Rapid Visual Information Processing (RVIP)

Background

The Rapid Visual Information Processing (RVIP) task is a computerized neuropsychological assessment measure of processing speed, sustained attention and working memory. Participants must monitor a rapid, pseudo-random stream of digits (typically 100/minute) and press a button when they detect specific consecutive three-digit sequences, e.g. all even or all odd digits.

The basic RVIP procedure is credited to Paul Bakan (1959) who used an auditory version of the task (e.g. identify 3-digit sequence of odd digits) coupled with a secondary task (e.g. identify all digits 6) to investigate the impact of extra- and introversion on dual task performance.

The task was later adapted into the visual modality and expanded for use in psychopharmacology and neuropsychology by researchers like Keith Wesnes and David M. Warburton in the 1980s to study the effects of substances like nicotine and scopolamine on rapid Information processing.

Task Procedure

Participants see a constant stream of digits, presented one after the other at the presentation rate of 1 digit/600ms, and are asked to press the spacebar as fast as possible anytime they detect a 3-digit sequence of only odd (e.g. 3-5-9) or only even digits (8-4-6).

After working on a practice sequence with 2 target sequences, participant are presented with the test sequence of 1200 digits. The test sequence contains 96 target sequences separated from each other by a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 35 digits (Mean = 9.3). The response is scored as a 'Hit' if participants react within 1500ms of onset of the last digit of a target sequence. Any response that occurs later is scored as a False Alarm.

What it Measures

The RVIP Task is a computerized assessment tool to measure of processing speed, sustained attention and working memory

Psychological domains

• Sustained Attention: Maintaining consistent focus on a monotonous task over an extended period of time
• Vigilance: Staying alert to detect infrequent targets on a monotonous task over an extended period
• Processing Speed: Speed with which stimuli get processed and responded to
• Working Memory: Ability to hold and update the last three digits in working memory

Main Performance Metrics

• Response Time Variability: Fluctuations in response time to target triplets can indicate changes in attention
• Number of False Alarms: Incorrect responding to noise triplets => Lapses in vigilance or failures in motor inhibition
• d' measure: Overall sensitivity to the differences of noise and target triplets (Signal Detection Framework)
• c-Criterium: Indication of response style (Signal Detection Framework)
• A Prime: non-parametric alternative to d-prime measure (requires less assumptions about underlying distributions)

Psychiatric Conditions

RVIP performance tends to be impaired in patients with the following psychiatric conditions:

• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
• Schizophrenia
• Cognitive Decline due to Ageing
• Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
• Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
• Substance Use and Pharmacology

References

Search Google Scholar for peer-reviewed, published research using the Inquisit Rapid Visual Information Processing (RVIP).

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Wesnes, K, Warburton, D.M, Matz, B. (1983) Effects of Nicotine on Stimulus Sensitivity and Response Bias in a Visual Vigilance Task. Neuropsychobiology , 9, 41-44.

Wesnes, K & Warburton, D.M (1983) Effects of Scopolamine on Stimulus Sensitivity and Response Bias in a Visual Vigilance Task, 9, 154-157.

Wesnes, K & Warburton, D.M (1983). Effects of Smoking on Rapid Information Processing Performance, 9, 223-229.

Wesnes, K & Warburton, D.M (1984). Effects of scopolamine and nicotine on human rapid information processing performance, 82, 147-150.

Coull, J.T., Frith, C.D., Frackowiak, R.S.J., & Grasby, P.M. (1996). A fronto-parietal network for rapid visual information processing: a PET study of sustained attention and working memory, 34, 1085-1095.

Cattapan-Ludewig, K., Hilti, C.C., Ludewig, S., Vollenweider, F.X., Feldon, J. (2005). Rapid Visual Information Processing in Schizophrenic Patients: The Impact of Cognitive Load and Duration of Stimulus Presentation, 52, 130-134.