The relationship between the Allen's cognitive levels and measures of organicit

Abstract

The relationship between the Allen C~gnitive Level (ACL) Test (Allen, 1985) and radiological evidence of organic changes in the brain were examined through a retrospective study of 96 patient records from a general hospital adult psychiatry unit. It was found that there was a significant correlation be·tween the ACL· scores and the imaging scan scores (T=-.2149; p<.OOS). ·ACL scores signific~ntly correlated ~ith scan scores identified with focal lesions (T=-.4253; p<.025) in the brain. The null hypothesis that there is· not a significant relationship between the· ACL and radiological evidence o-f. organic change in the brain tisf:!ue was rejected. The second hypothesis that there was not a significant correlation between patterns of radiological evidence of organic change in brain tissue and spec~fic Allen cognitive levels could not be rejected. Thie study provides evidence to suggest that learning is affected by biological abnormalities, and supports the usefulness of ACL as a screening instrument for cognitive dysfunctions associated with organic changes in brain structure.