National Adult Reading Test
Encyclopedia
The National Adult Reading Test (NART) is a widely accepted and commonly used method in clinical settings for estimating premorbid intelligence
levels of English
-speaking patients with dementia
in neuropsychological
research
and practice
. Such tests are called hold tests
as these abilities are thought to be spared, or "held" following neurological injury or decline. The NART was developed by Hazel Nelson in the 1980s in Britain
and published in 1982. There is a revised version called NART-R, a Swedish
-language version called NART-SWE, and a New Zealand version called NZART.
The NART is widely used in research settings because a measure of premorbid intelligence
is rarely available. However, the Lothian Birth Cohort Study has such data. Researchers from this study demonstrated that the correlation
between NART scores and age 11 IQ was moderately high at 0.60. This suggests that the NART is a good proxy
for premorbid intelligence
Intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in different ways, including the abilities for abstract thought, understanding, communication, reasoning, learning, planning, emotional intelligence and problem solving....
levels of English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
-speaking patients with dementia
Dementia
Dementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging...
in neuropsychological
Neuropsychology
Neuropsychology studies the structure and function of the brain related to specific psychological processes and behaviors. The term neuropsychology has been applied to lesion studies in humans and animals. It has also been applied to efforts to record electrical activity from individual cells in...
research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
and practice
Clinical neuropsychology
Clinical neuropsychology is a sub-field of psychology concerned with the cognitive function of individuals with neurological and psychiatric disorders. Neuropsychological assessment examines cognitive function in the broadest sense, including the behavioural, emotional, social and functional status...
. Such tests are called hold tests
Hold test
Hold tests are neuropsychological tests which tap abilities which are thought to be largely resistant to cognitive declines following neurological damage...
as these abilities are thought to be spared, or "held" following neurological injury or decline. The NART was developed by Hazel Nelson in the 1980s in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and published in 1982. There is a revised version called NART-R, a Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
-language version called NART-SWE, and a New Zealand version called NZART.
The NART is widely used in research settings because a measure of premorbid intelligence
Intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in different ways, including the abilities for abstract thought, understanding, communication, reasoning, learning, planning, emotional intelligence and problem solving....
is rarely available. However, the Lothian Birth Cohort Study has such data. Researchers from this study demonstrated that the correlation
Correlation
In statistics, dependence refers to any statistical relationship between two random variables or two sets of data. Correlation refers to any of a broad class of statistical relationships involving dependence....
between NART scores and age 11 IQ was moderately high at 0.60. This suggests that the NART is a good proxy
Proxy (statistics)
In statistics, a proxy variable is something that is probably not in itself of any great interest, but from which a variable of interest can be obtained...
for premorbid intelligence