II. Definitions
- Attention
- Attends for short periods of time despite minor stimuli
- Concentration
- Attends for longer periods of time
III. Exam
- Random Letter Test
- Examiner says each letter (one at a time): "S-A-V-E-A-H-A-A-R-T"
- Patient raises finger for each of the 4 A's
- Digit Span Test
- Patient repeats a series of numbers (start with 3 numbers, then 4 numbers, then 5 numbers and then 6 numbers)
- Three digits: 7-8-3 (or 5-4-7)
- Four digits: 7-9-6-2 (or 4-8-2-5)
- Five digits: 6-3-8-1-7 (or 9-4-6-2-1)
- Six digits: 4-8-3-9-7-2 (or 6-2-4-1-3-9)
- Seven digits: 8-9-2-6-4-1-7 (or 3-1-4-2-6-9-5)
- Eight digits: 7-1-9-2-8-3-5-4 (or 6-4-3-9-2-5-7-1)
- Other tests (which also test Executive Function)
IV. Interpretation
- Significant deficits in attention are typically of organic cause
- Anxiety or Psychosis-related interrupted thoughts may also affect attention
V. Resources
- Forensic Neuropsychology
VI. References
- Zum, Swaminathan and Egan in Herbert (2014) EM:Rap 14(7): 11-13
- Tomb (1992) Psychiatry, 4th Ed, Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore, p. 6-11