Serial sevens

Serial sevens, counting down from one hundred by sevens, is a clinical test used to test mental function; for example, to help assess mental status after possible head injury or in suspected cases of dementia. This well-known test, in active documented use since at least 1944,^[1] was adopted as part of the mini-mental state examination. The test is also used in determining when a patient is becoming unconscious under anaesthetic, for example prior to major dental surgery.

On its own, the inability to perform 'serial sevens' is not diagnostic of any particular disorder or impairment, but is generally used as a quick and easy test of concentration and memory in any number of situations where clinicians suspect that these cognitive functions might be affected.

Similar tests include serial threes where the counting downwards is done by threes, reciting the months of the year in reverse order, or spelling 'world' backwards.

A study involving uninjured high school athletes concluded that the serial sevens test is not appropriate when testing for concussion because it lacks specificity; the pass rate is too low to give any meaningful result. The ability to recite the months in reverse order was thought to be a more effective measure because the pass rate was higher for that test in uninjured athletes.^[2]

The numbers of the serial sevens test are a recurring motif in Sarah Kane's play 4.48 Psychosis.

References

↑ Jurgen Ruesch (1944). "Intellectual Impairment in Head Injuries". The American Journal of Psychiatry. 100: 480–496. doi:10.1176/ajp.100.4.480.
↑ Young, Cc; Jacobs, Ba; Clavette, K; Mark, Dh; Guse, Ce (Jul 1997). "Serial sevens: not the most effective test of mental status in high school athletes". Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine. 7 (3): 196–8. doi:10.1097/00042752-199707000-00008. ISSN 1050-642X. PMID 9262887.

Neuropsychological tests

Battery	Cognistat Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery Luria-Nebraska neuropsychological battery Montreal Cognitive Assessment Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status

Arousal/Attention	Continuous Performance Task d2 Test of Attention Four boxes test Galveston Orientation and Amnesia Test Morningness-eveningness questionnaire Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test Posner cueing task Test of everyday attention Test of Variables of Attention

Sensation/Perception	Bender-Gestalt Test Benton Visual Retention Test Dot cancellation test Judgment of Line Orientation Navon figure Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure

Memory	1-2-AX working memory task California Verbal Learning Test Corsi block-tapping test Digit symbol substitution test Doors and People MCI Screen Test of Memory Malingering Wechsler Memory Scale

Language	Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination Boston Naming Test Comprehensive Aphasia Test Controlled Oral Word Association Test Thurstone Word Fluency Test Token Test

Motor	Compensatory tracking task Purdue Pegboard Test

Problem-solving	Delis–Kaplan Executive Function System Hayling and Brixton tests Tower of London-Drexel University Trail Making Test Wisconsin Card Sorting Test

Sleep	Epworth Sleepiness Scale

Specific impairments	British Columbia Postconcussion Symptom Inventory Clinical Dementia Rating Digit Cancellation Test (Alzheimer's) Disability Rating Scale Florida Cognitive Activities Scale Glasgow Coma Scale Glasgow Outcome Scale Pediatric Attention Disorders Diagnostic Screener Rivermead post-concussion symptoms questionnaire

Intelligence	National Adult Reading Test Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence Wechsler Test of Adult Reading

Bed-side	Abbreviated mental test score Addenbrooke's cognitive examination Brief Cognitive Assessment Tool General Practitioner Assessment Of Cognition Mini–mental state examination

Social	Vineland Social Maturity Scale

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