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Objective To assess the effects of late small-for-gestational-age (SGA) birth and late prematurity on cognitive outcomes and structural changes in the central nervous system at primary school age, using a novel approach to examine changes in neuronal integrity of the retina. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study of 347 children aged 6–13 years, including in the analysis only infants born after 34 weeks' gestation. We recorded all perinatal outcomes through a survey of parents. Neuronal damage was evaluated using optical coherence tomography of the retina. In a subgroup of 112 children aged 6–8 years, visuospatial perception was evaluated with the Children's Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test. Results The proportions of SGA and late preterm children were 11.8 and 6.3%, respectively. Prematurity and SGA were simultaneously present in five children. When compared with controls, SGA children showed significantly lower than average retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness (94.1 vs 98.8 μm; P = 0.007) and an increased percentage of abnormal Bender scores (27.3 vs 6.2%; P = 0.017) (odds ratio 5.6 (95% CI, 1.2–26.8)). These differences increased when late SGA infants with a birth weight below the 3rd percentile were compared with SGA infants with a birth weight between the 3rd and 10th percentiles and with controls, for RNFL thickness (92.5 vs 94.6 and 98.8 μm, respectively; P = 0.021) and abnormal Bender tests (33.3 vs 25.0 and 6.2%, respectively; P = 0.036). However, no differences were found in retinal structure and visuomotor performance between late preterm and term infants. Conclusions These data suggest that late SGA and late prematurity induce a distinct neuronal pattern of structural changes that persist at school age. Late-onset SGA infants are at increased risk for axonal loss in the retina and present specific visuomotor difficulties. Copyright © 2013 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Background and aims Although an increasing number of children are born to mothers in opioid maintenance therapy (OMT), little is known about the long-term effects of these opioids. Previous studies suggest an association between prenatal OMT exposure and difficulties in eye movement control. Also, the effects of tobacco smoking on eye movements have been reported. The present study examined the influence of eye movements, i.e. smooth pursuit, on visuomotor capabilities in children of smoking mothers in OMT. Design The study comprised a 2 (OMT versus contrast group) × 2 (slow versus fast smooth pursuit) between-subject factorial design. Setting The cognitive developmental research unit at the University of Oslo, Norway. Participants Participants were 26 4-year-old children of tobacco-smoking women in OMT and 23 non-exposed 4-year-old children, with non-smoking mothers, matched by gender and age. Measurement Eye movements and smooth pursuit were recorded using a Tobii 1750 eyetracker. Visuomotor functions were examined by Bender test. Findings The OMT group tracked slowly moving objects with smooth pursuit in a similar manner to their non-exposed peers. When fast smooth pursuit was measured, the OMT group of children tracked the object more slowly than the contrast group, P = 0.02, ηp2 = 0.11. A regression analysis showed that fast smooth pursuit predicted children's performance on a visuomotor task, R2 = 0.37. Conclusion Impaired eye-tracking skills in 4-year-old children exposed to methadone or buprenorphine and tobacco prenatally could inhibit the development of some cognitive functions in later life.

SUMMARY Two groups of children (34 with cerebral palsy and 80 controls) were tested for visuo-motor abilities by the Bender Gestalt test. While the number of errors in both groups decreased steadily with age, the decrease in those with cerebral palsy was at a slower rate than in those without. The number of errors was greater at any age in the group with cerebral palsy, significantly so at the ages of 5, 9 and 10 years. It would appear that there was some degree of visuo-motor perceptual difficulty in the small number of cerebral palsied children studied; this would be an additional handicap to schooling and should be kept in mind when planning educational rehabilitation programmes for such children. RESUME Le test perceptif de Lauretta Bender, mesure des defauts perceptifs et visuo-moteurs chez les enfants IMC Deux groupes d'enfants, 34 imc et 80 controles ont ete examines au niveau de l'aptitude visuo-motrice de Lauretta Bender. Le nombre d'erreurs dans les deux groupes decroit rapidement avec 1'âge mais avec une vitesse plus reduite chez les imc. Le nombre des erreurs etait plus grand a n'importe quel âge chez les enfants imc, specialement a 5, 9 et 10 ans. II semble donc qu'il existe quelques degres de differences perceptives visuo-motrices dans le petit nombre d'enfants imcetudies; ceci pourrait etre un handicap supplementaire pour la scolarisation et il faudrait en tenir compte dans le programme educatif de tels enfants. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Der Bender Gestalt Test als Maβ fur perceptive, viso-motorische Ausfalle beim cerebral geschadigten Kind Zwei Gruppen von Kindern, 34 cerebral geschadigte und 80 Kontrollen, werden nach dem Bender Gestalt Test auf ihre viso-motorischen Fahigkeiten untersucht. Die Fehlerrate nahm bei beiden Gruppen mit steigendem Alter ab, bei den cerebral Geschadigten jedoch langsamer als bei den Kontrollen. Bei den cerebral geschadigten Kindern war die Fehlerrate in jeder Altersstufe hoher und im Alter von 5,9 und 10 Jahren war sie signifikant hoher. Bei der kleinen Gruppe von cerebral geschadigten Kindern, die hier untersucht wurden, fiel ein gewisser Grad von viso-motorischen, perceptiven Schwierigkeiten auf. Dies wurde ein zusatzliches Handicap fur die Forderung der Kinder darstellen, und es ware notig dies bei der Planung der schulischen Rehabilitationsprogramme zu berucksichtigen. RESUMEN El test de Bender Gestalt como medicion de defectos perceptivos y visuo-motores en el nino con paraisis cerebral Dos grupos de ninos, 34 con parahis cerebral y 80 controles, fueron examinados para determinar su habilidad visuo-motora utilizando el test de Bender Gestalt. Mientras que el numero de errores en ambos grupos disminuia persistentemente con la edad, la disminucion seguia un ritmo mas lento en los ninos con paralisis cerebral. El numero de errores era mayor en cualquier edad en los ninos con paralisis cerebral y de modo significativo en las edades de 5, 9 y 10 anos. Parece que existia cierto grado de dificultad perceptiva visuo-motora en el pequeno grupo estudiado de ninos con paralisis cerebral, lo que constituiria una dificultad adicional para el rendimiento escolar. Seria necesario tener esto presente al planificar los programas de rehabilitacion educacional destinados a este tipo de ninos.

SUMMARY Visual evoked responses (VERS) were obtained in 119 school-children, aged seven to eight years. Five latency measurements were related to Bender and Wechsler Intelligence Scores for Children in multiple regression analysis, considering also race and sex. Clearly the latency of the VER peaks did not contribute to a prediction of the IQ scores, nor did sex at this age. Race was present in all significant multiple correlations, but its influence in our sample was significant only for predicting verbal IQ, and not performance IQ. None of the visual evoked responses correlated significantly with psychological measurements alone. Discrepancies with positive results reported by others are explained on the basis of: (1) EEG methodology; (2) statistical implications (small samples, large number of coefficients with chance of positive relationship); and (3) comparison of abnormal subjects with normal groups. The relationship between VER and psychological tests do not bear out the expectation of replacing IQ tests with measures of the VER. RESUME Reponses visuelles evoquees et QI a l'âge scolaire Des reponses visuelles evoquees ont ete obtenues chez 119 ecoliers de 7–8 ans. Cinq mesures de latence ont ete reliees au score des tests de Bender et de Wechsler par analyse de regression multiple, tenant compte egalement de la race et du sexe. Il a ete observe que le pic de latence des reponses visuelles evoquees n'est pas relie aux scores de QI ni au sexe. Le facteur racial etait present dans toutes les correlations multiples significatives. L'influence de la race dans l'echantillon etudie n'a eu de signification que dans la prediction du QI verbal non du QI de performance. Aucune des reponses visuelles evoquees n'etait correlee significativement avec les mesures psychologiques seules. La difference entre les resultats negatifs obtenus par cette etude et les resultats positifs d'autres etudes peuvent etre expliques par des differences dans la methodologie EEG, par des differences d'analyse statistique ou dans la comparaison des groupes normaux et anormaux. Les auteurs concluent a partir de cette etude qu'il est peu probable que les mesures des reponses visuelles evoquees remplacent les tests de QI comme un moyen d'apprecier l'intelligence ou de predire les resultats scolaires. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Visuell evozierte Reaktionen und IQ—Testergebnisse im Schulalter Bei 119 Schulkindern im Alter von 7 und 8 Jahren wurden visuell evozierte Potentiate abgeleitet. Funf Latenzmessungen wurden zu Bender und Wechsler-Intelligenzscores in Beziehung gesetzt, auserdem wurden Rasse und Geschlecht der Kinder berucksichtigt. Man fand, das weder die visuell evozierten Reaktionen noch das Geschlecht des Kindes zu den IQ-Scores in Beziehung standen. Die Rasse war als Faktor in allen vorstellbaren Korrelationen vorhanden, jedoch war der Einflus der Rasse nur signifikant bei der Ermittlung des verbalen IQ nicht bei der des Verhaltens-IQ. Keine der visuell evozierten Reaktionen korrelierte signifikant mit den psychologischen-Untersuchungsergebnissen allein. Die Diskrepanz zwischen den negativen Befunden dieser Studie und den positiven anderer Studien kann durch Unterschiede in den EEG-Methoden oder in den statistischen Analysen oder durch den Vergleich abnormer und normaler Gruppen erklart werden. Zusammen-fassend kann gesagt werden, das Messungen von visuell evozierten Potentialen kaum IQ-Tests als Mittel zur Beurteilung der Intelligenz und zur Vorhersage der Schulleistungen ersetzen werden. RESUMEN Respuestas evocadas visuales y puntajes en el CI en la edad escolar Se obtuvieron respuestas visuales evocadas en 119 escolares de edad comprendida entre 7 y 8 anos. Cinco mediciones de latencia se relacionaron con los puntajes de inteligencia de Bender y Wechsler en analisis de regresion multiple, y se tuvo en cuenta la raza y el sexo de los ninos. Se hallo que ni las respuestas evocadas visuales ni el sexo de los ninos estaban en relacion con el CI. El factor de la raza estaba presente en todas las correlaciones multiples significativas, pero la influencia de la raza se hallo que era significativa solo en la prediccion del CI verbal y no en el de performance. Ninguno de los potenciales visuales evocados tenia correlacion significativa con simples mediciones psicologicas. Las discrepancias entre los resultados negativos obtenidos en este estudio y los resultados positivos expuestos en otros estudios, pueden explicarse por diferencias de metodologia en el EEG o en los analisis estadisticos, o por la comparacion entre grupos normales o anormales. Se concluye de los resultados de este estudio que no es probable que la medicion de las respuestas evocadas visuales llegue a reemplazar los tests de CI, como un medio para determinar la inteligencia o de predecir un resultado escolar.

SUMMARY The verbal and performance ability of 145 three-year-olds with spina bifida or cranium bifidum has been studied. Those children requiring a shunt to control their hydrocephalus (96) showed lower mean scores on all tests than the children without shunts, particularly in the non-verbal tests. Only one-third of the children with shunts seemed to be developing normally. The presence of a shunt was also associated with moderate or severe physical handicap. Children with shunts and with below-average performance scores also tended to show poor verbal scores, and 40 per cent of this group were rated as hyper-verbal. A characteristic pattern of scores was found for these children on the verbal scales, with good syntax but poor comprehension and inability to use language creatively. RESUME Les aptitudes verbale et de performance de 145 enfants de trois ans, atteints de spina bifida ont eteetudiees. Les enfants ayant eu besoin d'une derivation pour controler leur hydrocephalie (96) presentaient des scores moyens aux tests plus bas pour toutes les epreuves que les enfants sans derivation, mais ceci particulierement pour les epreuves non verbales. Seulement un tiers des enfants avec derivation montraient un developpement normal. L'existence d'une derivation etait aussi associee a un handicap modere ou grave. Les enfants avec derivation et resultats de performance au-dessous de la moyenne presentaient egalement des scores verbaux pauvres et 40 pour cent de ce groupe pouvait etre qualifie d'hyper-verbal. Un pattern caracteristique a pu etre trouve aux echelles verbales pour ces enfants avec une bonne syntaxe mais une comprehension pauvre et une incapacite d'utiliser le langage de facon creative. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Bei 145 dreijahrigen Kindern mit Spina-bifida wurde die manuelle und verbale Leistungsfahigkeit untersucht. Die Kinder, die zur Kontrolle ihres Hydrocephalus ein Ventil benotigten (96), zeigten in alien Testen niedrigere Durchschnittsergebnisse, speziell in den verbalen Testen als die Kinder ohne Ventril. Nur ein Drittel der Kinder mit Ventil schien sich normal zu entwickeln. Das Vorhandensein eines Ventils war zudem mit masiger oder schwerer Behinderung verbunden. Kinder mit Ventil und manuellen Testergebnissen unter dem Durchschnitt zeigten schlechte verbale Ergebnisse, und 40 Prozent dieser Gruppe wurden als ‘hyperverbal’ eingestuft. Bei diesen Kindern fand sich ein charakteristisches Muster auf der verbalen Testskala: gute Grammatik, aber schlechte Auffassungsgabe und Unfahigkeit zu kreativem Gebrauch der Sprache. RESUMEN Se ha estudiado la habilidad verbal y de performance de 145 ninos de tres anos de edad con espina bifida. Los ninos que necesitaban una derivacion para controlar su hidrocefalia (96) mostraron unos puntajes medios mas bajos en todos los tests, que los ninos sin derivacion, especialmente en los tests no verbales. Solo una tercera parte de los ninos con derivacion parecian desarrollarse normalmente. La presencia de una derivacion se asociaba tambien con una minusvalia moderada o grave. Los ninos con derivacion y con unos puntajes de performance por debajo del promedio, tendian tambien a mostrar unos puntajes verbales pobres, y el 40 por ciento de este grupo fueron considerados como hiper-verbales. Se hallo un esquema caracteristico de puntajes en estos ninos para las escalas verbales, con buena sintaxis, pero con comprension pobre e inhabilidad para utilizar el lenguaje creativamente.

SUMMARY Some aspects of behaviour and of scholastic achievement were studied in 47 pairs of twins, in whom one of each twin pair had a history of febrile convulsions (FC). It was found that there was a tendency towards poorer function in the FC group, but that the differences were not significant. Extensive psychological testing of 14 monozygous twin pairs produced significantly poorer results in the FC group compared with the healthy controls, but the deficits were small and were distributed over a number of cerebral functions. The best differentation between the two groups was obtained on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale (a Performance IQ difference of 7 points, p

Background: ‘Deficit syndrome’ in people with schizophrenia is one of the primary negative symptoms that might be linked to organic brain changes. In the present study the visual motor gestalt functions of schizophrenics using the Bender–Gestalt test (BGT) were assessed. Methods: Fifty-eight chronic schizophrenics (DSM-IV) were the subjects who took part in this study (26 men and 32 women with an average age of 53.5 years and a mean duration of illness of 31.4 years). We performed BGT and used the scoring system of Pascal–Suttell. At the same time patients’ symptoms were also rated using the brief psychiatric rating scale and the Simpson and Angus extrapyramidal symptom scale from Keio University. The subjects were also divided into ‘deficit’ and ‘non-deficit’ groups according to the criteria of Carpenters et al. 1988. Results: The mean total BGT score for all subjects was 48.2, which was midway between the scores for normal subjects and patients with organic brain diseases. The BGT score for subjects correlated significantly with age (rs = 0.44, P

The cognitive skills of 61 Nepalese 10-14-year-old working children with at least 2 years working experience (WE) were compared to two groups of children, beginners (N = 29) with less than 1 year of WE and a school group (N = 104) matched for age and ethnic background. All the children (N = 194) were tested by the Bender test, WISC-R for Arithmetic, Digit Span, and the Word Fluency test. The main results showed that the school group was better in all the cognitive tests, except for Digit Span Backwards, where the working group had the highest average score. The second main finding shows no major differences in cognitive skills between the beginner and working groups. However, the work experience as such was related to decreasing visuoconstructive skills and improving Digit Span Forward scores. This suggests that work in the carpet factories seem to develop the verbal short-term memory functions of the children, while their visuoconstructive skills decrease by work experience. The third main finding showed...

To study factors which influence the quality of life (QOL) in the elderly, we investigated the relationship between scores on the modified Philadelphia Geriatric Center (JPGC) Morale Scale and various other psychological tests in 51 elderly people residing in a long-term care facility. The JPGC Morale Scale score correlated with the scores for all sections of the Japanese version of the Cornell Medical Index (JCMI), but not with those for the Mini Mental State Examination, the Kohs block design test, the Bender Gestalt test and the activities of daily living (ADL). Both somatic and psychotic symptoms on the JCMI were correlated with the dementia behaviour disturbance scale score and walking ability according to the ADL. Subjects were further divided into four groups according to Fukamachi's neurotic discriminative diagram based on the JCMI. Scores for most sections of somatic and psychotic symptoms on the JCMI were elevated in proportion to the degree of neurotic tendencies in the elderly. These results indicate that the QOL of the elderly is influenced by subjective symptoms, but not by the degree of cognitive impairment or the ADL.

We evaluated 14 patients with senile dementia of Alzheimer type (SDAT) and 15 age-matched normal elderly controls using psychological test and computed tomography scans. The low-density rate (LDR) was used as an index of brain atrophy. SDAT patients had significantly higher scores on the Hasegawa Dementia Scale (p< 0.01) and significantly lower scores on the Bender Gestalt Test (p

Visual-motor development and executive functions were investigated with the Bender Test at age 51/2 years in 175 children born preterm and 125 full-term controls, within the longitudinal Stockholm ...

The Bender Gestalt test of visuomotor coordination was applied to a sample of Iranian children (N = 1,600) aged between 6.0 years and 10 years and 11 months attending grades 1 through 5 of 16 public primary schools in Shiraz city, southern Iran. The administration of the test and its scoring followed the standard procedures recommended by Koppitz. The reliability of the test in its new context was investigated through readministering it to a group of 60 children after four weeks, the r being .77. The validity of the test was established by comparing scores of children at different age levels and by correlating test results with marks obtained in two sets of examinations, results of Goodenough Harris Draw-A-Person Test and indices of parental education and occupation. The results are mostly in the expected direction and indicate that the Bender Gestalt test may be used as a simple measure of cognitive-intellectual development in Iran. Observed differences between Iranian norms and those of Koppitz (1963, 1975) for American children are briefly discussed and explained.

A contrasted groups design was used to investigate the accuracy with which a test battery could detect persons faking mental disorder. The MMPI and Bender Gestalt were used in combination with a Malingering Scale that was developed for initial validation. One hundred adult males comprised five groups of 20 subjects each. Noncriminal psychiatric inpatients and mental retardates were compared with prison inmates who were given a financial incentive to successfully fake 'insanity' or mental retardation, and with inmate controls. Based on discriminant analyses, 92 to 95% of subjects were correctly classified as either faking or not faking. Although cross-validation is needed, this study reduced many of the analog factors which have comprised the generalizability of previous findings. Language: en

This study extended the reliability research of the Qualitative Scoring System for the Modified Version of the Bender-Gestalt Test (Modified B-G Test). The test was administered to 48 kindergartners and first graders by a licensed psychologist. The 48 test protocols were scored independently by two psychologists using the Qualitative Scoring System. The two sets of scores were significantly correlated. Results indicated that the scoring system for the Modified B-G is highly reliable.

In 1938, Lauretta Bender published her groundbreaking monograph, A Visual Motor Gestalt Test and Its Clinical Use. Over time, the Visual-Motor Gestalt Test, more commonly referred to as the Bender-Gestalt Test, became a “mainstay in the assessment battery…as an assessment tool in appraisal of intelligence…as a screening technique for neuropsychological dysfunction, as a clinical tool for sampling visual-motor proficiency, and as a standard projective technique in the assessment of personality” (Piotrowski, 1995, p. 1272). Keywords: gestalt psychology; visual perception; visual-motor integration

The eight Bender-Gestalt (B-G) designs scored by the Pascal-Suttell (P-S) system proved to be highly intercorrelated, while the ninth component, the Configuration score, was modestly related to only design one. A factor analysis of the eight designs revealed one significant factor, which was interpreted as reflecting general reproductive accuracy rather than special gestalt properties of the drawings. While the P-S Total score could discriminate between organic (n = 52) and nonorganic (n = 52) clinical outpatient groups with a 74% hit rate, only one design (seven) yielded a 73% discrimination. It was suggested that a quick and reliable method for screening for organicity with the B-G would be to calculate the P-S score for design seven only.

Investigated the relationship between tactual-visual discrimination and intelligence from a neuropsychological perspective. Parieto-occipital areas were conceptualized as mediating centers for the integration of tactile and visual information, as well as for the processing of higher cortical functions. A recently designed test of tactual-visual information processing, the Haptic Visual Discrimination Test (HVDT), was administered to a group of 39 first-grade school children. Standard tests of intelligence (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Revised, WISC-R), academic potential (Metropolitan Readiness Test, MRT), and spatial integration (Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test, BVMGT) also were given. The obtained correlation coefficients revealed consistently significant associations between the importance of parietooccipital areas of the cortex for organizing sensory data as well as for the processing of intellectual information.

The Trail Making Test and Bender Background Interference Procedure were evaluated with 598 Ss against both external neurologic criteria and against psychological opinion derived from a more complete evaluation. For Trails, highly significant differences in mean scores were seen when preselected neurologic patients and patients without neurologic stigmata were compared. Similarly, the distribution of classification of these patients by Bender is significantly different from chance. Application of these measures in a screening paradigm, however, yielded large numbers of false negatives against both neurological and psychological criteria. It was not possible to establish an optimal cutting score to justify application of these measures as screening devices, either alone or in concert.

This paper reports a positive association between demographic variables and Canter BIP diagnostic classification. Ss are 209 middle-aged men and include psychiatric and medical patients and non-patients. To evaluate the joint effects of the demographic variables, a discriminate analysis was performed on the total sample. Race and educational level alone predicted BIP diagnosis in 67% of the cases. While none of the demographic variables was related significantly to BIP diagnosis when a discriminate analysis was performed on whites alone, age and educational level were related significantly to BIP diagnosis when a discriminate analysis was performed on blacks alone.

Wolter, R., Noel, P., De Cock, P., Craen, M., Ernould, Ch., Malvaux, P., Verstraeten, F., Simons, J., Mertens, S., Van Broeck, N. and Vanderschueren-Lodeweyckx, M. (Departments of Paediatrics, Universities of Brussels, Leuven, Ghent, Liege and Louvain, Belgium). Neuropsychological study in treated thyroid dysgenesis. Acta Paediatr Scand, Suppl. 277: 41, 1979.—Neuropsychological assessment was carried out in 57 patients aged 3.0 to 17.5 years (mean 8.5) with thyroid dysgenesis under adequate long-term therapy. Starting age of hypothyroidism as estimated by bone age at diagnosis was prenatal in 32 cases, close to birth in 13 cases and postnatal of 1–12 months in 12 cases. Hypothyroidism of prenatal onset results in severe neuropsychological disorders and mental retardation if not treated early. Only some signs of “minimal brain dysfunction” which compensate with advancing age and normal IQ are found in these children if therapy is started before one month of age. Hypothyroidism starting at birth does not result in mental retardation but neuropsychological disorders are found. They are more frequent if treatment is started after 6 months of age. Children who become hypothyroid between 1 and 12 months of age are usually not mentally retarded and show minor neuropsychological disorders.

With increased numbers of older adults in the population, psychologists are faced frequently with diagnostic questions that concern the neuropsychological functioning of an older client. The need for a brief screening measure of organicity can be filled by the Bender Gestalt Test (BGT), a measure widely used by psychologists. This report provides normative data on the BGT with a sample of 334 normal older adults aged 60 and above who are residing in the community. Using the Hutt-Briskin scoring criteria, it is shown that these older adults, as a group, do not perform on the BGT in a manner that can be called brain-damaged. Use of the cut-off score developed with younger persons appears to be appropriate even with older adults.

Visual Aural Digit Span Test (VADS) scores and Bender Gestalt Test (BG) scores as predictors of Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised (WRAT-R) scores were examined in this study. The sample consisted of 115 children referred for low academic achievement. They were divided into three age groups: (Low) 6–0 to 7–11; (Middle) 8–0 to 9–11; and (High) 10–0 to 11–11. The scores on the 11 VADS measures and BG errors were used to predict the WRAT-R achievement. The VADS Test scores were found to predict Reading and Arithmetic in the Low Group. The BG Test did not correlate with achievement in the Low Group. In the Middle Group, the VADS Test correlated with Reading and Spelling, but not with Arithmetic. The BG correlated with all three achievement measures. In the High Group, neither the VADS Test nor BG correlated with any of the achievement measures. The results suggest that the BG and VADS Test can be used as an effective screening device for young children with potential learning problems.

Advocated a modified procedure for administering the Bender Gestalt Test that involves administering the BG in a conventional way and, after a brief intervening period, a second administration with specific instructions to copy the BG designs exactly. Three subtypes of schizophrenia and a normal control group were studied: 25 paranoids, 25 chronic undifferentiated, 25 schizoaffectives, and 25 controls. Each schizophrenic subgroup demonstrated significant improvement in performance on the BG when the modified administrative procedure was employed. Some implications of the findings are discussed.

Reviewed evidence for the validity of the Background Interference Procedure (BIP) version of the Bender-Gestalt test as a screening test for organic brain dysfunction. Low reliability and shortcomings in BIP validation studies suggest that the diagnostic validity of the BIP is lower than previously reported. A study was conducted in which the BIP was used to determine the presence or absence of brain dysfunction in groups of 45 brain-damaged and 39 nonimpaired male inpatients who were equated for age and education. Both the hit rate (61%) and relative accuracy of the BIP, compared with the EEG and neuroradiological procedures, were lower than in most earlier reports. The results are seen as limiting the usefulness of the BIP as a screening test for brain damage. A potential role for the BIP as a measure of constructional praxis is discussed.

Results of the K-ABC and Bender-Gestait Test were compared for a sample of LD children that included 24 blacks and 24 whites: mean age 9 years, SD = 1–2. A nonsignificant difference was found between the mean scores of the K-ABC Sequential and Simultaneous Scales. A significant (p

Scant attention has been paid to emotional changes as possible symptoms of impaired cerebral functioning in cancer patients. A retrospective study was conducted to determine the variety of organic brain syndromes (OBS) that presented with depressive symptoms in 20 head and neck cancer patients. The impressions of referring surgeons were in error in 16 patients (80%). Twelve (60%) had unsuspected OBS, with treatment resulting in reversal of symptoms in almost half. Of the eight patients with functional disorders, four received a final diagnosis of depression. Head and neck surgeons should be aware that (1) emotional changes in their patients frequently reflect OBS, some potentially reversible, (2) because of the ages of the patients, senile dementia may be a more common occurrence in head and neck cancer than suspected, and (3) because of the difficulties of evaluating changes in higher mental functions, more neuropsychiatric consultations may be warranted for head and neck patients.

This study sought to determine if the nature of disability (visual, motor, or both) could be diagnosed for children with visual-motor integration disabilities and to determine methods by which appropriate diagnoses could be made. A total of 104 children aged 6 and 7 were selected for having Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test performance below average for their age. The Motor-Free Visual Perception Test and the Southern California Motor Accuracy Test were then administered to the children, and subgroups were identified who demonstrated no visual disabilities and/or no motor disabilities. These results were seen as supporting the existence of semiautonomous visual and motor systems. Using multiple regression analyses, the types of errors of reproduction, time to completion, and behavioral observations from the Bender Test were considered as predictors of visual perception and motor accuracy. Analyses were performed for the two age groups and two criterion variables separately. The number of integration errors was found to be the only significant predictor of both visual perception and motor accuracy for the six-year-old group and accounted for less than 15% of the variance in each criterion variable. Number of integration errors and the frequency of tracing the design with the finger were found to be significant predictors for the seven-year-old group and accounted for about 22% of the variance. There were no significant predictors of motor accuracy for the seven-year-old group. It was concluded that there is a need for differential diagnosis of visual vs. motor disabilities and for further investigations to determine valid methods. Suggestions for assessment and future research included use of clinical limits-testing procedures, development and refinement of test instruments, and consideration of additional variables in predicting visual perceptual and motor expressive ability.

The present study assessed the extent to which kindergarten children's performance on the Bender-Gestalt Test is related to sex and sociocultural variables on the one hand, and to children's social behavior on the other hand. Two distinetly different Israeli populations were included: (a) The Druze—representing the traditional-authoritative culture, and (b) The Jews—representing the Westernized democratic society. Generally, the Jewish children were more socially active, and could differentiate and integrate the neutral elements of the Bender-Gestalt Test much more often than did the Druze children. Significant correlations between perceptual indicators and social behaviors were found and suggest that the Bender-Gestalt Test can be used for assessing and understanding the nature of the child's social interactions and struggle for a position within the constraints of his/her culture.

Variables stemming from standard psychologic tests, psychophysiologic tests, and operant conditioning procedures were employed in assessing the status of 80 psychogeriatric patients with either organic brain syndromes or functional psychoses. Differences were observed in the responses between the two groups. In general, the performance of the patients with organic brain syndromes was more deviant than that of the patients with functional psychoses, and the performance of the hospitalized geriatric patients (regardless of diagnosis) was worse than that of the normal control groups.

The Bender-Gestalt test was administered to 182 Israeli adolescent males: four groups of juvenile delinquents and two of nondelinquent high-school students. Each of the delinquent groups was administered one of the following versions: a standard administration with figure A first (n = 60), a change of sequence with figure A last (n = 22), a regular sequence with figure A changed to two adjacing circles (n = 20), and with figure A changed to two adjacent diamonds (n = 20). One nondelinquent group took the test under standard administration with figure A first (n = 30), and one took it with figure A last (n = 20). The results showed significantly low recall of the original figure A by delinquents when it appeared first. This phenomenon was related to both primary effect and the design depicted in figure A, with a greater influence of the latter. Difficulties in integration were suggested as inhibiting delinquents' recall.

Hutt's hypothesis that anxiety is reflected by absolute size deviations on reproduced Bender-Gestalt figures was investigated by administering the test to 40 subjects (half under anxiety-arousing and half under non-anxiety-arousing conditions). Measures of trait anxiety and defensive style were found to be intercorrelated significantly and to interact significantly with anxiety condition. Under the non-anxiety-arousing condition repressers (low trait anxious subjects) had fewer size distortions than sensitizers (high trait anxious subjects). However, situationally induced anxiety reversed this effect, whereby sensitizers had greater size distortions than repressers. Situationally induced anxiety heightened the performance of sensitizers, while it interfered with the test protocols of repressers by producing greater size deviations on the Bender-Gestalt.

Traitement informatique graphique du Bender Gestalt Test administre a un groupe d'enfants (10-17 ans) avec troubles severes de l'emotivite et a un groupe controle

Correlated performance and latencies on the Bender, Matching Familiar Figures Test and Draw-a-Person along with the Slosson Intelligence Test for 39 male and 35 female middle-class black first graders. The results suggest that the Bender may owe much of its clinical validity to loadings across all stages of human information processing. General intelligence accounted for 9% of Bender variance. With the higher order variable intelligence partialed out, the preprocessing and central processing stages accounted for 16% and the response selection and response execution stages accounted for 6% of Bender variance. Kagan's hypothesis with regard to the involvement of conceptual tempo in Bender performance was not supported. However, Kagan's contention that impulsivity is measured only in situations with high response uncertainty did receive some support.

Developed a processing model that would account for the shifting of attention that occurs as individuals copy Bender-Gestalt designs. Process-oriented variations of the Bender-Gestalt test were designed that emphasized each of the three processes hypothesized to contribute to Bender-Gestalt performance: Perceptual-motor integration, attentional factors, and short-term memory. A standard Bender-Gestalt and the three variations were administered to 24 schizophrenics, 24 brain-damaged patients, and 24 medical patients, matched for intelligence and sex. Protocols were scored blindly by the Pascal-Suttell and Hain methods. Discriminant function analysis based upon the four versions of the Bender-Gestalt test classified patients as schizophrenic or brain-damaged at a significantly higher rate than the standard Bender-Gestalt scored by either the Pascal-Suttell or Hain system.

A controlled study was conducted on 25 patients diagnosed to be suffering from organic brain syndrome. Luria's Neuropsychological Investigation was administered to detect organicity and to determine its locus. The Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test served as a control. Luria's test confirmed organicity in all of the proband population and in none of the controls. It also indicated probable locus of the lesion. Administration of Luria's test on a larger population with equivocal cases is suggested.

The study investigated the relative efficiency of the Bender and MPD as assessors of achievement-related errors in visual-motor perception. Clinical experience with these two tests suggests that beyond first grade the MPD is more sensitive than the Bender for purposes of measuring deficits in visual-motor perception that interfere with effective classroom learning. The sample was composed of 153 third-grade children from two upper-middle-class elementary schools in a surburban school system in central Ohio. For three of the four achievement criteria, the results were clearly congruent with the hypothesis stated above. That is, SpCD errors from the MPD not only showed significantly higher negative rs with the criteria (reading vocabulary, reading comprehension, and mathematics computation) than Koppitz errors from the Bender, but also accounted for a much higher proportion of the variance in these criteria. Thus, the findings suggest that psychologists engaged in the assessment of older children seriously should consider adding the MPD to their assessment battery.

The past 11 years of published research investigating the use of the Bender Gestalt Test with school-age children are reviewed. Seen as a psychometric instrument, scored according to standardized procedures, this recent work does not conclusively support the use of the test for prediction of school achievement. Nor does it offer any substantial support for individual diagnosis of neurological impairment or emotional disturbance. Test scores from group and individual administration appear equivalent. Deprived and minority group performance has differed significantly from the Koppitz norms in a number of studies and bears further investigation.

Administered the WISC-R, Revised Stanford-Binet, Bender, VMI, and WRAT to 50 children referred for a multidisciplinary evaluation of developmental disabilities. The correlations among the various WISC-R measures (Standard Scores and IQs) and Binet IQ were significant, with relatively strong relationships among the Binet IQ and those WISC-R subtests that require concentration, short-term auditory memory, visual-motor integration, and the acquisition of new learning. Data showed that the Binet MA correlated as well or better with the other tests than did the various scores from the WISC-R.