A 28-year-old single African American man with a long history of schizophrenia and prominent thought disorganization asks you if there are psychological tests that would demonstrate which part of his brain “isn’t working.” You explain that no test can indicate exactly which part of his brain is different from those without schizophrenia and suggest a certain test to assess his ability to organize and correctly process information. The neuropsychological test you recommend is which of the following?
- MMSE
2) Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) - Bender Gestalt Test
- Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery
- Draw-a-Person Test
View Explanation
In the WCST, examinees are asked to sort cards depicting various pictures and symbols according to a variety of different criteria that change over time without the subject knowing. The WCST assesses a person’s ability to switch sets, reason abstractly, and solve problems. These capacities are also known as executive functions and are thought to be localized in the frontal lobes. Current research regarding the psychopathology of schizophrenia suggests that there are abnormalities in the frontal lobes, specifically in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, that are reflected in poor performance on the WCST. People with schizophrenia perform more poorly on the WCST than people without schizophrenia; however, individuals with damage to their frontal lobes from a variety of causes also show executive function deficits. The Draw-a-Person Test requires the examinee to draw a person. It was initially devised to test intelligence in children, but is now used primarily as a screening test for brain damage. The Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery is a comprehensive set of neuropsychological tests used to assess specific cortical areas and aids in assessment of hemispheric dominance. The MMSE is a commonly used scale to assess the possibility of dementia. The Bender Gestalt Test involves copying figures, which helps determine if organic brain disease is present.