Age and Neuropsychological Status Following Exposure to Violent Nonimpact Acceleration Forces in MVAs

Abstract

ABSTRACT Performance on the Halstead-ReitanNeuropsychological Test Battery (HRB) was analyzed for 33 ind viduals, aged 20 to 69, who had been subjected to violent aceeleration forces in motor vehicle accidents . Age was considered as a continuous variable and correlated with single and compos ite HRB measures. With the one exception of the Left Neuropsychological Deficit Scale (NDS) score, agere lated de cline was consistently demonstrated by com positeHRB scores (i.e., Gen eralNDS, Right NDS, Level of Performance NDS, Pathognomonic SignNDS, Pattern NDS, Right-Left Differ enceNDS, and Halstead Impairment Index). In contrast, most single non-composite HRB measures did not refleet a substantive relation ship between age andperformance. Single-score exceptions were the Total Time, Memory and Local ization measures of the Tactual Perfor mance Test (TPT), Category Test scores, and left auditory suppression. Most significant correlations represented linear relationships, but non-lin earrelation ships with age were found for the Total and Localization scores of the TPT. In general, composite measures rather than single scores of the HRB appear to be sensitive to the effects of age invietims of nonimpact aceeleration forces.