Cross Validation of the Discriminative Effectiveness of the Standardized Luria Neuropsychological Battery

Abstract

The extensive work of A. R. Luria has long been recognized as a seminal contribution to understanding the functions of the brain, and in the psychological evaluation of neurological disorders. Luria has presented numerous test procedures to evaluate brain processes, but these have found little recognition in the United States because the lack of standardized scoring, interpretation, and administration methods. Earlier series of articles by Golden and his colleagues have presented a standardized version of Luria's qualitative tests. The present paper is a cross validation of the original study which found the standardized Luria Battery to be able to discriminate between normal controls and brain-damaged patients with an accuracy rate of 93 %. In the current study, 50 neurologically impaired patients with confirmed neurological diagnosis made by a neurologist or neurosurgeon were compared with 50 hospitalized control subjects with injuries or diseases not affecting the brain. The average age of the two groups of subjects was 43.8 years and the average level of education was 11.3 years. The present study, using the cutoff point for the Luria subtests, as developed by Hammeke, Golden & Purisch (1978), found nearly identical accuracy rates compared to the original study. Using the original discriminant analysis presented by Hammeke et al., an overall accuracy rate of 93 % was achieved. The paper discusses in detail, the possible uses of the standardized Luria Battery, and its advantages over other alternate procedures.