Hostname: page-component-797576ffbb-42xl8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2023-12-11T15:39:13.641Z Has data issue: false Feature Flags: { "corePageComponentGetUserInfoFromSharedSession": true, "coreDisableEcommerce": false, "useRatesEcommerce": true } hasContentIssue false

Luria's three-step test: what is it and what does it tell us?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 May 2011

Myron F. Weiner*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA Department of Neurology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
Linda S. Hynan
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
Heidi Rossetti
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
Jed Falkowski
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Myron F. Weiner, MD, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, Texas 75390–9129, USA. Phone: +1 214-648-9353; Fax: +1 214-648-2031. Email: myron.weiner@utsouthwestern.edu.

Abstract

Background: The purpose of this study is to determine if the three-step Luria test is useful for differentiating between cognitive disorders.

Methods: A retrospective record review of performance on the three-step Luria test was conducted on 383 participants from a university-based dementia clinic. The participants ranged in their diagnosis from frontotemporal dementia (FTD; n = 43), Alzheimer disease (AD; n = 153), mild cognitive impairment (MCI; n = 56), and normal controls (NC; n = 131). Performance of the Luria test was graded as normal or abnormal.

Results: An abnormal test occurred in 2.3% of NC, 21.4% of MCI, 69.8% of FTD, and 54.9% of AD subjects. The frequency of abnormal tests in all diagnostic groups increased with functional impairment as assessed by the Clinical Dementia Rating scale (CDR). When CDR = 3 (severe), 100% of the FTD and 72.2% of the AD subjects had abnormal Luria tests.

Conclusions: The three-step Luria test distinguished NC and persons with MCI from FTD and AD, but did not distinguish FTD from AD subjects.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Braak, H. and Braak, E. (1991). Neuropathological staging of Alzheimer-related changes. Acta Neuropatholica, 82, 239259.Google Scholar
Cummings, J. L. and Mega, M. S. (2003). Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Dubois, B. et al. (2000). The FAB: a frontal assessment battery at bedside. Neurology, 55, 16211666.Google Scholar
Folstein, M. F., Folstein, S. E. and McHugh, P. R. (1975). “Mini-mental state”: a practical method for grading the cognition of patients for the clinician. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 12, 189198.Google Scholar
Kravariti, E. et al. (2009). Neuropsychological functioning in first-episode schizophrenia. British Journal of Psychiatry, 195, 336345.Google Scholar
Lipton, A. M. et al. (2005). Subscores of the FAB differentiate frontotemporal lobar degeneration from AD. Neurology, 65, 726731.Google Scholar
Luria, A. R. (1970). Traumatic Aphasia: Its Syndromes, Psychology and Treatment. Translated by Bowden, D.. The Hague: Mouton.Google Scholar
Luria, A. R. (1980). Higher Cortical Functions in Man. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
McKhann, G. et al. (1984). Clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease: report of the NINCDS-ADRDA work group under the auspices of the Department of Health and Human Services task Force on Alzheimer's disease. Neurology, 34, 939944.Google Scholar
Morris, J. C. (1993). The Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR): current version and scoring rules. Neurology, 43, 24122414.Google Scholar
Neary, D. et al. (1998). Frontotemporal lobe degeneration: a consensus on clinical diagnostic criteria. Neurology, 51, 15461554.Google Scholar
Petersen, R. C. et al. (2001). Current concepts in mild cognitive impairment. Archives of Neurology, 58, 19851992.Google Scholar
Pribram, K. H. (1973). Editorial foreword. In Luria, A. R., The Working Brain: An Introduction to Neuropsychology. Translated by Haigh, B.. New York:, Basic Books.Google Scholar
Ranginwala, N. A. et al. (2008). Clinical criteria for the diagnosis of Alzheimer disease: still good after all these years. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 16, 384388.Google Scholar
Weiner, M. F. et al. (1991). Experiences with depression in a dementia clinic. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 52, 234238.Google Scholar
Withall, A., Harris, L. M. and Cumming, S. R. (2009). A longitudinal study of cognitive function in melancholic and non-melancholic subtypes of major depressive disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders, 123, 150157.Google Scholar
Zar, J. H. (1996). Biostatistical Analysis. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar