Table 4 Cognitive tests and patient-reported questionnaires for assessing executive functioning
Test | Description | Executive function | Outcome | Scoring | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DKEFs Tower Test [30] | A timed test that involves constructing towers of discs on a set of pegs with rules for movement and setup | Planning, sustained attention | Total number of moves | Age-adjusted scaled score [range: 1 to 19] | Higher scaled scores indicate better performance |
Scaled scores ≤7 indicate significant impairment | |||||
A timed test that involves drawing a line between a series of alternating numbers and letters | Attentional control, cognitive flexibility, set shifting | Total time | Age, education, and sex-adjusted T-score | Higher T-scores indicate better performance | |
T-scores ≤35 indicate significant impairment | |||||
FAS [13] | A timed test that involves generating as many words beginning with the letters F, A, and S | Verbal fluency | Total number of words | Age, education, and sex-adjusted T-score | Higher T-scores indicate better performance |
T-scores ≤35 indicate significant impairment | |||||
A timed computer test that involves a go/no-go task using single-digit numbers | Sustained attention and inhibition | Errors of commission and omission, reaction time | Sum of errors Reaction time | Higher number of errors and slower reaction time indicate poorer performance | |
A timed test that involves a real-life multitasking situation with different task components | Planning, organization | Total time, time spent on each task, number of tasks attempted | Deviation time from optimal time allocation | Greater deviation time indicates poorer performance | |
A 20-item questionnaire that measures behavioral change and difficulties with executive functions | Changes in emotion, personality, motivation, behavior, and cognition | Total score | Summed score [range: 0 to 80] | Higher scores indicate greater cognitive impairment | |
A 25-item questionnaire that measures daily mental errors related to attention and cognition | General everyday life cognitive failures | Total score | Summed score [range: 0 to 100] | Higher scores indicate greater cognitive impairment Scores >38 indicate cognitive difficulties |