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Is the Weigl Colour-Form Sorting Test Specific to Frontal Lobe Damage?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 August 2020

Joseph Mole Open the ORCID record for Joseph Mole [Opens in a new window] ,
Charlotte Dore ,
Tianbo Xu ,
Tim Shallice ,
Edgar Chan  and
Lisa Cipolotti
Joseph Mole*
Affiliation:
Department of Neuropsychology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, UK Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
Charlotte Dore
Affiliation:
Department of Neuropsychology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, UK
Tianbo Xu
Affiliation:
Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
Tim Shallice
Affiliation:
Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA-ISAS), Trieste, Italy
Edgar Chan
Affiliation:
Department of Neuropsychology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, UK Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
Lisa Cipolotti
Affiliation:
Department of Neuropsychology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, UK Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
*
*Correspondence and reprint requests to: Joseph Mole, Neuropsychology Department, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, 2nd floor, 33 Queen Square, Queen Mary Wing, London WC1N 3BG, UK. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Objective:

The Weigl Colour-Form Sorting Test is a brief, widely used test of executive function. So far, it is unknown whether this test is specific to frontal lobe damage. Our aim was to investigate Weigl performance in patients with focal, unilateral, left or right, frontal, or non-frontal lesions.

Method:

We retrospectively analysed data from patients with focal, unilateral, left or right, frontal (n = 37), or non-frontal (n = 46) lesions who had completed the Weigl. Pass/failure (two correct solutions/less than two correct solutions) and errors were analysed.

Results:

A greater proportion of frontal patients failed the Weigl than non-frontal patients, which was highly significant (p < 0.001). In patients who failed the test, a significantly greater proportion of frontal patients provided the same solution twice. No significant differences in Weigl performance were found between patients with left versus right hemisphere lesions or left versus right frontal lesions. There was no significant correlation between performance on the Weigl and tests tapping fluid intelligence.

Conclusions:

The Weigl is specific to frontal lobe lesions and not underpinned by fluid intelligence. Both pass/failure on this test and error types are informative. Hence, the Weigl is suitable for assessing frontal lobe dysfunction.

Keywords

WeiglExecutive functioningFrontal and non-frontal lesionsFocal lesionsFluid intelligenceSorting
Type
Brief Communication
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 27 , Issue 2 , February 2021 , pp. 204 - 210
Copyright
Copyright © INS. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2020

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