Hayling and Brixton tests
Encyclopedia
The Hayling and Brixton tests are neuropsychological tests
of executive function created by psychologists Paul W. Burgess and Tim Shallice
.
It is composed of two tests, the Hayling Sentence Completion Test and the Brixton Spatial Awareness Test.
The second part of the Hayling requires subjects to complete a sentence with a nonsense ending word (and suppress a sensible one), giving measures of response suppression ability and thinking time.
This test is entirely spoken and is thus suitable for people with a wide range of problems such as those involving reading, visual perception or movement.
It takes approximately five minutes to administer yet yields three different measures of executive functioning which can be considered separately or combined into an overall score.
The Brixton Test is perceptually simple and does not require a verbal response. It is thus appropriate for people who are suffering from a wide range of associated deficits such as those involving speech production or reading.
, Occupational Therapists
to assess executive functioning in people with neurological disorders such as tumors, strokes, acquired brain injury
, dementia
, Korsakoff's syndrome
, encephalitis
, and also psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia
.
Neuropsychological test
Neuropsychological tests are specifically designed tasks used to measure a psychological function known to be linked to a particular brain structure or pathway. Tests are used for research into brain function and in a clinical setting for the diagnosis of deficits. They usually involve the...
of executive function created by psychologists Paul W. Burgess and Tim Shallice
Tim Shallice
Timothy Shallice is a professor of neuropsychology and past director of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, part of University College London...
.
It is composed of two tests, the Hayling Sentence Completion Test and the Brixton Spatial Awareness Test.
The Hayling Sentence Completion Test
The Hayling Sentence Completion test is a measure of response initiation and response suppression. It consists of two sets of 15 sentences each having the last word missing. In the first section the examiner reads each sentence aloud and the participant has to simply complete the sentences, yielding a simple measure of response initiation speed.The second part of the Hayling requires subjects to complete a sentence with a nonsense ending word (and suppress a sensible one), giving measures of response suppression ability and thinking time.
This test is entirely spoken and is thus suitable for people with a wide range of problems such as those involving reading, visual perception or movement.
It takes approximately five minutes to administer yet yields three different measures of executive functioning which can be considered separately or combined into an overall score.
The Brixton Spatial Anticipation Test
The Brixton test is a visuospatial sequencing task with rule changes. This test measures the ability to detect rules in sequences of stimuli. It usually takes between five and ten minutes to administer, and yields an easily understood scaled score of between 1 and 10.The Brixton Test is perceptually simple and does not require a verbal response. It is thus appropriate for people who are suffering from a wide range of associated deficits such as those involving speech production or reading.
Clinical uses of the Hayling and Brixton tests
The tests are used by clinical neuropsychologistsClinical neuropsychology
Clinical neuropsychology is a sub-field of psychology concerned with the cognitive function of individuals with neurological and psychiatric disorders. Neuropsychological assessment examines cognitive function in the broadest sense, including the behavioural, emotional, social and functional status...
, Occupational Therapists
Occupational therapy
Occupational therapy is a discipline that aims to promote health by enabling people to perform meaningful and purposeful activities. Occupational therapists work with individuals who suffer from a mentally, physically, developmentally, and/or emotionally disabling condition by utilizing treatments...
to assess executive functioning in people with neurological disorders such as tumors, strokes, acquired brain injury
Acquired brain injury
An acquired brain injury is brain damage caused by events after birth, rather than as part of a genetic or congenital disorder such as fetal alcohol syndrome, perinatal illness or perinatal hypoxia. ABI can result in cognitive, physical, emotional, or behavioural impairments that lead to permanent...
, dementia
Dementia
Dementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging...
, Korsakoff's syndrome
Korsakoff's syndrome
Korsakoff's syndrome is a neurological disorder caused by the lack of thiamine in the brain. Its onset is linked to chronic alcohol abuse and/or severe malnutrition...
, encephalitis
Encephalitis
Encephalitis is an acute inflammation of the brain. Encephalitis with meningitis is known as meningoencephalitis. Symptoms include headache, fever, confusion, drowsiness, and fatigue...
, and also psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
.
See also
- Clinical neuropsychologyClinical neuropsychologyClinical neuropsychology is a sub-field of psychology concerned with the cognitive function of individuals with neurological and psychiatric disorders. Neuropsychological assessment examines cognitive function in the broadest sense, including the behavioural, emotional, social and functional status...
- Neuropsychological tests
- Clinical PsychologyClinical psychologyClinical psychology is an integration of science, theory and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and personal development...
- Executive function