Corsi Block-tapping Task Research Articles

Widespread neuronal damage and cognitive dysfunction in spinocerebellar ataxia type 3

Previous studies demonstrated cognitive impairments in spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3/MJD); however, there is no consensus about the cognitive domains affected and the correlation with structural brain abnormalities. We investigated the neuropsychological profile and 3T-MRI findings, including high-resolution T1-images, diffusion tensor imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy of 32 patients with SCA3/MJD and 32 age-, gender- and educational level-matched healthy controls. We reviewed patients' clinical history and CAG repeat length, and performed assessment and rating of ataxia (SARA)-Brazilian version and the neuropsychiatric inventory. Patients presented worse performance in episodic and working memory and Beck inventories (depression and anxiety). SCA3/MJD patients had a reduction of gray matter volume (GM) in the cerebellum, putamen, cingulum, precentral and parietal lobe. A positive correlation was identified between the cognitive findings and GM of temporal, frontal, parietal, culmen and insula. We observed positive correlation between the brainstem's fractional anisotropy and digit span-forward. The following cerebellar metabolite groups (measured relative to creatine) were reduced in patients: N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA), NAA + N-acetyl-aspartate-glutamate and glutamate + glutamine (Glx). We found a positive correlation between Corsi's block-tapping task forward with Glx; semantic verbal fluency with phosphorylcholine and glycerophosphorylcholine; digits span-forward with NAA. The cognitive impairments in SCA3/MJD are associated not only with cerebellar and brainstem abnormalities, but also with neuroimaging evidence of diffuse neuronal and axonal dysfunction, particularly in temporal, frontal, parietal and insular areas.

Spanish normative studies in a young adult population (NEURONORMA young adults project): Guidelines for the span verbal, span visuo-spatial, Letter-Number Sequencing, Trail Making Test and Symbol Digit Modalities Test

IntroductionVerbal and visuospatial span, Letter-Number Sequencing (LNS), Trail Making Test (TMT), and Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) are frequently used in clinical practice to assess attention, executive functions and memory.In the present study, as part of the Spanish normative studies of NEURONORMA young adults Project, normative data adjusted by age and education are provided for Digits, Corsi Block-Tapping Task, LNS, TMT, and SDMT. Subjects and methodsThe sample consisted of 179 participants from 18 to 49 years old, who were cognitively normal. Tables to convert raw scores to scaled scores are provided. Age and education adjusted scores are provided by applying linear regressions. ResultsEducation affected scores in most of the attention tests; age was found to be related to the visuospatial span and to speed of visuomotor tracking, and there was no relationship as regards sex. ConclusionsThe current normative data should provide clinically useful data for evaluating young Spanish adults.

한방(韓方) 훈법(熏法)을 이용한 '청운(淸雲)'의 집중력 효과에 관한 연구

Objectives : This study aimed to assess the effects of incense smokes of `Cheung-Woon` on the concentration and EEG in healthy individuals. Methods : A total of 48 healthy volunteers participated in this study. The volunteers were examined with K-MAS, CBT(Corsi block tapping task), and EEG before and after smelling the incense smokes of `Cheung-Woon`. K-MAS measured the recalled words, and CBT measured the recalled positions and orders of the color boxes. EEG measured the relative power of wave, wave, SMR wave, mid- wave, high- wave, wave and T(concentraion index T

Estudios normativos españoles en población adulta joven (Proyecto NEURONORMA jóvenes): normas para las pruebas span verbal, span visuoespacial, Letter-Number Sequencing, Trail Making Test y Symbol Digit Modalities Test

IntroductionVerbal and visuospatial span, Letter-Number Sequencing, Trail Making Test, and Symbol Digit Modalities Test are frequently used in clinical practice to assess attention, executive functions and memory. ObjectiveIn the present study, as part of the Spanish normative studies of NEURONORMA young adults Project, normative data adjusted by age and education are provided for digits, Corsi Block-Tapping Task, Letter-Number Sequencing, Trail Making Test, and Symbol Digit Modalities Test. Material and methodsThe sample consisted of 179 participants from 18 to 49 years old, who were cognitively normal. Tables to convert raw scores to scaled scores are provided. Age and education adjusted scores are provided by applying linear regressions. ResultsEducation affected scores in most of the attention tests; age was found to be related to the visuospatial span and to speed of visuomotor tracking, and there was no relationship as regards sex. ConclusionsThe data obtained will be useful in the clinical evaluation of young Spanish adults.

The role of vision in the Corsi Block-Tapping task: Evidence from blind and sighted people.

This study aims at adapting the Corsi Block-Tapping task to measure serial-spatial memory in blind people and at clarifying the role of visual experience in the task. Congenitally blind, adventitiously blind, and blindfolded sighted people were compared on a version of the Corsi board that allowed the haptic perception of block positions (Haptic-Corsi). Participants placed their fingers on the blocks that the experimenter moved upward according to sequences of increasing length. Afterward, participants reproduced the sequences in forward/backward order. The results showed a significant interaction between groups and forward/backward span: F(2, 58) = 5.74, MSE = .39, p < .01, eta2 = .16. In forward order the memory span was higher in adventitiously blind participants than blindfolded sighted (p < .05) but not congenitally blind participants. In backward order, there were no significant differences. The good performance of blind people, especially adventitiously ones, was interpreted as evidence that sequential haptic inputs were organized spatially. The possible cognitive processes underlying the performance were discussed.

Differences in Spatial Working Memory as a Function of Team Sports Expertise: The Corsi Block-Tapping Task in Sport Psychological Assessment

Individual differences in visuospatial abilities were investigated in experienced basketball players compared with nonathletes. Most research shows that experts and novices do not differ on basic cognitive ability tests. Nevertheless, there are some equivocal findings indicating there are differences in basic cognitive abilities such as attention. The goal of the present research was to investigate team-ball athletes in regard to their visuospatial abilities. 112 male college students (54 basketball players, 58 nonathlete college students) were tested in their spatial capacity with the Corsi Block-tapping Task. No differences in spatial capacity were evident between basketball players and nonathlete college students. The results are discussed in the context of the expert performance approach and individual difference research.

Gender-related Differences in Visuospatial Memory Persist in Alzheimer's Disease

Gender differences in visuospatial cognition favoring men are larger in tasks requiring active information manipulation than in tasks requiring passive storage. This study was designed to determine whether male advantage in active manipulation of visuospatial information can still be evidenced in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Twenty male and 20 female AD patients with equivalent age, education, dementia severity (Mini-Mental State Examination and Mattis Dementia Rating Scale), and visual discrimination abilities were recruited. We administered the forward span of Corsi block-tapping task and Vecchi's matrix memory task involving passive temporary retention of stimuli location. Active manipulation of visuospatial information was assessed with the backward span of Corsi block-tapping task and Vecchi's pathway task in which patients were required to mentally generate a pathway within a matrix. The results showed that scores on the tasks involving passive storage of visuospatial information were equivalent between the two groups of patients, whereas men performed significantly better than women in tasks requiring active manipulation of visuospatial information. This result was limited to visuospatial processing since no difference between male and female patients was evidenced in the verbal short-term memory tasks, neither when the task involved passive storage nor when the task required active processing. Therefore, this study suggests that, besides other variables such as education or lifestyle factors, gender might also modulate the cognitive manifestation of AD.

Visuospatial function in early Alzheimer's disease: Preliminary study.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most frequent cause of dementia, accounting for 55% of all cases. AD patients gradually lose functional capacity, manifesting deficits in attention, language, temporal and direction orientation, mood, socialization and visuospatial function. The visuospatial function entails identification of a stimulus and its location. AD patients can present deficits in visuo-spatial skills during initial stages of the disease, but in the course of clinical evolution this function can become severely impaired. One of the neuropsychological tests indicated to evaluate the visuospatial function is the VOSP (The Visual Object and Space Perception Battery).ObjectivesThe aim of this preliminary study was to detect visuospatial dysfunction in early AD patients using the VOSP, and assess its sensitivity in a Brazilian sample.ResultsControls outperformed AD patients on all neuropsychological evaluations, except the Corsi block tapping task and cancellation task-errors. The AD patients performed significantly worse on all object perception and two space perception (Number Location and Cube Analyses) subtests of the VOSP.ConclusionThe AD patients demonstrated impaired visuospatial function in several aspects. The subtests of the VOSP were found to be sensitive for detecting this impairment in mild cases.

Lateralization of egocentric and allocentric spatial processing after parietal brain lesions

The purpose of this paper was to verify whether left and right parietal brain lesions may selectively impair egocentric and allocentric processing of spatial information in near/far spaces. Two Right-Brain-Damaged (RBD), 2 Left-Brain-Damaged (LBD) patients (not affected by neglect or language disturbances) and eight normal controls were submitted to the Ego-Allo Task requiring distance judgments computed according to egocentric or allocentric frames of reference in near/far spaces. Subjects also completed a general neuropsychological assessment and the following visuospatial tasks: reproduction of the Rey-Osterreith figure, line length judgement, point position identification, mental rotation, mental construction, line length memory, line length inference, Corsi block-tapping task. LBD patients presented difficulties in both egocentric and allocentric processing, whereas RBD patients dropped in egocentric but not in allocentric judgements, and in near but not far space. Further, RBD patients dropped in perceptually comparing linear distances, whereas LBD patients failed in memory for distances. The overall pattern of results suggests that the right hemisphere is specialized in processing metric information according to egocentric frames of reference. The data are interpreted according to a theoretical model that highlights the close link between egocentric processing and perceptual control of action.

The Backward Span of the Corsi Block-Tapping Task and Its Association With the WAIS-III Digit Span

The Corsi Block-Tapping Task measures visuospatial short-term and working memory, but a standardized backward condition is lacking. The authors present a standardized backward procedure that was examined in 246 healthy older adults (ages 50 to 92), comparing the results with the Digit Span subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale--Third Edition. Principal component analysis resulted in a two-factor model, dissociating a verbal and a spatial working-memory factor. Also the Corsi backward is not more difficult than the Corsi forward, in contrast to the Digit Span backward that is more difficult than the Digit Span forward. This may suggest that the Corsi Block-Tapping Task backward task relies on processing within working-memory's slave systems, whereas the Digit Span backward also relies on the central executive component of working memory. Finally, regression-based normative data and cutoff scores for older adults are presented for use in clinical practice.

The Impact of Resistance Exercise on the Cognitive Function of the Elderly

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of 24 wk of resistance training at two different intensities on cognitive functions in the elderly. Sixty-two elderly individuals were randomly assigned to three groups: CONTROL (N = 23), experimental moderate (EMODERATE; N = 19), and experimental high (EHIGH; N = 20). The volunteers were assessed on physical, hemodynamic, cognitive, and mood parameters before and after the program. On the 1 RM test (P < 0.001), the two experimental groups performed better than the CONTROL group, but they did not show differences between themselves. The EHIGH group gained more lean mass (P = 0.05) than the CONTROL group and performed better on the following tests: digit span forward (P < 0.001), Corsi's block-tapping task backward (P = 0.001), similarities (P = 0.03), Rey-Osterrieth complex figure immediate recall (P = 0.02), Toulouse-Pieron concentration test errors (P = 0.01), SF-36 (general health) (P = 0.04), POMS (tension-anxiety, P = 0.04; depression-dejection, P = 0.03; and total mood disorder, P = 0.03). The EMODERATE group scored higher means than the CONTROL group on digit span forward (P < 0.001), Corsi's block-tapping task backward (P = 0.01), similarities (P = 0.02), Rey-Osterrieth complex figure immediate recall (P = 0.02), SF-36 (general health, P = 0.005; vitality, P = 0.006), POMS (tension-anxiety, P = 0.001; depression-dejection, P = 0.006; anger-hostility, P = 0.006; fatigue-inertia, P = 0.02; confusion-bewilderment, P = 0.02; and total mood disorder, P = 0.001). We also found that IGF-1 serum levels were higher in the experimental groups (EMODERATE, P = 0.02; EHIGH, P < 0.001). Moderate- and high-intensity resistance exercise programs had equally beneficial effects on cognitive functioning.

The Diagnostic Efficiencies of the Corsi block-tapping task in the test battery for Alzheimer's disease

본 연구는 현재 다양한 신경심리 배터리에 포함되어 알츠하이머형 치매의 진단에 사용되고 있는 Corsi Block Test(CBT)의 유용성을 검증하기 위해 진행되었다. 이를 위해 MMSE 10점 이상의 알츠하이머형 치매 환자 20명을 대상으로 CBT와 신경심리학적 검사를 함께 실시하여 정상노인 55명의 수행 결과와 비교하였다. 연구 결과 알츠하이머형 치매 환자의 CBT 수행은 정상노인집단에 비해 유의미하게 저조한 것으로 나타나 현재 치매 감별 및 치매 연구에 널리 사용되는 숫자 바로 외우기와 거꾸로 외우기, K-DRS, S-K-BNT, K-CVLT의 장기지연 자유회상 등의 신경심리학적 검사와 마찬가지로 CBT 역시 두 집단 간 차이를 확인할 수 있는 도구로 나타났다. 그러나 이상의 모든 신경심리검사 및 CBT의 로지스틱 회귀 분석 결과 기존의 신경심리검사 중 K-CVLT와 K-BNT만이 치매집단과 정상노인 집단 간 변별에 유의미한 기여를 하는 것으로 나타났으며, CBT를 추가하여도 이들의 변별능력은 증가하지 않았다. 마지막으로 본 연구의 의의와 제한점, 후속 연구에 대한 시사점이 논의되었다.

Developmental Normative Data for the Corsi Block-Tapping Task

The Corsi Block-Tapping task has been utilized as a measure of spatial memory in both clinical and research contexts for several decades. Despite its wide application, the task has been employed with extraordinary variability in administration and scoring and in the composition of stimulus item sets. We have generated a set of test items containing quasi-randomly derived block-tapping sequences. In another study, we investigated item difficulty as a function of path configuration and showed a decline in performance with increasing span capacity load. In the current cross-sectional study, we evaluated developmental differences in span capacity by measuring performances of school children from grade 1 (M age = 7 years) to grade 8 (M age = 14) and a young adult sample (M age = 21 years). Mean span capacity increased incrementally and linearly with age, and no gender difference was observed. The increase in performance with advancing age supports the notion that spatial immediate memory capacity increases with maturation throughout childhood. Comparisons indicated that the span capacity of eighth graders (M = 6.9) was not statistically different from that of the young adults (M = 7.1), suggesting an upper developmental plateau for spatial span in early adolescence. This study provides a normative database for this widely utilized measure of spatial memory. Some of the data contained in this paper were presented at the meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society, Honolulu, February 2003.

Brain areas involved in spatial working memory

Spatial working memory entails the ability to keep spatial information active in working memory over a short period of time. To study the areas of the brain that are involved in spatial working memory, a group of stroke patients was tested with a spatial search task. Patients and healthy controls were asked to search through a number of boxes shown at different locations on a touch-sensitive computer screen in order to find a target object. In subsequent trials, new target objects were hidden in boxes that were previously empty. Within-search errors were made if a participant returned to an already searched box; between-search errors occurred if a participant returned to a box that was already known to contain a target item. The use of a strategy to remember the locations of the target objects was calculated as well. Damage to the right posterior parietal and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex impaired the ability to keep spatial information ‘on-line’, as was indicated by performance on the Corsi Block-Tapping task and the within-search errors. Moreover, patients with damage to the right posterior parietal cortex, the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the hippocampal formation bilaterally made more between-search errors, indicating the importance of these areas in maintaining spatial information in working memory over an extended time period.

Corsi Block-Tapping Task Performance as a Function of Path Configuration

The Corsi Block-Tapping (CB) task has been used as a measure of spatial memory since its development in 1971. However, a standard set of items has not been developed for this task, and inconsistencies in performances within levels have been demonstrated in association with different path configurations. This study investigated item consistency by analyzing the performances of 94 young adult participants on a block-tapping task that involved five quasi-randomly determined sequences at each of nine levels of difficulty. In general, performance declined with increasing path length. Cochran Q-test comparisons were conducted on the items within each level, and differential performances were identified at levels 7 and 8 only. Pairwise comparisons determined the specific items for which performance was discrepant, and further analysis indicated that performance decrements were related to more complicated block-tapping paths. The findings suggest that this version of the CB task is relatively consistent overall, and the observed effect of path configuration indirectly corroborates the spatial nature of this task. Performance heterogeneity at higher levels reflected more complicated path configuration and, presumably, greater span capacity load. Differential intra-level item consistency should be considered in clinical applications of spatial (configural) memory tasks in order to avoid erroneous interpretations concerning sustained attention ability based on failures within levels. Some of the data contained in this paper were presented at the meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society, Honolulu, February 2003.

Corsi's block-tapping task: standardization and location in factor space with the WAIS-R for two normal samples of older adults.

Corsi's block-tapping task and WAIS-R were administered to two Italian samples of 200 normal older adults (aged 65-74 years and 75-100 years). Corsi's reliabilities and standardization data are shown. Additionally, Corsi's location in the factor space of cognitive abilities represented by the 11 WAIS-R subtests is presented. Corsi's test seems to be a reliable one for older Italians. It seems also to be a measure of general intelligence in those 65-74 years of age and a measure of the Freedom from Distractibility factor in subjects 75 years and older.

HOMOCYSTEINE AND COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE IN HEALTHY ELDERLY SUBJECTS

Hyperhomocysteinemia is a risk factor for dementia but only scanty data exist about its relationship to specific cognitive abilities during normal aging. We recruited 62 healthy and cognitively normal subjects of age 65-91 years from the Conselice Study of brain aging. The following neuropsychological tests were applied (i) The mental deterioration battery(MDB) consisting of 7 parts: the Rey's 15 words immediate and delayed recall, word fluency, sentence construction, Raven's progressive matrices '47, immediate visual memory, freehand copying of drawings and copying drawings with landmarks. (ii) The Prose memory test. (iii) The Corsi block-tapping task. (iv) The mini mental state examination(MMSE) scores. We measured plasma total homocysteine (tHcy), serum folate, vitamin B12 and plasma vitamin B6. Multivariate-adjusted linear regression analysis showed statistically significant negative association of plasma tHcy with scores at MMSE (b= -0.01 2,p < 0.001) and word fluency (b = -0.009, p = 0.021). A non-significant trend towards a negative association was also found for sentence construction (b = -0.006, p = 0.076). One can conclude that in healthy elderly subjects, increased plasma tHcy is correlated to poorer performance at a specific measure of language abilities being compromised in both vascular and Alzheimer's dementia. The study suggests that plasma tHcy could be an early marker of cognitive impairment.

Visuo-Spatial Span and Cognitive Functions: A Theoretical Analysis of the “Corsi” Task

The Corsi block tapping task has been widely used in the past 20 years to assess nonverbal/visuo-spatial abilities. However, there have been considerable inconsistencies in the administration and scoring of this measure and, from a theoretical point of view, little effort has been put to interpret this task from a more general model of cognitive functions. Within a working memory paradigm, we presented the Corsi task in association with five different types of interference designed to tap either verbal, visuo-spatial, motor, or more central components. Results showed that, though visuo-spatial abilities are involved in the execution of the task, more central, coordinative abilities seem to play a greater role. In addition, we showed an evident role of motor components that may have often been underestimated. A second experiment featuring the verbal span task allowed us to exclude that results on the Corsi task could be interpreted as general undifferentiated interference effects. In conclusion, the Corsi task seems to tap a set of different abilities: This leads us to suggest that a number of different strategies could be used in the execution of the test and this could be the reason for the anomalous results often reported in the literature.

Deficits on Corsi's block-tapping task in early stage Parkinson's disease

Cognitive deficits in Parkinson's disease (PD) include disturbances in working memory. We examined sequential visuo-spatial memory span by means of an adaptation of the Corsi Block-Tapping Task in groups of medicated ( n=14) and non-medicated ( n=15) patients with early stage PD, and in control subjects ( n=22). A deficit in memory span was found in medicated patients with early stage PD relative to controls. There were no differences between non-medicated patients relative to either controls or medicated patients. A decrease in sequential visuo-spatial memory span appears to be a relatively early feature of PD and most likely reflects executive rather than mnemonic dysfunction.

Selective Impairments in Spatial Memory After Ischaemic Stroke

There is evidence that object-location memory consists of three separate processes, that is, positional memory, binding of objects to locations, and a possible integration mechanism. A group of 26 patients with lesions following ischaemic stroke was studied to find evidence for selective impairments in these three processes using displays with pictures of everyday objects on different locations. Moreover, object-recognition memory and visuospatial construction was assessed. The Corsi Block-Tapping Task and Oxford Stylus Maze Test were included as standard spatial-memory tests. The results showed that of these 26 patients, 8 patients had selective impairments in the aforementioned object-location memory task conditions (both after immediate and delayed testing). These data further support the existence of separate cognitive processes within memory for object locations that can be selectively affected by cerebral dysfunction.