Three anorexics, one at normal weight, were examined, with a neuropsychological battery including the Halstead-Reitan tests. Their data were contrasted with that of 24 psychiatric controls matched for age, sex and IQ. Individually and as a group the anorexics showed above average verbal/academic scores and impaired spatial skills, whereas visual-motor and problem solving skills were equivalent to controls. Somatosensory recognition was impaired bilaterally in all three patients, and motor skills were low in the two emaciated patients. Other sensory tests and intermanual comparisons of sensory and motor skills were not impaired relative to controls. The findings suggest that a spatial reasoning deficit may be a predisposing or maintaining factor in this disorder. High verbal skills, in contrast, may reflect substantial left hemisphere contributions to the anorexic's cognitive style.

We also wish to recognize Stephen Langer, Ph.D., psychologist in Olympia, WA, and Robert L. Maxwell, Jr., for contributing to the clinical and computer analyses.Reprint requests should be addressed to Lloyd I. Cripe, Ph.D.,

A patient with a significant history of substance abuse was exposed to styrene and other solvents in the workplace. He became acutely psychotic, experiencing visual hallucinations. The psychosis was controlled with neuroleptic medications and avoidance of solvent exposure, but he continued to show significant deficits in visual-spatial and memory abilities. These deficits cleared with time away from the workplace. The case is of interest in terms of neuropsychological sequelae of solvent exposure and potential interaction of solvents with alcohol and recreational drugs.

Used partial correlation and multiple regression procedures to test the hypothesis that the PPVT IQ assesses more than vocabulary in adults. Ss were 84 inpatients from psychiatry and neurology wards. The relationships between the PPVT IQ and other measures of vocabulary, intelligence, memory, visual‐motor speed and education were examined in the statistical analyses. Although these variables have significant simple correlations with the PPVT IQ, the multivariate analyses show that the Vocabulary Subtest of the WAIS‐R is the only important variable. No other variable or variable combinations are able to account for further PPVT IQ variance after the effect of the Vocabulary Subtest is removed. The results support the use of the PPVT as a test of adult vocabulary, but not adult intelligence, and suggest that the PPVT may be useful as part of language assessment in patients with expressive language disorders.

By counterbalancing hand order, both practice effects and lateral asymmetry were measured on the Finger-tip Numberwriting test together with 5 other tactile tests of finger-tip writing and finger identification administered to 32 right-handed adults averaging 41 yr. of age. Under counterbalanced hand-order conditions, the Finger-tip Numberwriting test showed no lateral asymmetry, but a significant practice effect. In contrast, the same subjects showed a left-hand advantage on nonverbal detection of tactile line direction, indicating normal right-hemispheric superiority. Normal Finger-tip Numberwriting performance likely involves integration of specialized processing capacities in both cerebral hemispheres. The results do not invalidate the standardized Finger-tip Numberwriting test as a clinical tool but demonstrate the value of manipulating independent variables when standardized clinical neuropsychological tests are applied to questions in experimental research.