Attention Switching Task (AST)
Overview
AST is a test of the participant’s ability to switch attention between the direction or location of an arrow on screen. This test is a sensitive measure of frontal lobe and ‘executive’ dysfunction.
Administration Time
Around 8 minutes, depending on level of impairment
Task
The test begins with an arrow in the centre of the screen which points either to the left or to the right. The participant is introduced to two buttons, one on the left and one on the right, and is asked to press a button corresponding to the direction in which the arrow is pointing.
After this initial training, the participant is then told that the arrow might appear on the left or the right side of the screen, and depending on the cue given at the top of the screen, the participant must either press the left or right button to indicate on which side of the screen the arrow is displayed, or else press the left or right button to correspond with the direction in which the arrow is pointing.
Outcome Measures
AST has 7 outcome measures, each of which can have various options applied to it. The AST measures cover latency, correct and incorrect responses, commission errors, omission errors, switch cost and congruency cost.
Test
AST has one mode: Clinical
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