Correlates of trait impulsiveness in performance measures and neuropsychological tests

Keilp, John G.; Sackeim, Harold A.; Mann, J. John

doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2005.03.006

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Volume 135, Issue 3 , Pages 191-201, 30 June 2005

Correlates of trait impulsiveness in performance measures and neuropsychological tests

John G. Keilp
- Department of Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University Medical College, Box 42, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10032, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical College, Box 42, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10032, USA
- Corresponding author. Department of Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University Medical College, Box 42, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10032, USA. Tel.: +1 212 543 5866; fax: +1 212 543 6017.
Harold A. Sackeim
- Department of Biological Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University Medical College, Box 126, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10032, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical College, Box 126, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10032, USA
J. John Mann
- Department of Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University Medical College, Box 42, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10032, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical College, Box 42, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10032, USA

Received 17 May 2004; received in revised form 12 January 2005; accepted 25 March 2005.

Abstract

Performance measures of impulsiveness offer great promise for assessing this trait in clinical and experimental studies. However, little is known about their relative superiority or inferiority to standard cognitive performance measures as correlates of this trait. In this study, 58 healthy volunteers completed a self-rating of impulsiveness (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale) and a battery of neuropsychological tests. The test battery included measures of reaction time, attention, memory, fluency, and executive function, as well as two performance measures of impulsiveness — Time Estimation and a Go–No Go task. Self-ratings correlated moderately with a number of these test scores, but many correlations became non-significant after adjustment for age and education. Correlations with the Go–No Go task, verbal fluency, executive function measures (Trails B), and tasks requiring decision-making against time (Choice Reaction Time, Reaction Time to Paired Words and Paired Faces Memory Tasks, and response bias on the Continuous Performance Test) remained significant. Performance on the Go–No Go task was the strongest correlate of self-rated impulsiveness. The findings suggest that once general demographic or ability factors are accounted for, specialized performance tasks requiring decision-making and response organization under time pressure provide the most effective means of assessing this behavioral trait.

Keywords: Impulsiveness, Neuropsychology, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, Executive function, Go–No Go task, Decision-making