title: Neurologic validity of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test with a pediatric population.
abstract: This study investigated the neurologic validity of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) with a pediatric population; that is, the ability of the test to detect dysfunction in the frontal lobes. Fifty children with diverse etiologies of brain dysfunction were classified via EEG, MRI, or CT as having left hemisphere, right hemisphere, or bilateral frontal, extrafrontal, or multifocal/diffuse regions of brain dysfunction. Findings failed to support the hypotheses that WCST performance is more impaired in frontal lesions than extrafrontal or multifocal/diffuse lesions, or that WCST performance is more impaired in left hemisphere lesions than right. Although the WCST is not helpful in localizing cerebral area of dysfunction, it may still be a clinically useful test for examining processes that children use to solve complex problems.
authors.affiliation: The University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, United States of America.
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Chase-Carmichael
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Ris
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: B K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Schefft
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D003071:Cognition; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000592:standards*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014888:Wechsler Scales