Mentor
Daniel Tranel
Participation year
2021
Abstract

The Judgment of Line Orientation test (JLO) is a neuropsychological assessment of basic visuospatial function which requires the participant to match two probe line segments against eleven differently oriented lines. Most examinees perform normally on this assessment in the absence of neurological or psychiatric disease. Impairment on the JLO indicates visuospatial dysfunction which is associated with ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s Disease among other debilitating conditions. Using the JLO to assess visuospatial function can aid in the development of individualized treatment plans for neurological patients. We used the Calamia short form of the JLO, which substantially shortens testing time as normal performance can be established in some examinees in as few as six test items. However, normative data for the original form of the JLO is in predominantly Caucasian individuals, limiting the generalizability to real-world populations, which are culturally and racially diverse. Other studies indicate that individuals of different cultural backgrounds can perform differently, even on tests of basic neurological function like visuospatial ability. The primary goal of this project is to create a normative dataset for the Calamia short form of the JLO in healthy adults from ages 18-74. This dataset will include data from a wide diversity of individuals across ages, educational backgrounds, socioeconomic classes, and cultural backgrounds. To ensure scientific rigor, we screened patients for the normative dataset for neurological, psychiatric, and significant medical history. We recruited patients who live in the United States through social media to participate in this study (N=250). We hypothesize that the races will perform equally and that men will perform better due to having stronger visuospatial reasoning than women. With regard to difference in age, we hypothesize younger people will do better on the JLO. Using data from this project, we can more accurately assess visuospatial function. 

 

Education
Georgia State University