Continuous Performance Task

A continuous performance task, continuous performance test, or CPT, is any of several kinds of neuropsychological test that measures a person's sustained and selective attention. Sustained attention is the ability to maintain a consistent focus on some continuous activity or stimuli, and is associated with impulsivity. Selective attention is the ability to focus on relevant stimuli and ignore competing stimuli. This skill is associated with distractibility.

There are a variety of CPTs, the more commonly used being the Integrated Visual and Auditory CPT (IVA-2), Test of Variables of Attention (T.O.V.A.) and the Conners' CPT-II. These attention tests are often used as part of a battery of tests to understand a person's 'executive functioning' or their capacity to sort and manage information. They may also be used specifically to support or to help rule out a diagnosis of Attention Deficit Disorder. In addition there are some CPTs, such as QbTest and Quotient, that combine attention and impulsivity measures with motion tracking analysis. These types of CPTs can assist health professionals with objective information regarding the three core symptoms of ADHD: hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity.

The first version of a CPT was developed and reported in the Journal of Consulting Psychology in 1956 by psychologists Haldor Rosvold, Allan Mirsky, Irwin Sarason, Edwin Bransom, and Lloyd Beck. Their research, supported by Veterans Administration and National Institute of Mental Health grants, demonstrated that compared to adults and children selected at random, adults and children known to suffer from brain damage had difficulty attending to and determining whether or not a target letter in a randomized sequence of letters had followed an alert letter. Rosvold and colleagues presented their CPT using a custom-made device that illuminated letters printed on a rotating drum for about one second.

Although the tests may vary in terms of length and type of stimulus used, the basic nature of the tests remains the same. Clients are presented with a repetitive, boring task and must maintain their focus over a period of time in order to respond to targets or inhibit response to foils. Tests may use numbers, symbols, or even sounds, but the basic task has the same concept.

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