The Modified Five-Point Test: normative data for a sample of Italian healthy adults aged 16–60

Abstract

The Five-Point Test is one of the various measures of figural fluency functions that have been developed as nonverbal analogues to word fluency tasks, and used in neuropsychological assessment to evaluate the ability to initiate and sustain mental productivity, and to self-monitor and regulate responding in the visual-spatial domain. The aim of the current study was to collect normative data for a version of the Five-Point Test (M-FPT) administered to a sample of Italian healthy adults aged 16-60 (n = 332). Performance on the M-FPT was scored by computing the cumulative number of unique designs (UDs) performed on a 3-min administration time. Two supplemental scores were also computed: (a) the cumulative strategies (CSs) consisting with the number of UDs incorporated into enumerative or rotational strategies; (b) the error index (ErrI), consisting with the percentage between the number of perseverative or rule-breaking errors and the number of designs overall. Multiple regression analyses revealed a significant effect of age and education, but not gender, for both UDs and CSs. Equivalent scores and cut-off scores were then determined for UDs and CSs. Descriptive statistical analyses and cut-off scores were reported for ErrI. The availability of normative data for the M-FPT will be valuable in clinical settings for assessing of executive dysfunctions on the visual-spatial subdomain of subjects with brain injury. However, in order to increase the usefulness of the test, the upper limits of the age range of the normative sample should be widened. Moreover, further analyses should be required for determining the inter-rater and test-retest reliability for M-FPT performances, and providing evidence of the sensitivity of this measure to brain disturbances generally and to frontal lobe dysfunction specifically.

Recovering and Worsening at Design Fluency in 22 Neurosurgical Patients: Preimmediately Post-surgery and Follow-up Testing

“…Behavioral data: Accordingly to the norms reported by Cattelani et al [18] we calculated the number of unique designs generated (UDs) under a strategy defined as three or more consecutive unique designs). Patients' scores were corrected for age and education, closely following the norms reported for the Italian normative sample presented by Cattelani et al [18].…”

“…The performance of a sample of healthy controls involving a total of 332 adults ranging from 16 to 60 years has been reported in Cattelani et al [18]. Healthy controls were able to complete in 3 min of time a mean of 23.83 unique designs, by adopting a mean of 1.9 strategies and their perseveration index was 0.2246.…”

“…The FPT was administered following Cattellani et al [18]. The stimulus material consists of a sheet with 40 matrices (eight rows and five columns, 3 × 2 cm), with each matrix formed by a fixed pattern of five symmetrically organized dots [18].…”

“…The stimulus material consists of a sheet with 40 matrices (eight rows and five columns, 3 × 2 cm), with each matrix formed by a fixed pattern of five symmetrically organized dots [18]. Participants were asked to draw, within each matrix, as many unique designs as possible by connecting two or more dots with straight lines, without replicating any drawings.…”

Language, executive functioning and symptomatology—Is fluency a transversal tool in schizophrenia?

“…Moreover, fluency assessment can be specified with a non-verbal fluency task, which requires the subject to draw as many different abstract figures as he can by connecting points (that are arranged like on a dice) with straight lines ( [4][5][6]). Impairments on this task could be linked with brain dysfunctions, in particular in patients with Parkinson's disease [7] irrespective of their visuomotor and visuospatial skills [8].…”