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Seth S. Labovitz is now at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Trail Making Test, a commonly used test instrument in neuropsychological evaluation, consists of 2 parts (A and B). The difference in times to complete the 2 parts of the test is usually attributed to the increased cognitive demands of Part B. The results of this study suggest that the difference in physical layout of the 2 parts of the test also has a significant effect on the time needed for their completion. The study used only fully functional participants; it is not known how the difference in physical layouts relates to test performance by persons with brain-function impairment.
The Trail Making Test, originally a part of the Army Individual Test Battery (1994), is a standard part of the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery (Reitan, 1955). The test has been shown to be a sensitive indicator of the presence of brain dysfunction (Reitan, 1958). The test consists of two parts (A and B). Each part of the test consists of 25 spots on an 8.5” × 11” sheet of paper, which the participant connects by pencil mark. Part A contains numbered spots only, connected in sequence, 1 through 25. Part B consists of numbers and letters intermixed, connected in alternating fashion: 1 to A, A to 2, 2 to B, and so on. Test results are analyzed for total time on each part and the ratio and difference of the individual times. Analysis of the B to A ratio and B − A difference in relation to other parts of the Halstead Reitan battery was conducted by Corrigan and Hinkeldey (1987). These authors found a significant relationship between the B:A ratio and level...