Seashore Rhythm Test Research Articles

Verbal-performance IQ discrepancy and perception of rhythm and timbre

The Seashore Rhythm Tests, Form A and Form B, and the Timbre Test, Form A were administered to 90 strongly right-handed subjects placed in one of three WAIS Verbal-Performance IQ discrepancy groups. Some dissociation of performance on these tests was expected. As predicted, for the Rhythm Test Form A the High Performance group obtained significantly lower scores than the Equal group, which in turn had reliably lower scores than the High Verbal group. Converse predictions of group differences on Rhythm Test Form B were not confirmed. However, the predicted superiority of the High Performance group over the High Verbal group on Timbre Test Form A was found though the Equal group performed as well as the High Performance group. Thirty per cent of the High Performance group obtained scores on Rhythm Test Form A below the clinical cutoff of this test as opposed to only 6% of the Equal group and 0% of the High Verbal group.

Comparison of verbal IQ, Tactual Performance, Seashore Rhythm and Finger Oscillation Tests in the blind and brain-damaged.

Presented a brief clinical report that compared the performance of blind patients (N = 60) with and without neurologic disorder on verbal subtests of the WAIS, Tactual Performance Test, Seashore Rhythm Test and Finger Oscillation Test. Results suggest that the tactual performance test is the most useful neuropsychologic measure in differentiating non-brain-damaged and brain-damaged blind patients. Results also suggest the possibility of limited recovery of right hemisphere functioning in blind, brain-damaged patients because of loss of visual input.

Verbal-Performance IQ-Discrepancy and Rhythm Test Performance

The Seashore Rhythm Test, Form A, was administered to 90 strongly right-handed undergraduates who were placed in one of three WAIS Verbal-Performance IQ-discrepancy groups: High Verbal, Equal, or High Performance. In each group were 15 men and women. Subjects also rated their use of two guessing strategies, a sequential strategy and a holistic strategy, in completing the rhythm test. The High Performance group made significantly lower scores than the High Verbal and Equal groups who performed similarly. 33% of the High Performance group were below the clinical cut-off for this test as opposed to only 3% of High Verbal and 10% of the Equal groups. All groups reported using the sequential strategy most frequently and equally.

Neuropsychological Implications of Rhythm and Aphasia Deficits After Unilateral Left Hemisphere Injuries

The present study was designed to investigate changes in rhythm skills independent of any right hemisphere dysfunction and in relationship to verbal deficits which accompany left hemisphere injuries. Thirty-five individuals injured in the left hemisphere were divided into three groups on the basis of their scores on the Seashore Rhythm Test and the Reitan-Indiana Aphasia Screening Test. The three groups were then compared on 21 measures taken from the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. Results of one-way analyses of variance indicated that 8 measures, commonly associated with left hemisphere problems, differentiated the three groups while 13 measures, commonly associated with right hemisphere or diffuse problems, did not. The findings were interpreted as supporting the hypothesis that rhythm deficits may occur independent of right hemisphere injury. The results also indicated that rhythm deficits are useful in localizing left hemisphere injuries.

A trial use of some of Reitan's neuropsychological tests to assess mild organic complications in psychiatric patients.

Several testing procedures borrowed from Reitan's extensive investigations of impairment in brain function were employed in the present study (Tactual Performance Test, Trail Making Test, Seashore Rhythm Test, Speech Sounds Perception Test, Finger Oscillation Test). These tests were administer to three groups of Ss matched for age, education, and sex distribution. All Ss were 40 years of age or older. The groups were: hospitalized psychiatric patients suspected by their psychiatrists of some degree of organic impairment; hospitalized psychiatric patients not suspected of any organic impairment; and nonhospitalized, apparently normally functioning control Ss. Four months after the beginning of the study, the psychiatrists reevaluated and reclassified the patient Ss and formed new groups of those suspected and not suspected of organic impairment. A comparison of group means that used the original S groups showed that three of nine test scores were nondiscriminating, while the remaining six discriminated the control Ss from the patients, but not the two patient groups from each other. A similar comparison that used the revised patient groups formed from the psychiatrists' re-evaluations after an additional 4 months of observation yielded four test scores that discriminated successfully between the two patient groups: Tactual Performance Test, total time; Trail Making Test, Part A and Part B; and Finger Oscillation Test, right hand. These four test scores predicted the later classification of the patients more accurately than did the psychiatrists' own original evaluations, which would be in keeping with the general function of diagnostic testing, i.e., to provide initial information about patients beyond that which can be obtained from initial psychiatric examination.

Concurrent Repetition of a Continuous Flow of Words

This study was designed to evaluate the effect of rate (68, 127, 180 words/min) and intensity (20, 40, 60 SRT) of stimulus presentation, and of practice, upon concurrent repetition of a continuous flow of heard words. Subjects were 33 enlisted men. A three-part tape was made to obtain an SRT, to present a pretest trial, and to present three PB-50 lists read as continuous speech. Intelligibility scores were assigned to each subject's taped repetitions. Twelve subjects had an 8-day practice with other PB lists. Analysis of variance yielded an F associated with practice significant beyond the 0.5% level. The F's for rate and intensity were significant beyond the 0.1% level. Pearson r's were calculated between performance level and six psychological and auditory tests. Only the r of +0.54 with the Seashore Rhythm test was significant. It was concluded that: (a) Performance improves with increased intensity of heard speech, and with practice; (b) Performance increases when the rate of stimulus presentation is decreased; (c) A positive relationship exists between performance and scores on the Seashore Rhythm test; (d) Under proper conditions of rate and intensity, some persons can be trained to perform with more than 90% intelligibility.