Attention and brain damage: a clinical study of response latency under various degrees of uncertainty

Wyns and Bruyer in 1988 proposed a visual attention test that is easy to use and sensitive both to the age of the subjects and the level of uncertainty about the response required. This test was designed as a fine gauge of attention deficits in brain-damaged subjects with poorly structured complaints. We present here a preliminary application of the test to a group of 48 such persons. Analysis of response accuracy indicated that 27 subjects were deficient in this respect. Of the 21 remaining subjects whose reaction times were analyzable, only one-third appeared as entirely normal.