Construct validity of Hopkins Verbal Learning Test—Revised component process measures in an HIV-1 sample

• Published in: Archives of clinical neuropsychology Vol. 20; no. 8; pp. 1061 - 1071
• Main Authors: Woods, Steven Paul, Scott, J. Cobb, Dawson, Matthew S., Morgan, Erin E., Carey, Catherine L., Heaton, Robert K., Grant, Igor
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2005; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Biological and medical sciences; Case-Control Studies; Cerebral Cortex - physiopathology; Cognitive processes; Episodic memory; Female; HIV Infections - physiopathology; HIV Infections - psychology; HIV-1; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Memory - physiology; Middle Aged; Neuropsychological assessment; Neuropsychological Tests; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychometrics; Psychometrics. Diagnostic aid systems; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Reproducibility of Results; Techniques and methods; Verbal Learning - physiology; Cognitive processes; Human immunodeficiency virus; Neuropsychological assessment; Episodic memory; Human; Immunopathology; Verbal learning; Neuropsychological test; Retroviridae; Psychometrics; AIDS; Cognition; Revised drafting; Immune deficiency; Lentivirus; Infection; Virus; Test validation; Construct validity; Verbal memory; Acquisition process; Language; Viral disease
• ISSN: 0887-6177; 1873-5843
• DOI: 10.1016/j.acn.2005.06.007

Executive dyscontrol of episodic verbal learning and memory secondary to prefrontostriatal circuit neuropathophysiology is a common feature of HIV-1 infection. Prior research indicates that standard clinical learning and recall indexes from Hopkins Verbal Learning Test—Revised (HVLT-R) are among the most sensitive indicators of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders. Emerging data support the validity of qualitative component process measures derived from the HVLT-R (e.g., Semantic Clustering); however, no prior studies have examined these particular indices of performance in an HIV-1-infected population. In the present study, we examined the construct validity of HVLT-R component process indices in a sample of 42 persons with HIV-1 infection and 29 demographically similar seronegative comparison participants. The HIV-1 sample performed significantly below the seronegative group on Total and Delayed Recall, Semantic Clustering, and the Retrieval Index. No between-group differences were observed on Serial Clustering, Pair Frequency, Learning, Repetitions, Semantic False Positive Recognition Errors, or the Recognition Discrimination Index. In addition, the HVLT-R component process measures demonstrated evidence of convergent and divergent validity with standard clinical tests in the HIV-1 sample. Findings support the construct validity of HVLT-R component process measures and are commensurate with prior literature indicating that HIV-1 disease is associated with deficient executive control of encoding and retrieval within verbal episodic memory.