title: Signing below the dotted line: signature position as a marker of vulnerability for visuospatial processing difficulties.
abstract: Almost one-third of the participants in a neuropsychological study signed the consent form below the given line. The relationship between a signature position on or below the line and participants' cognitive function was investigated. Fifty drug-dependent individuals, 50 of their siblings, and 50 unrelated control participants completed a battery of neuropsychological tests using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB). Individuals signing below, rather than on, the line performed more poorly on tests of visuospatial memory, but no differently on other cognitive tests. Signature positioning may be a soft sign for impairment of the mechanisms involved in visuospatial memory.
authors: a Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute , University of Cambridge , Cambridge , UK.
authors: Claire F
authors: CF
authors: Whitelock
authors: Heather Nao
authors: HN
authors: Agyepong
authors: Karalyn
authors: K
authors: Patterson
authors: Karen D
authors: KD
authors: Ersche
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006236:Handwriting; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D013028:Space Perception; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: drug dependence; handwriting; neurological soft sign; signature; visuospatial memory