Chapter 5-8 Assessment and Treatment: Attention and Perceptual Disorders Flashcards
(79 cards)
Are you ready to use your attentional resources on this flashcard game?
Hell to the yes.
What kind of perceptual organs are most involved when solving flashcard puzzles?
That’s probably vision.
How many attentional resources does human beings on average have?
tree fiddy
The book identifies two important caveats when it comes to dealing with attention. Name and explain these.
- Scrap “the attention”. Doesn’t exist.
- Different types of tasks calls for different types of
attention.
- Different types of tasks calls for different types of
- The assessment of attention should never be limited to performance on a single task.
- For example, recording of simple reaction time can
tell us something about the basic speed of
processing in a particular patient, but tells us little
or nothing about his or her ability to react flexibly
on a dual task, or to sustain attention over half an
hour.
- For example, recording of simple reaction time can
Name at least 2 paradigms that tests attention.
1) Stroop Test
- You know it, I know it, my mother might know it, and
everyone probably knows it.
2) Visual search task
- Search through irrelevant information/recognize
relevant information from noise.
3) Sustained attention to response test
- The Sustained Attention Test is a computer-based
task designed to measure a person’s ability to
withhold responses to infrequent and
unpredictable stimuli during a period of rapid and
rhythmic responding to frequent stimuli.
4) Posner Cueing Task
- Used to measure manual and eye-movement
reaction times to target stimuli in order to
investigate the effects of covert orienting of
attention in response to different cue conditions.
Can you assess attention using surveys?
To some degree. General difficulties can be identified with scales like Cognitive Failures Questionnaire and Rating Scale of Attentional Behaviour (RSAB).
Can you assess attention using observation?
Yeppely deppely doo. The book defines the clinical observation as one of the most important tools available.
According to McGurdi (the book) attentional tests can be categorized into two superordinate categories. Name these.
◆ speed or processing capacity;
◆ control or working memory.
Why is it beneficial to categorize these types of tests?
Shit varies, so it’s nice to be able to choose a relevant task for assessing the desired skill or lack hereof.
What’s the difference between processing speed and cognitive control?
What do you think? Stupid author of this stupid question.
The former assess the speed and capability of processing of dynamic information (e.g. reading speed).
The latter assess the capability to focus on a specific task or object for longer periods of time (self-control tasks).
Is it wise to test both divided attention and focused attention.
Yes. Just wanted to remind people of this distinction.
Describe in general terms how to assess divided attention.
The classic paradigm to test divided attention is a dual task, in which a subject is instructed to perform two or more tasks simultaneously.
* Example: The Determination Test (DT) of the Vienna Test System (Schuhfried, 2006) requires the division of attention between different stimulus modalities, namely visual and acoustic, as well as between different response possibilities, namely pressing a hand button or a foot pedal.
Describe in general terms how to assess focused attention.
When irrelevant stimuli can act as distractors, subjects have to focus on the relevant ones. Visual search tasks are attention tests that require some selectivity, as all stimuli are irrelevant except the ones designated as targets.
* Trailmaking is another good task example.
Is it fair to say that patients or subjects have poor attention if they perform the tasks slowly?
No. No it’s not. Don’t be mean just because they are slow. They might not become jetpilots but who cares.
*But seriously, neuropsychologists needs to be aware of this. Just because the patient doesn’t compare to the norm, doesn’t mean the end of the world.
Name disorders that can have a negative impact on attention.
Almost every disorder. I’ll give you a few but try and think of some yourself!
- Dementia
- Schizophrenia
- ADHD
What is Hemi-inattention (hemi-neclect)?
Hint: Morten Overgaard knows one or two things about this.
It is a disturbance in a preconscious aspect, i.e. our normally symmetrical orientation with respect to the outside world.
Give examples of ways to assess hemi-neclect.
Observation. Does the patient bumb into things.
Tests like the stroop test is a good measure as well.
What would be good guidelines to cope with attentional limitations?
◆ Avoid or reduce time pressure. ◆ Create structure. ◆ Keep subtasks separate when possible. ◆ Avoid interruptions. ◆ Determine priorities in advance.
Do you remember compensatory strategies? Good! Think of one(s) that might be helpful in rehabilitation of attentional deficits.
Time Pressure Management (TPM). It consists of a general self-instruction (‘Let me give myself enough time to do the task’) followed by four specific steps in the form of questions the patient has to ask himself.
1 Anticipate time pressure by analyzing stages in the task where two or more things have to be done at the same time.
2 Make a plan for things that can be done before the actual task begins.
3 Make an emergency plan to deal as quickly and effectively as possible with overwhelming time pressure.
4 Make regular use of the anticipatory plan and the emergency plan.
Which of the authors of chapter 6 is the manliest?
Tom Manly.
Finish the sentence.
“Neclect is classically associated with lesions to the right posterior parietal..”
”..but has been observed following damage to a variety of brain structures including the right prefrontal cortex and subcortical areas as well”.
Does natural and spontaneous recovery of neclect occur?
Yes.
What can cause visual neclect?
Often times it’s strokes.
Name four rehabilitation techniques relevant for visual neclect.
1) training patients to make compensatory left-ward scans
2) encouraging use of the left hand and arm,
3) prism adaptation therapy
- Prism lenses worn as spectacles induce an optical
deviation, making an object that is straight ahead
appear to be, say, to the right. When first wearing
such glasses, if asked to reach for the straight-
ahead object, individuals will tend to miss (the
misdirection reflecting the rightward distortion).
4) teaching self-alerting techniques
