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Multicenter Study
. 2012 Jun 5;78(23):1824-31.
doi: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e318258f785. Epub 2012 May 9.

Multicenter validation of a bedside antisaccade task as a measure of executive function

J Hellmuth  1 , J Mirsky, H W Heuer, A Matlin, A Jafari, S Garbutt, M Widmeyer, A Berhel, L Sinha, B L Miller, J H Kramer, A L Boxer
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Multicenter validation of a bedside antisaccade task as a measure of executive function

J Hellmuth et al. Neurology. .

Abstract

Objective: To create and validate a simple, standardized version of the antisaccade (AS) task that requires no specialized equipment for use as a measure of executive function in multicenter clinical studies.

Methods: The bedside AS (BAS) task consisted of 40 pseudorandomized AS trials presented on a laptop computer. BAS performance was compared with AS performance measured using an infrared eye tracker in normal elders (NE) and individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia (n = 33). The neuropsychological domain specificity of the BAS was then determined in a cohort of NE, MCI, and dementia (n = 103) at UCSF, and the BAS was validated as a measure of executive function in a 6-center cohort (n = 397) of normal adults and patients with a variety of brain diseases.

Results: Performance on the BAS and laboratory AS task was strongly correlated and BAS performance was most strongly associated with neuropsychological measures of executive function. Even after controlling for disease severity and processing speed, BAS performance was associated with multiple assessments of executive function, most strongly the informant-based Frontal Systems Behavior Scale.

Conclusions: The BAS is a simple, valid measure of executive function in aging and neurologic disease.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Bedside antisaccade (AS) performance as a function of laboratory eye movement measurements
Scatterplots exhibit the relationship between the percentage of correct bedside AS responses and laboratory assessment of the percentage of correct AS responses (A) and the percentage of correct plus self-corrected AS responses (B). Trend lines indicate significant correlations (Pearson; p < 0.05). AD = Alzheimer disease; FTLD = frontotemporal lobar degeneration; MCI = mild cognitive impairment; NC = normal control; PSP = progressive supranuclear palsy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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