NEPSY

Last updated • 5 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

NEPSY ("A Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment") is a series of neuropsychological tests authored by Marit Korkman, Ursula Kirk and Sally Kemp, that is used in various combinations to assess neuropsychological development in children ages 3–16 years in six functional domains.

Contents

NEPSY was designed to assess both basic and complex aspects of cognition, critical to children’s ability to learn and be productive, in and outside of school settings. It is designed to test cognitive functions not typically covered by general ability or achievement batteries.

History

Pediatric neuropsychological assessments evolved from knowledge and experience from the assessment of adults with brain damage. Consequently, early tests were not specifically designed with children in mind and were often normed on small samples of children. The development of the NEPSY was revolutionary as it was specifically designed for the purpose of testing children. The NEPSY is grounded in developmental and neuropsychological theory and practice. The diagnostic approach originated in the Lurian approach to assessment. [1] [2]

NEPSY-II is based on a Finnish instrument, NEPS, originally published in 1980. [3] NEPS included two to five tasks, aimed at 5 to 6-year-olds [4] and was then revised in 1988 and 1990 to include more tasks and be applicable for a wider age range (NEPSU). [5] In 1990, a Swedish version was also developed (NEPSY), which was standardized in Finland and included an even wider age range. [6] In 1998, the English version was published for the age range 3 to 12. [7]

The original version of the NEPSY consisted of five theoretically derived domains: Attention and Executive Functioning, Language, Memory and Learning, Sensorimotor, and Visuospatial Processing. These domains were made up of a total of 25 subtests that would either provide an individual score or be part of the overall domain score. The NEPSY-II was published in 2007. One of the first changes of note was the increased age range, allowing for testing of children and adolescents from 3 to 16 years of age. The NEPSY-II test battery also added a new domain, Social Perception, and eleven new subtests in addition to removing four of the old subtests. The test battery thus consists of six domains comprising 32 subtests. The NEPSY-II also exists in two versions: one for ages 3 through 4 and one for ages 5 through 16. The creators also removed the option for domain scoring, a choice which is still hotly debated today. [6] [8] [9]

NEPSY-II

Domains

The six functional domains below are made up of 32 subtests and four delayed tasks. These domains are theoretically, not empirically, derived. The subtests were designed to assess cognitive abilities related to disorders that are typically diagnosed in childhood and that are required for success in an academic environment.

These tests supposedly help detect any underlying deficiencies that may impede a child's learning. Each NEPSY-II test is freestanding, though the results of all of the tests of the original NEPSY could be normed together to provide an overall standardized score for each of the domains. The overall score for each domain was dropped in NEPSY-II, because the diagnostic information is strongest at the subtest level and discrepancies can be washed out in computing a global score. This was especially true if the examiner reported only global scores.

A comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation can be completed using the full assessment but there is no required set of subtests that must be administered to every child. NEPSY can provide a brief evaluation across all six domains and in-depth assessment based on diagnostic concerns.

Testing time

General assessment takes 45 minutes for preschool ages and 1 hour for school ages, while a full assessment takes 90 minutes for preschool and 2 to 3 hours for school ages. Diagnostic and selective assessment time varies. [9]

Psychometric properties

Up-to-date psychometric norms are based on the standardization of over 1,000 children tested throughout the United States, which enables the comparison of a child's performance to others in the appropriate age group. Several special group studies are included in the NEPSY-II. These groups consisted of 260 children meeting the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for a variety of disorders, including ADHD, reading disorders, language disorder, autism spectrum disorder, Asperger’s syndrome, deafness and hard hearing, emotional distortion, traumatic brain disorder, dyscalculia and mild intellectual disability.

Validity Studies were carried out with NEPSY, WISC-IV, DAS—II, WNV, WIAT—III, CMS, DKEFS, BBCS:3R, DSMD, ABAS—II, Brown ADD Scales and CCC-2.

Limitations

Unlike other similar batteries, including the original NEPSY, NEPSY-II doesn't have index scores. Furthermore, neither NEPSY, nor NEPSY-II memory subtests provide differentiation in standard scores between delayed free recall and delayed recognition, limiting its usability in certain clinical contexts.

The complexity and number of subtests make NEPSY difficult to master and comprehend. Administration may be time-consuming and the scores are difficult to interpret. [8]

Translations

NEPSY has been translated or adapted into a number of languages including: Dutch/Flemish, [10] Finnish, French, [11] Norwegian, [12] Portuguese (Brazil), [13] Romanian, [14] Swedish [6] and Italian. [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neuropsychological test</span> Assess neurological function associated with certain behaviors and brain damage

Neuropsychological tests are specifically designed tasks that are used to measure a psychological function known to be linked to a particular brain structure or pathway. Tests are used for research into brain function and in a clinical setting for the diagnosis of deficits. They usually involve the systematic administration of clearly defined procedures in a formal environment. Neuropsychological tests are typically administered to a single person working with an examiner in a quiet office environment, free from distractions. As such, it can be argued that neuropsychological tests at times offer an estimate of a person's peak level of cognitive performance. Neuropsychological tests are a core component of the process of conducting neuropsychological assessment, along with personal, interpersonal and contextual factors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clinical neuropsychology</span> Sub-field of neuropsychology concerned with the applied science of brain-behaviour relationships

Clinical neuropsychology is a sub-field of cognitive science and psychology concerned with the applied science of brain-behaviour relationships. Clinical neuropsychologists use this knowledge in the assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and or rehabilitation of patients across the lifespan with neurological, medical, neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions, as well as other cognitive and learning disorders. The branch of neuropsychology associated with children and young people is pediatric neuropsychology.

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) is an individually administered intelligence test for children between the ages of 6 and 16. The Fifth Edition is the most recent version.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tower of London test</span> Neuropsychological test

The Tower of London test is a test used in applied clinical neuropsychology for the assessment of executive functioning specifically to detect deficits in planning, which may occur due to a variety of medical and neuropsychiatric conditions. It is related to the classic problem-solving puzzle known as the Tower of Hanoi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Executive functions</span> Cognitive processes necessary for control of behavior

In cognitive science and neuropsychology, executive functions are a set of cognitive processes that are necessary for the cognitive control of behavior: selecting and successfully monitoring behaviors that facilitate the attainment of chosen goals. Executive functions include basic cognitive processes such as attentional control, cognitive inhibition, inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. Higher-order executive functions require the simultaneous use of multiple basic executive functions and include planning and fluid intelligence.

Edith F. Kaplan was an American psychologist. She was a pioneer of neuropsychological tests and did most of her work at the Boston VA Hospital. Kaplan is known for her promotion of clinical neuropsychology as a specialty area in psychology. She examined brain-behavioral relationships in aphasia, apraxia, developmental issues in clinical neuropsychology, as well as normal and abnormal aging. Kaplan helped develop a new method of assessing brain function with neuropsychological assessment, called "The Boston Process Approach."

The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (KABC) is a clinical instrument for assessing cognitive development. Its construction incorporates several recent developments in both psychological theory and statistical methodology. The test was developed by Alan S. Kaufman and Nadeen L. Kaufman in 1983 and revised in 2004. The test has been translated and adopted for many countries, such as the Japanese version of the K-ABC by the Japanese psychologists Tatsuya Matsubara, Kazuhiro Fujita, Hisao Maekawa, and Toshinori Ishikuma.

Western Aphasia Battery (WAB) is an instrument for assessing the language function of adults with suspected aphasia as a result of a stroke, head injury, or dementia. The updated version is the Western Aphasia Battery-Revised (WAB-R). The battery helps discern the presence, degree, and type of aphasia. It can provide a baseline for monitoring changes during therapy. It is useful for determining what to treat. It can provide indications of the location of the lesion that caused the aphasia. The Western Aphasia Battery was introduced in 1980.

The Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination is a neuropsychological battery used to evaluate adults suspected of having aphasia, and is currently in its third edition. It was created by Harold Goodglass and Edith Kaplan. The exam evaluates language skills based on perceptual modalities, processing functions, and response modalities. Administration time ranges from 20 to 45 minutes for the shortened version but it can last up to 120 minutes for the extended version of the assessment. There are five subtests which include: conversational & expository speech, auditory comprehension, oral expression, reading, and writing. In the extended version all questions are asked while in the shortened version only a few questions are asked within each subtest. Many other tests are sometimes used by neurologists and speech language pathologists on a case-by-case basis, and other comprehensive tests exist like the Western Aphasia Battery.

The Das–Naglieri cognitive assessment system (CAS) test is an individually administered test of cognitive functioning for children and adolescents ranging from 5 through 17 years of age that was designed to assess the planning, attention, simultaneous and successive cognitive processes as described in the PASS theory of intelligence.

A verbal fluency test is a kind of psychological test in which a participant is asked to produce as many words as possible from a category in a given time. This category can be semantic, including objects such as animals or fruits, or phonemic, including words beginning with a specified letter, such as p, for example. The semantic fluency test is sometimes described as the category fluency test or simply as "freelisting", while letter fluency is also referred to as phonemic test fluency. The Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT) is the most employed phonemic variant. Although the most common performance measure is the total number of words, other analyses such as number of repetitions, number and length of clusters of words from the same semantic or phonemic subcategory, or number of switches to other categories can be carried out.

The Pediatric Attention Disorders Diagnostic Screener (PADDS), created by Dr. Thomas K. Pedigo and Kenneth L. Pedigo, is a suite of computer administered neuropsychological tests of attention and executive functioning. The PADDS is used in the diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children between the ages of 6 and 12 years. The PADDS software program represents a multi-dimensional, evidence-based approach to ADHD assessment, consisting of the Computer Administered Diagnostic Interview (CADI), the Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham—IV (SNAP-IV) Parent and Teacher rating scales, and the three computer-administered objective measures of the Target Tests of Executive Functioning (TTEF). It calculates a diagnostic likelihood ratio, where each data source is allowed to contribute to (or detract from) the prediction of the diagnosis, as well as normalized relative standard scores, t-scores, z-scores, and percentile ranks for comparison to the non-clinical reference group.

The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status is a neuropsychological assessment initially introduced in 1998. It consists of twelve subtests which give five scores, one for each of the five domains tested. There is no assessment of executive function, phonemic fluency, or motor responses. It takes about half an hour to administer. It was originally introduced in the screening for dementia, but has also found application in other situations, such as hepatic encephalopathy.

The Halstead–Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery (HRNB) and allied procedures is a comprehensive suite of neuropsychological tests used to assess the condition and functioning of the brain, including etiology, type, localization and lateralization of brain injury. The HRNB was first constructed by Ward C. Halstead, who was chairman of the Psychology Department at the University of Chicago, together with his doctoral student, Ralph Reitan. A major aim of administering the HRNB to patients was if possible to lateralize a lesion to either the left or right cerebral hemisphere by comparing the functioning on both sides of the body on a variety of tests such as the Suppression or Sensory Imperception Test, the Finger Agnosia Test, Finger Tip Writing, the Finger Tapping Test, and the Tactual Performance Test. One difficulty with the HRNB was its excessive administration time. In particular, administration of the Halstead Category Test was lengthy, so subsequent attempts were made to construct reliable and valid short-forms.

The Luria–Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery (LNNB) is a standardized test that identifies neuropsychological deficiencies by measuring functioning on fourteen scales. It evaluates learning, experience, and cognitive skills. The test was created by Charles Golden in 1981 and based on previous work by Alexander Luria that emphasizes a qualitative instead of quantitative approach. The original, adult version is for use with ages fifteen and over, while the Luria–Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery for Children (LNNB-C) can be used with ages eight to twelve; both tests take two to three hours to administer. The LNNB has 269 items divided among fourteen scales, which are motor, rhythm, tactile, visual, receptive speech, expressive speech, writing, reading, arithmetic, memory, intellectual processes, pathognomonic, left hemisphere, and right hemisphere. The test is graded on scales that are correlated to regions of the brain to help identify which region may be damaged. The Luria–Nebraska has been found to be reliable and valid; it is comparable in this sense to other neuropsychological tests in its ability to differentiate between brain damage and mental illness. The test is used to diagnose and determine the nature of cognitive impairment, including the location of the brain damage, to understand the patient's brain structure and abilities, to pinpoint causes of behavior, and to help plan treatment.

The Thurstone Word Fluency Test, also known as the Chicago Word Fluency Test (CWFT), was developed by Louis Thurstone in 1938. This test became the first word fluency psychometrically measured test available to patients with brain damage. The test is a used to measure an individual's symbolic verbal fluency. The test asks the subject to write as many words as possible beginning with the letter 'S' within a 5-minute limit, then as many words as possible beginning with letter 'C' within 4 minute limit. The total number of 'S' and 'C' words produced, minus the number of rule-breaking and perseverative responses, yield the patients' measure of verbal fluency.

Hold tests are neuropsychological tests which measure abilities which are thought to be largely resistant to cognitive decline following neurological damage. As a result, these tests are widely used for estimating premorbid intelligence in conditions such as dementia, traumatic brain injury, and stroke.

The Delis–Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) is a neuropsychological test used to measure a variety of verbal and nonverbal executive functions for both children and adults. This assessment was developed over the span of a decade by Dean Delis, Edith Kaplan, and Joel Kramer, and it was published in 2001. The D-KEFS comprises nine tests that were designed to stand alone. Therefore, there are no aggregate measures or composite scores for an examinee's performance. A vast majority of these tests are modified, pre-existing measures ; however, some of these measures are new indices of executive functions.

The Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (ACE) and its subsequent versions are neuropsychological tests used to identify cognitive impairment in conditions such as dementia.

Developmental neuropsychology combines the fields of neuroscience and developmental psychology, while drawing from various other related disciplines. It examines the relationship of behavior and brain function throughout the course of an individual's lifespan, though often emphasis is put on childhood and adolescence when the majority of brain development occurs. Research tends to focus on development of important behavioral functions like perception, language, and other cognitive processes. Studies in this field are often centered around children or other individuals with developmental disorders or various kinds of brain related trauma or injury. A key concept of this field is that looks at and attempts to relate the psychological aspects of development, such as behavior, comprehension, cognition, etc., to the specific neural structures; it draws parallels between behavior and mechanism in the brain. Research in this field involves various cognitive tasks and tests as well as neuroimaging. Some of the many conditions studied by developmental neuropsychologists include congenital or acquired brain damage, autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit disorder, executive dysfunction, seizures, intellectual disabilities, obsessive compulsive disorder, stuttering, schizophrenia, developmental aphasia, and other learning delays such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyspraxia.

References

  1. ↑ Luria, Alexander R. (1976) [1973]. The Working Brain: An Introduction to Neuropsychology. Translated by Haigh, Basil. New York: Basic Books. ISBN   0-465-09207-1. OCLC   832187.
  2. ↑ Luria, Aleksandr Romanovich (1995). Higher Cortical Functions in Man. Boston, MA: Springer US. ISBN   978-1-4684-7741-2. OCLC   858919062.
  3. ↑ "NEPs-Lingua: A New Textual Language to Program NEPs". Proceedings of the 1st International Workshop on AI Methods for Interdisciplinary Research in Language and Biology. SciTePress - Science and Technology Publications: 37–46. 2011. doi: 10.5220/0003308200370046 . ISBN   978-989-8425-42-3.
  4. ↑ Korkman, Marit (1999). "Applying Luria's diagnostic principles in the neuropsychological assessment of children". Neuropsychology Review. 9 (2): 89–105. doi:10.1023/a:1025659808004. ISSN   1040-7308. PMID   10509732. S2CID   7516231.
  5. ↑ Korkman, Marit (2013-07-26), "NEPSY-A Tool for Comprehensive Assessment of Neurocognitive Disorders in Children", Comprehensive Handbook of Psychological Assessment, Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., pp. 157–176, doi:10.1002/9780471726753.ch11, ISBN   9780471726753 , retrieved 2023-03-11
  6. 1 2 3 Korkman, Marit; Kirk, Urusla; Kemp, Sally (2007). "NEPSY - Second Edition". PsycTESTS Dataset. doi:10.1037/t15125-000 . Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  7. ↑ Davis, John L.; Matthews, Robb N. (2010-03-21). "NEPSY-II Review". Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment. 28 (2): 175–182. doi:10.1177/0734282909346716. ISSN   0734-2829. S2CID   144202898.
  8. 1 2 Brooks, Brian L.; Sherman, Elisabeth M. S.; Strauss, Esther (2009-12-21). "NEPSY-II: A Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment, Second Edition". Child Neuropsychology. 16 (1): 80–101. doi:10.1080/09297040903146966. ISSN   0929-7049. S2CID   145171711.
  9. 1 2 "NEPSY | Second Edition". www.pearsonassessments.com. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  10. ↑ Miatton, Marijke; De Wolf, Daniël; François, Katrien; Thiery, Evert; Vingerhoets, Guy (February 2007). "Intellectual, neuropsychological, and behavioral functioning in children with tetralogy of Fallot". The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. 133 (2): 449–455. doi: 10.1016/j.jtcvs.2006.10.006 . ISSN   0022-5223. PMID   17258582.
  11. ↑ Gabriel, Audrey; Maillart, Christelle; Stefaniak, Nicolas; Lejeune, Caroline; Desmottes, Lise; Meulemans, Thierry (2013-01-08). "Procedural Learning in Specific Language Impairment: Effects of Sequence Complexity". Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society. 19 (3): 264–271. doi:10.1017/s1355617712001270. hdl: 2268/239259 . ISSN   1355-6177. PMID   23298411. S2CID   6075215.
  12. ↑ Dalen, K.; Bruarøy, S.; Wentzel-Larsen, T.; Lægreid, L. (August 2009). "Cognitive Functioning in Children Prenatally Exposed to Alcohol and Psychotropic Drugs". Neuropediatrics. 40 (4): 162–167. doi:10.1055/s-0029-1243176. ISSN   0174-304X. PMID   20135573. S2CID   206300981.
  13. ↑ Benedicto, Carlos; Roncero, David; González, Luis (2017). "Agresores sexuales juveniles: tipología y perfil psicosocial en función de la edad de sus víctimas". Anuario de Psicología Jurídica. 27 (1): 33–42. doi: 10.1016/j.apj.2016.05.002 . ISSN   1133-0740.
  14. ↑ Visu-Petra, Laura; Cheie, Lavinia; Benga, Oana; Miclea, Mircea (2012). "The structure of executive functions in preschoolers: An investigation using the NEPSY battery". Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences. 33: 627–631. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.01.197 . ISSN   1877-0428.
  15. ↑ Calderoni, Sara; Muratori, Filippo; Leggero, Chiara; Narzisi, Antonio; Apicella, Fabio; Balottin, Umberto; Carigi, Tiziana; Maestro, Sandra; Fabbro, Franco; Urgesi, Cosimo (February 2013). "Neuropsychological functioning in children and adolescents with restrictive-type anorexia nervosa: An in-depth investigation with NEPSY–II". Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology. 35 (2): 167–179. doi:10.1080/13803395.2012.760536. ISSN   1380-3395. PMID   23351019. S2CID   30666312.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.