Prediction of Brain Damage Severity: Demographic Corrections

Abstract

This study investigated the value of using age and education corrections to the Alternative Impairment Index (All), to predict the severity of brain damage on the General Neuropsychological Deficit Score (GNDS) and the Halstead Impairment Index (HII). A sample of 40 normal, psychiatric and brain-damaged subjects who had been administered the HRNTB was obtained and the AII, GNDS and HII were calculated for each subject. Hit rates for agreement on level of severity, after correction for age and education effects, for the GNDS and All were 52.5% and for the All and HII were 47.5%. Examination of the data suggested that All, after correction for age and education effects, reflects severity of brain damage at a chance level on both the HII and on the GNDS.

Key Words:

• Halstead-Reitan
• Neuropsychological Test Battery
• age
• education
• brain-damage
• brain-injury