Paced Visual Serial Addition Test: an alternative measure of information processing speed

The Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT; Gronwall, 1977; Gronwall & Sampson, 1974) is a measure of attention and information processing speed sensitive to mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI), but it is aversive and inappropriate for many other neurologically impaired patients. This study examines a simpler, less aversive visual analog of the PASAT (the Paced Visual Serial Addition Test; PVSAT) in a sample of 74 college students (26 with a history of TBI). Results indicated that the PVSAT is moderately correlated with and less difficult than the PASAT. Both tests had identical relations to other measures of attention. Neither the PVSAT, PASAT, nor the other attentional measures differentiated participants with MTBI from normal controls in a college population. This preliminary study thus demonstrates the comparability of the two tests and presents the PVSAT as a viable alternative to the PASAT. Directions for future research and applications of these findings are discussed.