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Body Position Spatial Task: Feasible and Valid Test

Neurorehabil Neural Repair; ePub 2018 Oct 15; Battisto, et al

Tests that integrate cognitive challenge in mobility contexts are necessary to assess the health of spatial cognitive and motor-cognitive integration in patients with Parkinson disease (PD). This according to a recent study that evaluated the Body Position Spatial Task (BPST) and found it to be a feasible and valid test of whole-body spatial cognition and motor-cognitive integration in individuals with PD. A total of 91 individuals with mild-moderate PD and 112 neurotypical (NT) adults of similar age were recruited to complete the BPST and other measures of mobility and cognition. Correlations were used to determine construct and concurrent validity of BPST with valid measures of spatial cognition and motor-cognitive integration. Performance was compared between PD and NT adults using independent t-tests. They found:

  • BPST was feasible to administer.
  • Analyses show evidence of construct validity for spatial cognition and for motor-cognitive integration.
  • Concurrent validity was demonstrated with other tests of mobility and cognition.
  • Relationships were stronger and more significant for individuals with PD than for NT individuals.
  • BPST performance was not significantly different between groups.

Citation:

Battisto J, Echt KV, Wolf SL, Weiss P, Hackney ME. The Body Position Spatial Task, a test of whole-body spatial cognition: Comparison between adults with and without Parkinson disease. [Published online ahead of print October 15, 2018]. Neurorehabil Neural Repair. doi:10.1177%2F1545968318804419.