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Trail Making Test

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology

Synonyms

Divided attention test; Partington’s pathways

Description

The Trail Making Test (TMT) is a measure of attention, processing speed, and mental flexibility. The test has two forms: one for children aged 9–14 and another for adults aged 15 and above. On part A, examinees are required to connect 25 encircled numbers that have been randomly placed on a page in proper order. They must complete the task within 5 min. On part B, examinees are required to connect the encircled numbers and letters in alternating order, again within 5 min. Examinees are instructed to connect the circles as fast as they can without making mistakes or lifting the pencil from the paper.

Historical Background

The TMT originated in 1938 and was named “Partington’s pathways” or divided attention test (Partington and Leiter 1949). It was developed by the US Army psychologists and was part of the Army Individual Test Battery (1944). Reitan adapted the test and added it to the Halstead Battery (Reitan 1955). The...

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References and Readings

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuropsychology, Comprehensive Medpsych Systems, Sarasota, FL, USA

    John E. Meyers

Authors
  1. John E. Meyers
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to John E. Meyers .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA

    Jeffrey S. Kreutzer

  2. Kessler Foundation, Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange, NJ, USA

    John DeLuca

  3. Independent Practice, Wynnewood, PA, USA

    Bruce Caplan

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Meyers, J.E. (2018). Trail Making Test. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_217

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