Decision strategies in neuropsychology II: determination of age effects on neuropsychological performance.
The relationship of age to neuropsychological test performance was explored on the subtests comprising the Halstead-Reitan Battery and allied tests. Performance of 192 pseudo-neurologic control patients across 10-year age intervals from 16 to 65 was analyzed. The findings indicate a strong age-performance effect on spatial and more complex integrative tests with peak performance between 25 to 35 years of age and a decline thereafter. A lack of significant decline was noted on sensory, motor, and language tasks. The findings reveal that there is a curvilinear change in performance as a function of age and were discussed with regard to the obvious need to modify decision strategies to account for the age of the patient.
University of Tennessee, USA.
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