Performance of older adults with and without cerebrovascular accident on the test of visual-perceptual skills.

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to (a) investigate whether older subjects with brain damage score lower on the Test of Visual-Perceptual Skills (TVPS) than control subjects without brain damage matched for age and education, (b) determine the demographic effects on test performance in both groups, and (c) determine the capacity of TVPS in identifying visual-perceptual deficits in adults with brain damage. The study sample consisted of 22 subjects with cerebrovascular accident (CVA) and 155 subjects who were neurologically intact (control group). The TVPS was administered individually to each subject. Raw scores (total response time and accuracy) were analyzed to generate descriptive statistics. Other statistical analysis included analysis of variance, analysis of covariance, discriminant analysis, and Pearson product-moment correlations. There were significant between-group differences on all TVPS measures, with control subjects performing better than subjects with CVA. Age was shown to affect performance on most subtests of the TVPS in the control group. Education had significant influence over each measure, whereas gender differences were significant only in two subtests. No demographic effects were found in the group with CVA. The total TVPS accuracy score was the most powerful discriminator between the two groups, correctly classifying 74.4% of the subjects. Finally, the total accuracy score inversely correlated with total time score. The TVPS may be useful in screening for visual-perceptual impairments in adults with CVA. Age, gender, and educational level have no significant impact on the magnitude of visual-perceptual dysfunctions.