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Are psychophysical functions derived from line bisection reliable?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 January 2003

Pierce Christopher A. ,
Jewell George  and
Mennemeier Mark
Pierce Christopher A.*
Affiliation:
Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Neuropsychology, Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan, Detroit, Michigan
Jewell George
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
Mennemeier Mark
Affiliation:
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
*
Reprint requests to: Christopher A. Pierce, Ph.D., Neuropsychological Consultants, LLC, 1919 14th Street, Suite 714, Boulder CO 80302. E-mail: dogearcp@netscape.net
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Abstract

Psychophysical functions are used to characterize both normal perception and altered perception among patients with neglect, yet the reliability of these functions is rarely examined. The present study examined two-week, test-retest reliability for power functions derived from line bisection data among 58 normal, young and old, male and female subjects. Power function exponents and constants were, at best, moderately reliable over time. The size of the exponent tended to decrease at retesting. Reliability coefficients varied by age and gender; they were highly significant for young men, marginally significant for older men, and non-significant for women. Race influenced reliability as coefficients were significant for Caucasian subjects but not for African American subjects. Age and gender effects in this study parallel those in the literature on pseudoneglect, and they may reflect hemispheric differences in visuo-spatial processing, magnitude estimation, or both. (JINS, 2003, 9, 72–78.)

Keywords

Crossover effectPseudoneglectNeglectPower function
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 9 , Issue 1 , January 2003 , pp. 72 - 78
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2003

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