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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 30, 2026

Traditional Trail Making Test Modified into Brand-new Assessment Tools: Digital and Walking Trail Making Test

Published on: November 23, 2019

What cognitive abilities are involved in trail-making performance?

Timothy A Salthouse¹

¹Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 29904.

|July 27, 2011

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

The Connections version of the trail making test primarily measures processing speed and fluid cognition in adults. Age-related declines in performance correlate with these cognitive abilities.

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Area of Science:

Cognitive psychology
Neuropsychology
Human aging research

Background:

The Trail Making Test (TMT) is a widely used neuropsychological assessment.
Understanding the specific cognitive abilities tapped by TMT variants is crucial for accurate interpretation.
The Connections version of the TMT requires participants to connect numbered circles in alternating sequences.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the cognitive abilities underlying the Connections version of the Trail Making Test.
To examine the relationship between performance on this TMT variant and other cognitive functions, including working memory.
To explore the influence of age on performance and its relation to underlying cognitive abilities.

Main Methods:

Administered the Connections TMT to over 3,600 adults.
Included a battery of general cognitive tests.
Assessed complex span and updating working memory conceptualizations.

Main Results:

The Connections TMT performance significantly reflects individual differences in processing speed and fluid cognitive abilities.
The relative contribution of speed versus fluid abilities varied based on the specific performance metric used (e.g., difference, ratio, residual).
Age-related differences were observed in Connections TMT and working memory performance, largely overlapping with individual differences in speed and fluid cognition.

Conclusions:

The Connections TMT is a valuable tool for assessing processing speed and fluid cognitive abilities.
Age-related cognitive changes measured by this test are substantially explained by declines in speed and fluid abilities.
Findings contribute to a deeper understanding of cognitive aging and the specific constructs measured by neuropsychological tests.