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The Galveston Orientation and Amnesia Test
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1979
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NeuropsychologyCognitionHead InjuryCognitive RehabilitationSocial SciencesPsychologyMemoryBrain InjuryNeurologyNeurorehabilitationNeuropsychological FunctioningCognitive SciencePsychiatryRehabilitationImplicit MemoryGalveston OrientationMnemonicMemory LossDementiaMemory AssessmentMedicineClosed Head Injury
The Galveston Orientation and Amnesia Test was developed to assess cognition serially during the subacute recovery from closed head injury, and brief cognitive tests have established validity for detecting dementia in geriatric, psychiatric, and medical populations. The study discusses recommendations for the clinical application of brief cognitive tests. The GOAT evaluates orientation to person, place, and time and memory of events before and after injury, and its score distribution in 50 mild closed head injury patients was used to define performance ranges and examine demographic effects. In a validity study of 52 patients, prolonged impaired GOAT scores correlated with acute Glasgow Coma Scale ratings, were longer in diffuse or bilateral brain injuries than in focal lesions, and serial scores predicted long‑term recovery.
The Galveston Orientation and Amnesia Test (GOAT) was developed to evaluate cognition serially during the subacute stage of recovery from closed head injury. This practical scale measures orientation to person, place, and time, and memory for events preceding and following the injury. The distribution of test scores in 50 patients who had recovered from a mild closed head injury was used to define the range of variation in performance and to analyze the effects of demographic factors. In a validity study of 52 closed head-injured patients, the duration of impaired GOAT scores was strongly related to the acute neurosurgical ratings of eye opening, motor responding, and verbal responding on the Glasgow Coma Scale. Duration of post-traumatic amnesia, as defined by the persistence of defective GOAT scores, was longer in patients with computed tomographic evidence of diffuse or bilateral brain injury as compared to cases with focal unilateral lesions. Serial GOAT scores were also predictive of long term level of recovery. Review of the brief cognitive test literature disclosed that several techniques have adequate validity data substantiating their use in the detection of dementia in geriatric, psychiatric, and medical populations. Recommendations for the clinical application of the various brief cognitive tests are discussed.