skip to content
Dovepress - Open Access to Scientific and Medical Research
View our mobile site

8852

Test of variables of attention (TOVA) as a predictor of early attention complaints, an antecedent to dementia

Original Research

(1475) Views  (548) Full article downloads

Authors: Eric R Braverman, Amanda Lih-Chuan Chen, Thomas JH Chen, et al

Published Date October 2010 Volume 2010:6(1) Pages 681 - 690
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S12243

Eric R Braverman1,5, Amanda Lih-Chuan Chen2, Thomas JH Chen3, John D Schoolfield4, Alison Notaro5, Dasha Braverman5, Mallory Kerner5, Seth H Blum6 , Vanessa Arcuri5, Michael Varshavskiy5, Uma Damle5 , B William Downs7, Roger L Waite7, Marlene Oscar-Berman8, John Giordano9 , Kenneth Blum5,6,7,10

1Division of Neurological Surgery, Weill Cornell College of Medicine, New York, NY, USA; 2Department of Engineering and Management of Advanced Technology, 3Department of Occupational Safety and Health, Chang Jung Christian University, Tainan, Taiwan Republic of China; 4Department of Periodontics, University of Texas, Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX, USA; 5PATH Research Foundation, New York, NY, USA; 6Department of Nutritional Genomics, Synaptamine, Inc., San Antonio, TX, USA; 7Department of Personalized Medicine, LifeGen, Inc., La Jolla, CA, USA; 8Boston University School of Medicine, Boston VA, Boston, MA, USA; 9Department of Holistic Medicine, G & G Holistic Addiction Treatment Center, North Miami Beach, FL, USA; 10Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Wake Forest School of Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

Abstract: The goal of this study was to determine if impairments detected by the test of variables of attention (TOVA) may be used to predict early attention complaints and memory impairments accurately in a clinical setting. We performed a statistical analysis of outcomes in a patient population screened for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or attention complaints, processing errors as measured by TOVA and the Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS-III) results. Attention deficit disorder (ADD) checklists, constructed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th Edition criteria, which were completed by patients at PATH Medical, revealed that 72.8% of the patients had more than one attention complaint out of a total of 16 complaints, and 41.5% had more than five complaints. For the 128 males with a significant number of ADD complaints, individuals whose scores were significantly deviant or borderline (SDB) on TOVA, had a significantly greater number of attention complaints compared with normals for omissions (P < 0.02), response time (P < 0.015), and variability (P < 0.005), but not commissions (P > 0.50). For males, the mean scores for auditory, visual, immediate, and working memory scores as measured by the WMS-III were significantly greater for normals versus SDBs on the TOVA subtest, ie, omission (P < 0.01) and response time (P < 0.05), but not variability or commissions. The means for auditory, visual, and immediate memory scores were significantly greater for normals versus SDBs for variability (P < 0.045) only. In females, the mean scores for visual and working memory scores were significantly greater for normals versus SDBs for omissions (P < 0.025). The number of SDB TOVA quarters was a significant predictor for “impaired” or “normal” group membership for visual memory (P < 0.015), but not for the other three WMS-III components. For males, the partial correlation between the number of attention complaints and the number of SDB TOVA quarters was also significant (r = 0.251, P < 0.005). For the 152 females with a significant number of attention complaints, no significant differences between SDBs and normals were observed (P > 0.15). This is the first report, to our knowledge, which provides evidence that TOVA is an accurate predictor of early attention complaints and memory impairments in a clinical setting. This finding is more robust for males than for females between the ages of 40 and 90 years.

Keywords: attention complaints, dementia, TOVA, Wechsler Memory Scale






Readers of this article also read:

Interventions to reduce the adverse psychosocial impact of driving cessation on older adults
Tinnitus psychopharmacology: A comprehensive review of its pathomechanisms and management
Concomitant bilateral intravitreal anti-VEGF injections for the treatment of exudative age-related macular degeneration
Obsessive-compulsive disorder with bipolar diathesis following isotretinoin therapy remitting upon treatment with olanzapine and fluvoxamine
The Moses Mabhida Medical Plan: medical care planning and execution at a FIFA2010 stadium; the Durban experience
Epidemiology and treatment approaches in management of invasive fungal infections
Multiple treatment comparison meta-analyses: a step forward into complexity
Predicting cell adhesion receptors using protein sequence index
Comparison of Charlson comorbidity index with SAPS and APACHE scores for prediction of mortality following intensive care
Pattern of intraocular pressure reduction following laser trabeculoplasty in open-angle glaucoma patients: comparison between selective and nonselective treatment