Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30124583›Full record

ReviewJournal of clinical psychopharmacology2018

Digit Symbol Substitution Test: The Case for Sensitivity Over Specificity in Neuropsychological Testing.

Judith Jaeger

2 registry-linked trialsAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of clinical psychopharmacology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 494 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
494citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT05447312 naactive not recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2022, after this paper: background citation

The Effects of an Adaptive Music Program on Psychosocial and Cognitive Functions of Older Adults: a Pilot and Validation Study

TypeinterventionalSponsorToronto Metropolitan UniversityRan2022 to 2026Enrolled75ConditionsStress, Psychological, Executive Functions, Loneliness, Emotion RegulationArmsAdaptive Music Intervention, Traditional Music Intervention
NCT06845748 nanot yet recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2025, after this paper: background citation

Assessment of Physical and Physiological Changes in Muscle Aging

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of MilanRan2025 to 2027Enrolled200ConditionsPreventing Age-Related Muscle Loss: the Role of Exercise in Improving Strength, Function, and Well-beingArmsPhysical activity Group
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

494 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  20. Hearing and Cognitive Function in Aged Adults: A Machine Learning and Mediation Analysis of NHANES.World journal of otorhinolaryngology - head and neck surgery · 2026
    Article

434 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author.

Judith JaegerFrom CognitionMetrics, LLC, Wilmington, DE; and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

PURPOSE/

backgroundDevelopment of the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) was initiated over a century ago as an experimental tool to understand human associative learning. Its clinical utility, owing to its brevity and high discriminant validity, was first recognized in the 1940s, and now the DSST is among the most commonly used tests in clinical neuropsychology.

methodsSpecific studies and articles were reviewed to illustrate what the test measures, to evaluate its sensitivity to change, and to discuss its use in clinical practice.

resultsThe DSST is a valid and sensitive measure of cognitive dysfunction impacted by many domains. Performance on the DSST correlates with real-world functional outcomes (eg, the ability to accomplish everyday tasks) and recovery from functional disability in a range of psychiatric conditions including schizophrenia and major depressive disorder. Importantly, the DSST has been demonstrated to be sensitive to changes in cognitive functioning in patients with major depressive disorder and offers promise as a clinical decision-making tool for monitoring treatment effects in this and other disorders affecting cognition. IMPLICATIONS/

conclusionsThe DSST is sensitive to the presence of cognitive dysfunction as well as to change in cognitive function across a wide range of clinical populations but has low specificity to determine exactly which cognitive domain has been affected. However, the DSST offers a practical and effective method to monitor cognitive functions over time in clinical practice.

Indexed as

Association LearningCognitive DysfunctionHumansMajor Depressive DisorderNeuropsychological TestsReproducibility of Results

Identifiers

PMID30124583
PMCPMC6291255

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.