title: VRT (verbal reasoning test): a new test for assessment of verbal reasoning. Test realization and Italian normative data from a multicentric study.
abstract: Verbal reasoning is a complex, multicomponent function, which involves activation of functional processes and neural circuits distributed in both brain hemispheres. Thus, this ability is often impaired after brain injury. The aim of the present study is to describe the construction of a new verbal reasoning test (VRT) for patients with brain injury and to provide normative values in a sample of healthy Italian participants. Three hundred and eighty healthy Italian subjects (193 women and 187 men) of different ages (range 16-75 years) and educational level (primary school to postgraduate degree) underwent the VRT. VRT is composed of seven subtests, investigating seven different domains. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed a significant effect of age and education on the participants' performance in terms of both VRT total score and all seven subtest scores. No gender effect was found. A correction grid for raw scores was built from the linear equation derived from the scores. Inferential cut-off scores were estimated using a non-parametric technique, and equivalent scores were computed. We also provided a grid for the correction of results by z scores.
authors.affiliation: Centro Cardinal Ferrari, via IV Novembre, 21, Fontanellato, 43012, Parma, Italy. benedetta.basagni@centrocardinalferrari.it.
authors.forename: Benedetta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Basagni
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università di Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.|Milan Center for Neuroscience, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Luzzatti
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Psicologia dello Sviluppo e della Socializzazione, Università di Padova, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Navarrete
authors.affiliation: Auxilium Vitae, Volterra, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Caputo
authors.affiliation: Università di Padova, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Gessica
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Scrocco
authors.affiliation: Centro di Riabilitazione di Terranuova Bracciolini, Montevarchi, Arezzo, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Damora
authors.affiliation: Centro Cardinal Ferrari, via IV Novembre, 21, Fontanellato, 43012, Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Giunchi
authors.affiliation: Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, Levante Ligure, La Spezia, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gemignani
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Riabilitazione Santo Stefano, Ascoli Piceno, Italy.
authors.forename: Annarita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Caiazzo
authors.affiliation: Ospedale Sacro Cuore Don Calabria, Negrar, Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Grazia
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Gambini
authors.affiliation: Ospedale Sacro Cuore Don Calabria, Negrar, Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Renato
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Avesani
authors.affiliation: Centro di Riabilitazione di Terranuova Bracciolini, Montevarchi, Arezzo, Italy.
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mancuso
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Psicologia, Seconda Università di Napoli, Caserta, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Trojano
authors.affiliation: Centro Cardinal Ferrari, via IV Novembre, 21, Fontanellato, 43012, Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Tanti
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012016:Reference Values; D013060:Speech; D013067:Speech Perception; D013850:Thinking; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Assessment; Brain injury; Italian normative data; Verbal reasoning