Meaning of Perseveration in the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test

📚 Quick Study Guide

• 🧠 Perseveration refers to the repeated and inappropriate continuation of a response, even when it's no longer correct.
• 🧪 The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) is a neuropsychological test that assesses executive functions, including the ability to shift cognitive strategies, abstract reasoning, and problem-solving.
• 🧩 In the WCST, individuals are presented with cards that vary in color, form, and number and are asked to sort them according to a rule that changes periodically.
• 🚫 Perseveration in the WCST is indicated by the participant continuing to sort cards according to a previously correct rule, even after receiving feedback that the rule has changed.
• 💡 The number of perseverative errors is a key measure in the WCST and is used to assess frontal lobe function.
• 📝 Higher perseveration scores may indicate deficits in cognitive flexibility, working memory, and inhibitory control.
• 📊 Scoring involves calculating the number of perseverative errors, non-perseverative errors, categories achieved, and trials to complete the first category.

Practice Quiz

1. What does perseveration refer to in the context of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST)?
   1. A. The ability to quickly learn new rules.
   2. B. The repeated and inappropriate continuation of a response.
   3. C. Ignoring feedback from the examiner.
   4. D. Randomly sorting cards without a strategy.
2. The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) primarily assesses which cognitive functions?
   1. A. Sensory perception and motor skills.
   2. B. Executive functions, including cognitive flexibility.
   3. C. Long-term memory and recall.
   4. D. Language comprehension and articulation.
3. In the WCST, how is perseveration typically indicated by a participant?
   1. A. By correctly sorting all the cards in the first attempt.
   2. B. By consistently changing sorting strategies.
   3. C. By continuing to sort cards according to a previously correct rule, even after feedback.
   4. D. By asking the examiner for help frequently.
4. Which brain region is most closely associated with the cognitive functions assessed by the WCST?
   1. A. Occipital lobe.
   2. B. Temporal lobe.
   3. C. Frontal lobe.
   4. D. Parietal lobe.
5. What is a key measure used to assess perseveration in the WCST?
   1. A. The time taken to complete the test.
   2. B. The number of cards sorted correctly.
   3. C. The number of perseverative errors.
   4. D. The participant's self-reported level of frustration.
6. Higher perseveration scores on the WCST may indicate deficits in which of the following?
   1. A. Visual acuity and color perception.
   2. B. Cognitive flexibility, working memory, and inhibitory control.
   3. C. Muscle strength and coordination.
   4. D. Auditory processing and sound localization.
7. Which of the following is NOT a factor in scoring the WCST?
   1. A. Number of perseverative errors
   2. B. Number of non-perseverative errors
   3. C. Categories achieved
   4. D. Participant's shoe size