Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Feb;35(2):253-268.
doi: 10.1080/13854046.2019.1709661. Epub 2020 Apr 22.

Neuropsychological Norms for the U.S.-Mexico Border Region in Spanish (NP-NUMBRS) Project: Methodology and sample characteristics

Mariana Cherner  1 , María J Marquine  1 , Anya Umlauf  1 , Alejandra Morlett Paredes  1 , Monica Rivera Mindt  2   3   4 , Paola Suárez  5 , David Yassai-Gonzalez  1 , Lily Kamalyan  1 , Travis Scott  2 , Anne Heaton  1 , Mirella Diaz-Santos  5 , Amanda Gooding  1 , Lidia Artiola I Fortuny  6 , Robert K Heaton  1
Affiliations

Neuropsychological Norms for the U.S.-Mexico Border Region in Spanish (NP-NUMBRS) Project: Methodology and sample characteristics

Mariana Cherner et al. Clin Neuropsychol. 2021 Feb.

Abstract

Objective: The present paper describes the methodology and sample characteristics of the Neuropsychological Norms for the U.S.-Mexico Border Region in Spanish (NP-NUMBRS) Project, which aimed to generate demographically-adjusted norms for a battery of neuropsychological tests in this population.

Methods: The sample consisted of 254 healthy Spanish-speakers, ages 19-60 years, recruited from the U.S.-Mexico border regions of Arizona (n = 102) and California (n = 152). Participants completed a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery assessing multiple domains (verbal fluency, speed of information processing, attention/working memory, executive function, learning and memory, visual-spatial skills and fine motor skills). Fluency in both Spanish and English was assessed with performance-based measures. Other culturally-relevant data on educational, social, and language background were obtained via self-report. Demographic influences on test performances were modeled using fractional polynomial equations that allow consideration of linear and non-linear effects.

Results: There were no significant demographic differences between participants tested in Arizona and California. Age and gender were similar across education ranges. Two thirds of the sample were Spanish dominant and the remainder were considered bilingual. Individual articles in this Special Issue detail the generation of demographically adjusted T-scores for the various tests in the battery as well as an exploration of bilingualism effects.

Discussion: Norms developed through the NP-NUMBRS project stand to improve the diagnostic accuracy of neuropsychological assessment in Spanish-speaking young-to-middle-aged adults living in the U.S.-Mexico border region. Application of the present norms to other groups should be done with caution.

Keywords: Cognition; Hispanics; Latinos.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figures 1a and 1b.
Figures 1a and 1b.
Distribution of age (Figure 1a) and education (Figure 1b) in the current sample (N=254).
Figures 1a and 1b.
Figures 1a and 1b.
Distribution of age (Figure 1a) and education (Figure 1b) in the current sample (N=254).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Army Individual Test Battery. (1944). Manual of directions and scoring. Washington D.C.: Adjunct General’s Office, War Department.
    1. Arnold BR, Montgomery GT, Castañeda I, & Longoria R (1994). Acculturation and performance of Hispanics on selected Halstead-Reitan neuropsychological tests. Assessment, 1(3), 239–248.
    1. Artiola i Fortuny L, Hermosillo Romo D, Heaton RK, & Pardee RE (1999). Manual de Normas y Procedimientos para la Bateria Neuropsicologica en Espanol. Tucson, AZ: m Press.
    1. Benedict R (1997). Brief Visuospatial Memory Test- Revised. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc.
    1. Benner A (2005). Multivariable Fractional Polynomials. R News(5(2)), 20–23.

Publication types