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Taking tests in the magnet: Brain mapping standardized tests.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Rubin, DC; Li, D; Hall, SA; Kragel, PA; Berntsen, D
November 2017

Standardized psychometric tests are sophisticated, well-developed, and consequential instruments; test outcomes are taken as facts about people that impact their lives in important ways. As part of an initial demonstration that human brain mapping techniques can add converging neural-level evidence to understanding standardized tests, our participants completed items from standardized tests during an fMRI scan. We compared tests for diagnosing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the correlated measures of Neuroticism, Attachment, and Centrality of Event to a general-knowledge baseline test. Twenty-three trauma-exposed participants answered 20 items for each of our five tests in each of the three runs for a total of 60 items per test. The tests engaged different neural processes; which test a participant was taking was accurately predicted from other participants' brain activity. The novelty of the application precluded specific anatomical predictions; however, the interpretation of activated regions using meta-analyses produced encouraging results. For instance, items on the Attachment test engaged regions shown to be more active for tasks involving judgments of others than judgments of the self. The results are an initial demonstration of a theoretically and practically important test-taking neuroimaging paradigm and suggest specific neural processes in answering PTSD-related tests. Hum Brain Mapp 38:5706-5725, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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DOI

Publication Date

November 2017

Publisher

Wiley

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
  • Self Concept
  • Object Attachment
  • Neuroticism
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Male
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Knowledge
 

Citation

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Rubin, D. C., Li, D., Hall, S. A., Kragel, P. A., & Berntsen, D. (2017). Taking tests in the magnet: Brain mapping standardized tests. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.23761
Rubin, David C., Dawei Li, Shana A. Hall, Philip A. Kragel, and Dorthe Berntsen. “Taking tests in the magnet: Brain mapping standardized tests.,” November 2017. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.23761.
Rubin DC, Li D, Hall SA, Kragel PA, Berntsen D. Taking tests in the magnet: Brain mapping standardized tests. 2017 Nov;
Rubin, David C., et al. Taking tests in the magnet: Brain mapping standardized tests. Wiley, Nov. 2017. Dspace, doi:10.1002/hbm.23761.
Rubin DC, Li D, Hall SA, Kragel PA, Berntsen D. Taking tests in the magnet: Brain mapping standardized tests. Wiley; 2017 Nov;

DOI

Publication Date

November 2017

Publisher

Wiley

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
  • Self Concept
  • Object Attachment
  • Neuroticism
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Male
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Knowledge