Errors in working with Benton's test
Content
Desislava Ruseva's monograph "Errors when working with the Benton test as an indication of the presence of cognitive disorders" presents an important test methodology in the field of clinical and counseling psychological practice. The first chapter is an excellent overview of higher mental functions, brain structures and their involvement in cognitive processes. With many modern studies, memory and the changes occurring in the process of ageing, in cognitive disorders and dementia are presented. Modern concepts of working memory changes in decline in semantic, phonological fluency, and attention are presented. On the other hand, the negative influence of volume shrinkage of the brain in late age, the decreasing density of axons, the loss of dopaminergic receptors and the appearance of neurofibrillary plaques have been traced. The cognitive reserve model is presented, which is with individual-specific variables, providing a reserve against the clinical manifestations of brain pathology.
According to him, it is assumed that neurons cope with the damage that has occurred by using the individual's developed and active ability for cognitive processing and compensatory mechanisms. It is now increasingly clear and scientifically proven that the level and differentiation of developed brain function, social functioning and active cognitive processes are a cognitive reserve, which is a major buffer factor against age-related aging and dementia processes. These modern findings pose the important question of good psychodiagnostics of cognitive processes and early disorders, to undertake psychoprophylaxis and arrest aging processes and late pathology.
The monograph proposed by Ruseva is extremely valuable for practicing psychologists, clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, neurologists, social workers when working with patients suffering from or suspected of cognitive disorders and age-related changes. The monograph reflects her highly differentiated professional skills in work and psychodiagnostic assessment with the Benton test, scientific research skills with the development of test standards for analysis and interpretation of results. Ruseva's achieved skills deserve admiration!
Errors in working with Benton's test
| Introduction | 10 |
| Chapter 1. General data | 11 |
| 1. Higher mental functions. Structural-functional unit of nervous tissue. | 11 |
| 2 Brain asymmetry | 13 |
| 3 Primary, secondary and tertiary bark fields | 16 |
| 4 General structural-functional model of the brain | 17 |
| 5 Brain lobes | 21 |
| 6 General and specific sensibility | 26 |
| 7 Memory | 29 |
| Chapter 2. Normal aging, mild cognitive impairment, dementia | 36 |
| 1 Normal aging | 36 |
| 2 Mild cognitive impairment | 39 |
| 3 Dementia | 40 |
| Chapter 3. BENTON VISUAL RETENTION TEST (BVRT) | 50 |
|
1 Praxis
2 Description of the Benton Visual Retention Test |
50
53 |
| 3 Types of errors observed when working with the methodology
Chapter 4. Results of own research |
56
62 |
| 1 Research model | 62 |
| 2 Study group and conducting procedure | 62 |
| 3 Results | 63 |
| 3.1 Description of the sample | 63 |
| 3.2 Sex | 66 |
| 3.3 Education | 71 |
| 3.4 Age | 75 |
| 3.5 Subjects with subjective complaints of cognitive decline and subjects with dementia | 82 |
| 3.6 Combinations of errors in persons without established cognitive impairment | 101 |
| 3.7 Combinations of errors in subjects with subjective complaints of cognitive decline and MMSE 27 – 24t. (Mild cognitive impairment) | 102 |
| 3.8 Combinations of errors in subjects with diagnosed cognitive impairment (MMSE 23-12t) and diagnosed with dementia | 103 |
| 4. Discussion | 105 |
| 4.1 Sex | 105 |
| 4.2 Education | 106 |
| 4.3 Age | 107 |
| 4.4 Disorders in cognitive functioning | 109 |
| Chapter 5. Discussion | 112 |
| 1 Combinations of errors in the three groups presented | 112 |
| Conclusion | 116 |
