A-57 Processing Speed and Executive Function Contributions to Rey Complex Figure Copy Performance in Rehabilitation Patients

Abstract

Abstract Objective The Rey Complex Figure Test (RCFT) is a widely used measure of visuoconstruction and memory. Prior research examined contributions of cognitive domains other than visuospatial ability on RCFT performance. This study compared processing speed, visuospatial ability, and executive function in predicting RCFT copy (RCFT-C) trial performance in a rehabilitation setting. Method Participants (N = 156) were categorized by diagnosis into TBI (n = 99), stroke (n = 34), and mixed (n = 23) groups. Outcome measures included the RCFT, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV), Trail Making Test (TMT), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), and phonemic word generation (FAS). Diagnostic groups were compared on the RCFT-C. Outcome measure correlations were calculated. Measures were combined using principle components analysis into executive function (EXFX: TMT-B, FAS, and WCST), processing speed (SPD: TMT-A, Coding, and Symbol Search), and visuospatial ability (VIS: Block Design, Matrix Reasoning, and Visual Puzzles) scores. Nested regression models predicting RCFT-C were fitted using four predictor blocks (demographics, SPD, EXFX, and VIS). Results Groups differed on RCFT-C (p < .001) with the stroke and mixed groups performing worse than the TBI group. RCFT and WAIS-IV subtests showed the following correlations: verbal (r = .27-.42, p < .001); visuospatial (r = .38-.42, p < .001); working memory (r = .20-.30, p < .02); and processing speed (r = .33-.35, p < .001). Regression models supported independent contributions of EXFX, SPD, and VIS with R2 changes of .06, .16, and .08, respectively. Conclusions In addition to expected contributions from executive function and visuospatial ability, processing speed contributes significantly to RCFT-C performance in rehabilitation patients.