[Constructive praxis to the copy: extended standards of the Barcelona test].

BACKGROUND

Drawings tasks have achieved a very central position in neurology by virtue of their sensitivity to many different kinds of brain lesions. Variables of age and education may significantly affect test performance and therefore should taken into account when developing test norms.

OBJECTIVES

To increase the sample of the original version of the Barcelona test (BT) and analyze the results of the drawing task.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

322 normal subjects (47.1% women and 52.9% males), stratified in 7 groups according to age and education were included in the large sample. Copying subtest of the BT were used. Descriptive statistics and multiple lineal regression were applied to the data.

RESULTS

Due to the relevance of age and education on coping drawing tasks (Kruskal-Wallis: p < 0.001 for age and p < 0.001 for education). Both variables (age and education) were analyzed using multiple lineal regression in order to establish possible effects of age and/or education for each group (F = 18.073; p < 0.001). Subjects aged more than 70 had the best adjust to the regression model (R2 = 0.4245; F = 18.07; p < 0.001; delta R2 = 13.56). Furthermore age has an important role as modulator to the results.

CONCLUSIONS

Age and education influenced copying drawing performance for raw scores as well as when considering timed performance, in a different way for each studied group. While the correlation of education and performance on copy drawing tasks is a direct one, for age this relation is inverse.