The Indo-U.S. cross-national dementia epidemiology study. International Psychogeriatrics, 8, 507–524.Google Scholar
Graham, J.E., Rockwood, K., Beattie, L.B., Eastwood, R., Gauthier, S., Tuokko, H., & McDowell, I. (1997). Prevalence and severity of cognitive impairment with and without dementia in an elderly population. Lancet, 349, 1793–1796.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guruje, O., Unverzagt, F.W., Osuntokun, B.O., Hendrie, H.C., Baiyewu, O., Ogunniyi, A., & Hall, K.S. (1995). The CERAD Neuropsychological Test Battery: Norms from a Yoruba-speaking Nigerian sample. West African Journal of Medicine, 14, 29–33.Google Scholar
Hall, K.S., Hendrie, H.C., Brittain, H.M., Norton, J.A., Rodgers, D.D., Prince, C.S., Pillay, N., Blue, A.W., Kaufert, J.N., Nath, A., Shelton, P., Postl, B.D., & Osuntokun, B.O. (1993). The development of a dementia screening interview in two distinct languages. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 3, 1–28.Google Scholar
Hall, K.S., Ogunniyi, A.O., Hendrie, H.C., Osuntokun, B.O., Hui, S.L., Musick, B.S., Rodenberg, C.A., Unverzagt, F.W., Gureje, O., & Baiyewu, O. (1996). A cross-cultural community based study of dementias: Methods and performance of the survey instrument Indianapolis, U.S.A., and Ibadan, Nigeria. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 6, 129–142.3.3.CO;2-A>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hanley, J.A. & McNeil, B.J. (1982). The meaning and use of the area under a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Radiology, 143, 29–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hanley, J.A. & McNeil, B.J. (1983). A method of comparing the areas under receiver operating characteristic curves derived from the same cases. Radiology, 148, 839–843.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hendrie, H.C., Ogunniyi, A., Hall, K.S., Baiyewu, O., Unverzagt, F.W., Gureje, O., Gao, S., Evans, R.M., Ogunseyinde, A.O., Adeyinka, A.O., Musick, B., & Hui, S.L. (2001). Incidence of dementia and Alzheimer disease in 2 communities: Yoruba residing in Ibadan, Nigeria, and African Americans residing in Indianapolis, Indiana. JAMA, 285, 739–747.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hendrie, H.C., Osuntokun, B.O., Hall, K.S., Ogunniyi, A.O., Hui, S.L., Unverzagt, F.W., Gureje, O., Rodenberg, C.A., Baiyewu, O., Musick, B.S., Adeyinka, A., Farlow, M.R., Oluwole, S.O., Class, C.A., Komolafe, O., Brashear, A., & Burdine, V. (1995). Prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and dementia in two communities: Nigerian Africans and African Americans. American Journal of Psychiatry, 152, 1485–1492.Google Scholar
Matute, E., Leal, F., Zarabozo, D., Robles, A., & Cedillo, C. (2000). Does literacy have an effect on stick construction tasks? Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 6, 668–672.Google Scholar
Morris, J.C., Mohs, R.C., Rogers, H., Fillenbaum, G., & Heyman, A. (1988). Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD) clinical and neuropsychological assessment of Alzheimer's disease. Psychopharmacology Bulletin, 24, 641–652.Google Scholar
Petersen, R.C., Smith, G.E., Ivnik, R.J., Tangalos, E.G., Schaid, D.J., Thibodeau, S.N., Kokmen, E., Waring, S.C., & Kurland, L.T. (1995). Apolipoprotein E status as a predictor of the development of Alzheimer's disease in memory-impaired individuals. JAMA, 273, 1274–1278.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petersen, R. (2004). Mild cognitive impairment as a diagnostic entity. Journal of Internal Medicine, 256, 183–194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reis, A., Petersson, K.M., Castro-Caldas, A., & Ingvar, M. (2001). Formal schooling influences two- but not three-dimensional naming skills. Brain and Cognition, 47, 397–411.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Unverzagt, F.W., Gao, S., Baiyewu, O., Ogunniyi, A.O., Gureje, O., Perkins, A., Emsley, C.L., Dickens, J., Evans, R., Musick, B., Hall, K.S., Hui, S.L., & Hendrie, H.C. (2001). Prevalence of cognitive impairment: Data from the Indianapolis study of health and aging. Neurology, 57, 1655–1662.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Unverzagt, F.W., Hall, K.S., Torke, A.M., Rediger, J.D., Mercado, N., Gureje, O., Osuntokun, B.O., & Hendrie, H.C. (1996). Effects of age, education, and gender on CERAD neuropsychological test performance in an African American sample. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 10, 180–190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Unverzagt, F.W., Morgan, O.S., Thesiger, C.H., Eldemire, D.A., Luseko, J., Pokuri, S., Hui, S.L., Hall, K.S., & Hendrie, H.C. (1999). Clinical utility of CERAD neuropsychological battery in elderly Jamaicans. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 5, 255–259.Google Scholar