Continuous Performance Test

Cognitive effects Human nonsmokers Administration of nicotine to tobacco nonusers produces small cognitive enhancements. Studies in tobacco nonusers have primarily measured attention, information processing speed, and memory. Nicotine improves perceptual speed, choice reaction time, and digit recall (Stough et al. 1995 Le Houezec et al. 1994 Foulds et al. 1996). Improvements also occur in digit symbol substitution and continuous performance tests without reducing accuracy (Petrie and Deary 1989 Levin et al. 1998). 

Manor, I., Tyano, S., Eisenberg, J., Bachner-Melman, R., Kotler, M., and Ebstein, R. P. (2002) The short DRD4 repeats confer risk to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in a family-based design and impair performance on a continuous performance test (TOVA). Mol. Psychiatry. 7, 790-794. 

Although these long-duration versions of stimulant medications have been available for more than a decade, their clinical use has been limited. Expert raters reviewing behavioral and continuous performance test (CPT) data first reported that MPH-SR20 was less effective than the standard MPH at 10 mg two times a day, when both were used to treat 13 children with ADHD in a summer program (Pelham et ah, 1989). This reduced effect may be related to delayed onset of action and its lower plasma level peak (Birmaher et ah, 1989). 

Continuous performance test (CPT) usually discrimination tasks of long duration... 

Vigilance tests and continuous performance tests (Table 3.1), which usually last for more than 15 min, take first place with regard to sensitivity (see also Koelega, 1989, 1993). More recent work (e.g. Thompson et al., 1999) suggests that computerized reaction time tasks of short duration maj be equally as sensitive as some of the older, longer tests. 

Fallgatter AJ, Brandeis D, Strik WK. 1997. A robust assessment of the nogo-anteriorization of P300 microstates in a cued continuous performance test. Brain Topogr 9 295-302. 

Rosvold HE, Mirsky AF, Sarason I, Bransome ED, Beck LH. 1956. A continuous performance test of brain damage. J Consult Psychol 20 343-350. 

More HR subjects showed high glutamate levels in medial FL than controls high glutamate subjects scored lower of continuous performance test 1 Gin in ACC after ketamine infusion no change in Glu, NAA, Cho, Cr, after ketamine infusion... 

Purdon SE, Valiakalayil A, Hanstock CC, Seres P, Tibbo P. 2008. Elevated 3t proton mrs glutamate levels associated with poor continuous performance test (cpt-Ox) scores and genetic risk for schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 99 218-224. 

If drug is continued, perform tests to detect birth defects... 

Abbreviations CPT, Continuous Performance Test CVLT, California Verbal Learning Test TOLD, Test of Language Development WISC-R PIQ, Wechsler Intelligenee Seale for Children-Revised Performanee IQ WISC-R FSIQ, Wechsler Intelligenee Seale for Children-Revised Full-Scale IQ. 

Abbreviations CPT, Continuous Performance Test CVLT, California Verbal Learning Test. 

An additional study did not reveal any effects on neurological function among 14 persons who lived above or next to dry cleaning facilities for 1-30 years compared to 23 controls matched for age ( 1 year, in two cases 3 and 5 years) and gender when the absolute values of the tests were examined (Altmann et al. 1995). Median tetrachloroethylene exposure concentrations were 0.2 ppm in the apartments of the exposed individuals and 0.0003 ppm in the apartments of control subjects, and blood concentrations were 17.8 46.9 pg/L in exposed individuals and less than the detection limit of 0.5 pg/L in the controls. When multivariate analysis was completed to adjust for age, gender, and education, an increased response time in a continuous performance test (p<0.05), increased simple reaction time to a visual stimuli (p<0.05), and decreased performance in a test of visual memory (p<0.05) were observed. No effect on pattern reversal visual-evoked potentials was... 

Several different types of psychological tests have been applied to subjects with chronic renal failure. These have been designed to measure the effects of either dialysis, renal transplantation or parathyroidectomy (Cogan et al., 1978 Murray et al., 2006 Pereira et al., 2007 Pliskin et al., 1996 Sehgal et al., 1997). The Trailmaking Test has been administered to a number of uremic subjects. In general, their performance was less effective than that of the normal ones improvement with practice limits repeated use of this test. The Continuous Memory Test correlates quite well with the degree of renal failure, as does the Choice Reaction Time. Scores in both tests improved with treatment by dialysis or renal transplantation. Similar but less impressive results were obtained with the Continuous Performance Test. Of all these tests, it appeared that the CRT was best correlated with renal function and with improvement in the patient s condition as a result of dialysis or transplantation (Fraser Arieff, 1994 Teschan Arieff, 1985). 

Manor I., Corbex M., Eisenberg J., Gritsenkso I., Bachner-Mehnan R., Tyano S. and Ebstein R. P. 2004. Association of the dopamine D5 receptor with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and scores on a continuous performance test (TOVA). Am. J. Med. Genet. B Neuropsychiatr. Genet. 127 73-77... 

---